Director Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was in part a launchpad for the larger DC Extended Universe, but it was also partially a continuation of the story and themes of Snyder's 2013 Superman franchise reboot and, technically, the real starting point for the DCEU, Man of Steel. The issue of how Kal-El (Henry Cavill) operates in the world now that his existence is public knowledge is one such element from Batman V Superman that serves an an extension of the ideas that Man of Steel wrestles with, showing why Superman coming in to save the day might not be as simple a task as he would like it to be.
Batman V Superman addresses this very issue early on, with one of its first sequences - a turn of events in which Lois Lane's (Amy Adams) attempts to interview an African warlord go south and Superman flies in to save her, unaware that this is all part of a larger scheme set in motion by Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) to help further turn the world's opinion against Kal-El; including, that of the Caped Crusader himself, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck). We've now gotten a special behind the scenes look at that very sequence, thanks to the film's cinematographer, Larry Fong.
Fong had collaborated with Snyder on the comic book film adaptations 300 and Watchmen, as well as the original project Sucker Punch, prior to them reuniting for Batman V Superman after Fong had to pass on Man of Steel (due to scheduling issues that left Fong unavailable to work on the latter). In response to a request to see the storyboards for his efforts on Batman V Superman, Fong posted the following photo of a collection of storyboards for the film's Africa-set sequence specifically, through his Twitter account:
These storyboards highlight elements from Batman V Superman's Africa sequence that didn't make the theatrical cut of the film, but which were later (at least partially) restored in the "Ultimate Edition" of the movie that was released on DVD and Blu-ray. Snyder's preferred director's cut and the "Ultimate Edition" of Batman V Superman are one and the same, further accounting for why the "Ultimate Edition" version of the Africa sequence (and that cut of the DCEU film, as a whole) are generally considered superior to the version that was shown in theaters.
The more positive response to the "Ultimate Edition" of Batman V Superman vs. the theatrical cut may, in turn, impact what does and does not make the cut in Snyder's followup, Justice League, later this year. However, Fong will not be returning as the director of photography on Justice League due to (again) his packed schedule, having worked recently on this March's release Kong: Skull Island and being set to work on Shane Black's The Predator next. Fabian Wagner (Game of Thrones) served as the cinematographer for Justice League instead, so it will be interesting to see how the film's visual style differs from Batman V Superman in particular, as a result of that alone.
NEXT: Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman Cameo Revealed
Source: Larry Fong
