Wesley Coller has produced a number of Zack Snyder movies including 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch, and Man of Steel. Coller is on board for Batman vs. Superman as well, and will be returning to his home state of Michigan when the cast and crew begin shooting in Detroit in February. Michigan based website MLive recently caught up with Coller to discuss Batman vs. Superman, Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck, and more.
MLive asked if Coller was surprised by the initial backlash surrounding Ben Affleck’s casting as Batman:
Because we’ve historically done fan favorite fare – ‘Watchmen,’ we remade ‘Dawn of the Dead’ … – I’ve developed a pretty good perspective on this. Anything you do that’s culturally significant, or any time you deal with an iconic character or story, you’re going to hear responses from every possible perspective. So nothing surprises me anymore. If anything, that gauges the relevance of a property or character, and it’s invigorating to know people care that much. It inspires you to make the coolest version of the movie that you can. Ben is the perfect fit for Zack’s vision for this story.
Coller explained that his one year old daughter is a big Wonder Woman fan. He wouldn’t comment on if Wonder Woman would appear in her own movie down the road, however:
My daughter’s favorite book is this little Wonder Woman flip book. It has the lasso, the invisible plane, the bracelets – every page has an image she’s just in awe with. And something that’s become a reality, being a dad with a new daughter, is that I have a special place in my heart for the idea of a strong, empowered female superhero being out there.
We’re super excited to have her in the film, it will be a ton of fun, but at the same time, we’ve got to stay focused on the film we’re working on now.
Finally, Coller explained that his decision to shoot in Michigan had nothing to do with him being from there:
As producers, we have to look at a broad spectrum of factors. The main thing … is whether it satisfies Zack’s creative needs. Does it have what we need in terms of settings? Does it budgetarily make sense? Does it make sense seasonally? When we got to doing that, scheduling-wise, there were a ton of variables to take into account. And as we checked more and more boxes on our list, and the answer was, again and again, Michigan, Michigan, Michigan, it just made sense. So we started pursuing that.
Batman vs. Superman will begin shooting in Detroit, Michigan in February and they’ll wrap up in August. Batman News will be providing you with the best coverage online. Stay tuned for more casting announcements, an official title, and perhaps even our first look at Ben Affleck as Batman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. A lot of that could be coming as early as next month!
SOURCE: MLive (via Screen Rant)
