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Tuesday night (hours before the Wonder Woman announcement) at a special screening of ‘American Hustle’ I had the chance to speak with producer Charles Roven. He has been part of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy and more recently ‘Man of Steel’ so the topic of choice had to be comic-book adaptations. Read below what this industry veteran shared and watch the video interview at the end of this post.

On exploring profound themes and the human condition in both dramas and superhero movies:

“Whatever the kind of movie you do you should strive for those themes and nuances exactly. I think they make the films more meaningful. I always try, not always succeed, in doing films that examine in their own way, even if they are entertainment, the human condition and the things that are important to all of us. I am actually glad that you noticed that because it is an important aspect of the movies that I try to make.”

Commenting on the idea that ‘Man of Steel’ and DC/Warner films are more adult than Marvel’s:

“I think that ‘Man of Steel’ played younger, to a wider audience. Even though Cris’s trilogy was more successful financially, I think you should be older to appreciate the full aspect of it. In that regard I would say that ‘Man of Steel’ played younger than that. I can’t speak for the Marvel comics. I certainly believe that they have done a great job in being very successful in what they are doing so they should continue. One of the things that I like in terms of what they are doing vs. what we are doing is that the movies are different. When you see what Zack Snyder or Chris Nolan is making in this genre, one that I am producing with Emma Thomas or Deborah Snyder, we go for certain themes that are slightly more adult even though they are very universal.”

Responding to my theory that ‘Batman vs. Superman’ won’t be the title because it’s too negative from a marketing point of view:

“I think that when we have the title, we will announce it. [laughs]”

-My follow-up question could have been “So you haven’t make a final decision regarding the title yet?”. Next time guys, next time.