‘Batman v Superman’ unveils first photo of Henry Cavill as Superman

The “Dawn of Justice” promised in the subtitle of Zack Snyder’s superhero showdown “Batman v Superman” is still nearly two years away, but Warner Bros. offered an early glimpse of the movie Thursday, releasing the first official photo of Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel.

The dark, desaturated image shows a solemn Superman standing on a rooftop in a rainstorm, with dark clouds hovering over a skyline that looks more like Batman’s gritty Gotham City than Supe’s once-gleaming Metropolis. (A detail of the image is above; see the full version on the film’s Twitter page.)

Moody and atmospheric, the new photo is reminiscent of an image Snyder posted on Twitter in May that showed Ben Affleck suited up as Batman, further underscoring the director’s edgy take on the expanding D.C. cinematic universe that began with 2013’s “Man of Steel.”

In an interview with USA Today also published Thursday, Snyder offered a few more tidbits about the film. Speaking of Cavill, he said that the British actor is growing more comfortable as Superman, and that “Dawn of Justice” will test the character’s convictions.

“We’ve both created this guy and we can push him around a little bit,” Snyder said.

The interview also seemed to confirm the addition of Ray Fisher as Cyborg to the cast of characters; he joins Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and Amy Adams as Lois Lane.

Although Snyder remained tight-lipped about plot details, he did address the unusual nature of the title, which sounds a bit like a superpowered courtroom drama.

According to the director, the decision to go with “v” instead of “vs.” was made “to keep it from being a straight ‘versus’ movie, even in the most subtle way.”

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