A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a child of hope was shipped off to a distant planet to be kept hidden and safe on a farm. Some time after, he left his home and embraced his awesome, unfathomable powers. However, ultimately he was forced to face off against another super being—one that had come to embrace the dark side thanks to the manipulation of a cunning and evil man whose goal was total domination—in a duel where not only the fate of the world rested on its outcome, but the souls of both men.
No, we aren’t talking about Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader; we’re talking about Superman and Batman… though the similarities in their two stories sure would explain why this mega-franchise crossover, put together by none other than director Zack Snyder himself, works so well.
Batman v Superman director and Star Wars fan Snyder created the Star Wars/Justice League mashup “Dark Side Knight vs. Superjedi†(via EW) partly in anticipation of the upcoming release of Rogue One: A Star Wars’ Story. Snyder was also inspired by to his friend and colleague J.J. Abrams‘ very own franchise-combo tribute, the short Millennium Falcon/Batmobile ode titled “Hunka Junk.”
While filming their respective blockbusters, the two directors shared photos with one another on social media, so this love affair with each other’s subject matter isn’t a surprise. What might be a surprise is how good this Batman/Superman/Jedi crossover really works.
No one that cares about Batman, Superman, and the Justice League is without a strong opinion on Snyder, be it positive or negative. However, putting aside any thoughts you have on the path he has chosen for his DC films, it’s clear that this is a top-notch mashup. The kind that’s sure to inspire some serious Jedi/Sith fan-fic for the Caped Crusdader and the Man of Steel.
As for the trailer itself, it adheres to the basic premise of BvS, where Superman is feared to be an agent of terror and death, but really isn’t. However, Batman, with his Kylo Ren-like devotion to Darth Vader, is clearly a Sith Lord, and not a good person that has decided certain things must be done to protect the world.
Super nerd sidenote: Batman’s overall methods are definitely questionable enough that he would have a hard time making it to the Jedi Council, but he would never set out to become a Sith Lord. What might instead bring him to the Dark Side could be his lightsaber fighting style: likely Form VII known as Juyo, the fighting style used by Mace Windu and the hardest the master. This form brings its practitioners closest to the Dark Side, since instead of eschewing emotion it channels it into a frantic fighting style designed to keep its opponents off-balance.
As you were.
If we had access to giant budgets and special effects this would be the type of thing we’d do too. So kudos to Zack Snyder for a super fun, super entertaining trailer.
And Mr. Snyder, those are great goals to aim for with all your work.
But what did you think of this trailer? And what Justice League characters would you fantasy cast in Star Wars roles? Tell us how you’d further mashup these two franchises int he comments below.
Images: Zack Snyder
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