BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

EMERALD CITY

Against black, text fades in…

The colours of this shot are also an inversion of the introduction title to the Black Zero scene. There, the background was sandy and the text was black. Here, the background is black and the text is sandy.

The Man of Steel #3 (1986), the first story of the revamped Superman mythos to focus on Lex Luthor, takes place roughly eighteen months after the first public appearance of Superman, though I cannot confirm if this relation was intentional.

With a distant rumble, cut to a low-angle medium shot on the back of a shirtless man (Matahi Drollet), blue sky and clouds above him. In the soundtrack, Krypton A starts here with its ethereal harmony. We pan down to watch the young man sit, placing a circular scuba mask firmly over his eyes while his friend (Mormon Maitui) hands him some rope. Alien debris sits in the teal waters in the background.

The ethereal harmony of Krypton Motif makes a return from Man of Steel with its sustained chord.

Full focus wide crane shot of the scene. The two men are in a rickety boat over clear turquoise waters, the mammoth carcass of the World Engine sitting quietly strewn around in the distance like the skeleton of an ancient leviathan, having been destroyed by Superman in the Indian Ocean in Man of Steel. This is indicated by the text appearing in the lower left: “SOMEWHERE IN THE INDIAN OCEAN.” Note that the site is cordoned off by warning signs, telling us that it was obviously impractical to move the huge structure and some government has to warn people away. In the same shot, the Indian diver tips over backwards into the waters.

Low-angle shot of the boat from underwater. The diver, silhouetted by the glow of the sun through the surface, descends along a chain tethered to the coral towards an oddly-shaped rock formation. Fish swim about peacefully.

Codex Motif makes its return with its slower series of alternating notes on synthesiser to add the finishing touch to the mysterious alien atmosphere. This music is also heard when Jor-El swam into the dim green Genesis Chamber on Krypton in Man of Steel, creating a strong visual parallel with the diver.

Level shot with the outcropping rock as the treasure-hunter wraps the noose around it.

Another low-angle of the diver as he grips the formation and starts pulling.

Low-angle medium close-up on the diver’s silhouetted face to emphasise his effort as he wrestles with it.

Back to low-angle full shot of the diver as he finally tears the rock free.

The two men carry their cloth-wrapped catch between them up the beach towards a gathered group in indistinct conversation, the music ramping up — building towards something.

A westerner (“Island Scientist” portrayed by Richard Burden) beneath the palm trees is surrounded by the indigenous people, clearly hoping to sell him something as a younger woman hands him an object. Burden’s character examines it, likely to gauge its value. Then he notices the two approaching men and hands away the trinket, looking intrigued as he heads for the two. The surrounding people try to appeal to him, but his focus is entirely on the duo. He steps free of the crowd towards them.

An ominous element joins the soundtrack.

The two men put the wrapped bundle on the ground before him and unravel it, revealing the unnatural formation, somewhat resembling the living architecture of Krypton with its smooth Giger-esque skin.

Focus on the ethereal Krypton Motif in anticipation.

Burden kneels and brings a pick down, fracturing the weak shell. Within, embedded in black stone, is the alien green glow of Kryptonite.

Krypton Motif and Codex Motif both intensify dramatically. The music knows we know what this is.

SCENE OVERVIEW

Following Bruce’s gaze of hatred for Superman in the prior scene founding his motivation, we cut to present-day to the ruins of the World Engine in the Indian Ocean, where the means by which Batman will pursue his crusade against Superman has been dredged up from the ethereal waters. Superman’s famed Kryptonite weakness will drive Bruce’s path in the story and play a role in the villain’s plan. We have also got a taste of how the world has adapted to the aftermath of Man of Steel, seeing a market for possible alien artefacts recovered from the destroyed World Engine.

SCENE ANALYSIS

“This is the wreckage of the World Engine that was down in the Indian Ocean, and the idea was that, in the terraforming of Earth, beams were going straight down through the planet. From the inside-out, the Earth was being remade, so bubbling to the surface might have been a little bit of these first pieces of Krypton, so that would be where Kryptonite came from. That’s what this little mineral is, it’s like a piece of Kryptonian magma, changed at a molecular level.”

Zack Snyder, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Director’s Commentary, 2021, 10:29

Absolutely none of the characters in this scene are credited with names, essentially making Kryptonite the sole star of the sequence, especially as the soundtrack is built around it. Note that the Kryptonite, which will later be used to form Batman’s spear, is literally pulled from a stone, possibly another reference to Excalibur (1981). This scene implies that there is a black market for Kryptonian technology, as evident by divers fishing for alien debris around the closed-off wreckage. After the world has changed, people are adapting by seizing the new opportunities, which is brilliant world-building.

The music track in this scene is Emerald City, referencing a later line of dialogue. It reintroduces two more components from the Man of Steel score, Krypton Motif and Codex Motif, both associated with Krypton to highlight the connection between Kryptonite and the planet, while also establishing its own recurring “Kryptonite Theme.” This track is not in any commercially available version of the score.

BEHIND THE SCENE

The Indian Ocean scene was filmed in the waters and on the beaches of the island of Bora-Bora, French Polynesia, an overseas French territory in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean was first reported as a location on 21 May 2014 in the official announcement for the start of shooting. During production on Man of Steel, a splinter unit was sent here to acquire “hero and survey views of the island and the ocean,” according to VFX supervisor John “DJ” DesJardin, which were used to create the World Engine battle, so it is fitting that production for Batman v Superman returned here to film the recovery of the Kryptonite.

“This kid was amazing. I think I remember him saying he was one of the youngest guys to surf Teahupoʻo in Tahiti, and I don’t know if you know, it’s a massive break in Tahiti. Beautiful break. Incredible reef break, big thick wave, and this kid was 15 and he had surfed it and I was like, ‘Jesus!’ Just amazing.”

Zack Snyder, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Watch Party, 29 March 2020

The underwater sequence was shot with Dorsalfin Productions‘ underwater director of cinematography, Ian Seabrook, a professional underwater cameraman, whose demo reel can be seen here, and you can find interviews with him from Underwater Podcast and Dive Photo Guide. Filmin’ Tahiti, an executive production company based in French Polynesia having worked previously on Man of Steel, is to thank for enlisting the shoot’s technicians and extras…

“After working on Man of Steel, 3 years prior to this project, we line produced the Tahitian segment of the sequel. Of a crew of 50, we provided 25 local technicians. We organised the casting for the 3 local characters and more 20 extras. We also handled the location scouting and management. We managed back office, administrative work, and payroll.”

Filmin’ Tahiti

The scene was evidently shot between the 11th and 13th of February 2015 after filming officially wrapped in Taos Ski Valley in December. Zack Snyder and crew stayed at the luxurious Saint Regis Bora Bora Resort. Following his exit from Justice League, he shared a photo of himself diving into the waters from his hotel room. On Instagram, Seabrook also documented his visit to the location, and followed up over the years. He was accompanied by Bora-Bora kite surfer Sunghi Yoo, who also took many beautiful photos. Key second assistant director Misha Bukowski took this ominous photo of dark clouds. Before leaving, DesJardin got a photo of his “animal crew” with “Cassey-Cassey,” Jean Ho (a trafficking victim in the Batman reveal scene), Yoo, and Bukowski. Richard Burden’s character first shot for the Batmobile chase sequence in September 2014 when Zack Snyder had the idea to make him the one who discovers the Kryptonite, and brought Burden to Bora-Bora…

“[Richard Burden] got to come down with this. You’ll see later, we see him at the dock when the Kryptonite’s being offloaded from the [White] Portuguese, and I was like, ‘Oh, you could be the guy who discovers [the Kryptonite]! Even though he’s just a stuntman who was there for a day, we ended up taking him to Bora Bora. [Laughs] He was like, ‘This is awesome!’”

Zack Snyder, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Watch Party, 29 March 2020

Set photos depict unseen footage of an indigenous women and her child walking on the beach.