Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was Ben Affleck’s first movie as Batman, and the actor left no stone unturned to make sure he perfectly delivered in the role. And that he most certainly did, considering how, besides the terribly critical reviews deeming the actor one of the worst choices for the role, the film has still gone on to hold a special place in fans’ hearts.
Not only that, but the movie also holds some of the most iconic scenes ever helmed throughout the SnyderVerse in Zack Snyder’s DC Extended Universe. For instance, the Dark Knight’s warehouse fight sequence is especially prolific in providing all that badass content. But it would have been an even better sight to relish had one major scene not been cut from that sequence.
Ben Affleck Originally Had an Even More Badass Warehouse Fight Sequence
In 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, there is one particular scene that caught fans’ attention more than anything else: The series of fighting scenes in the warehouse where Ben Affleck‘s superhero perfectly put his intimidating side on full display while rescuing Martha.
However, this scene would have been even better and wilder had the creators decided to use the whole extended cut of the scene. This is because Affleck’s Dark Knight pulled some severely brutal tricks as he made his way through the “dangerous dudes that were trying to kill him.”
One of these tricks included actually using one of the guys wearing those bulletproof vests as a shield to protect himself from the attacks all his other opponents were raining on him, according to what stunt coordinator and second unit director Damon Caro himself shared.
During an interview with ScreenRant, he explained the scene as:
The action-viz that we shot in prep, it’s a little bit longer than what we shot for the film. And he does use one of the guys as a shield in that… he uses him as a shield and the guy had a bulletproof vest on.
Needless to say, that would have been an iconic sight to behold, especially since it included the darkest and immensely gritty side of someone like the Caped Crusader. However, that scene never made it to the final cut.
As Caro continued to share in the same interview:
It didn’t make the movie because it didn’t fit for the cut.
Apparently, that scene would have seriously violated the entire image of Affleck’s superhero that they wanted to portray, which basically included having him incapacitate his opponents at the most and have as few deaths as possible.
BvS Stunt Coordinator Explains Batman’s Evolution in the Warehouse Scene
While losing the entire cut that would have resulted as a cherry on top of that already incredibly violent scene of the Dark Knight is one thing, the stunt coordinator for the film believes Affleck’s character also evolved tremendously during that one sequence.
Explaining his understanding of that particular scene that was one of the most pivotal moments for the superhero as well as one of the most brutal points for him, Damon Caro said:
In the chase scene he was dealing with dangerous dudes that were trying to kill him, but I feel he was driven more by hatred then. By the Martha rescue, he’s no longer fueled by resentment. That’s all clearly there and by design, as he just had the realization that Kal’s an alien, but they share the same humanity – the humans and the Kryptonians. So there’s definitely an evolution at this point.
At the same time, he also elaborated on his point of view on just why he thought the Caped Crusader had to be so brutal even through this evolutionary state. Caro said:
From my point of view, he also must be efficient, right? He had to get through that crew of mercenaries and navigate it as efficiently as possible while ensuring that they were going to be incapacitated at the very least because he had a limited timeframe, a small window, or Martha was dead. That was the whole point of having to get through it.
Effortlessly enough, this perfectly explains just why this scene was such an important moment for Affleck’s superhero all the while justifying all the brutality he had to display in it before coming to this particular realization about everyone else and evolving in his own manner.
You can stream Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on Prime Video.
