Justice League: Costume Designer Explains Absence of Superman’s Black Suit
Prior to Justice League’s theatrical release, rumors ran amok, suggesting Superman would don a black suit following his resurrection. Such a scene never occurs on film. However, the blu-ray features a deleted scene wherein Clark walks past a black suit before ultimately deciding to wear his classic red and blue attire. Out of DC’s “Dawn of Super Heroes” exhibition at London’s O2 Arena comes the revelation that there were always plans for Henry Cavill to put on a black version of the costume.
Superman’s Black Suit in Justice League Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Speaking to Digital Spy (via Batman-News), Justice League’s costume designer, Michael Wilkinson reveals,
“The black suit is something that has fascinated us as filmmakers from the get-go. We saw a glimpse of it in the nightmare sequence from Man of Steel when Superman was wading through skulls, and also in the deleted scene from Justice League where you do see Clark walking through the spaceship and it’s teased in the background.
“When we were prepping Justice League, at first it seemed that it might be a logical choice for the look of Superman when he’s resurrected. Zack is extremely respectful and passionate about the depiction of Superman in comic books and graphic novels, and traditionally when he is resurrected, he is in the black suit.
“But as the tone of the film developed and we were in pre-production, the filmmakers felt that the classic red and blue suit seemed more appropriate to our story and our script. It seemed that a more positive, upbeat image of Superman was what was needed – the idea of hope and that the world could in fact be saved was important, so that’s the direction that we went.”
Wilkinson’s statement gives credence to the belief that Justice League changes were reactionary and based on the poor reception of Batman v Superman’s dark tone. This begs the question of whether the classic monochrome suit from “The Death and Return of Superman” will see the light of day in live-action. Presently, this seems doubtful.
Justice League is available now on digital platforms and blu-ray/DVD.
