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Michael Wilkinson Talks JUSTICE LEAGUE, Flash, Aquaman and Bruce Wayne’s Nightmare

Appearing at CCXP – Comic Con Experience 2015, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice costumer designer Michael Wilkinson spoke with Omelete (via CBM) about his work on the movie, as well as the various members of the Justice League. He talks about designing the looks of Aquaman and Flash, and he also confirms the latter’s cameo in Batman v Superman. Additionally, he offers an update on Justice League Part One and reveals how long the production will be. Finally, Wilkinson weighs in on that nightmare sequence in Dawn of Justice. More details can be found below.

Wilkinson confirmed that he just began preparation for 2017’s Justice League, confirming that pre-production and filming will take place in London next year. “So, we’re shooting the film in London. I’m going to be there for a year. Six months of prepping, six months of shooting. And we have all sorts of fantastic actors that we’re bringing to London, all sorts of interesting universes. We’re looking forward to doing a whole new Justice League for the 21st century.” We previously learned that pre-production would begin in January. So, could we be looking at a Summer 2016 start date for the superhero ensemble? We’ll find out soon.

Wilkinson went on to talk about designing the DC Extended Universe looks for Aquaman and The Flash. He reveals that the former would have two suits, saying that the King of Atlantis would start off with one look and develop a “different visual.” As for his exact inspiration for Aquaman, the costume designer said, “My inspiration for Aquaman is actually Jason Momoa, he was born to play Aquaman. And so, he has some fantastic tattoos of his own. And got my mind thinking about how to go in a really interesting new direction for the scales that we usually see on Aquaman, so we decided to do them with tattoos and with some cool armor. So, we had this whole plan for Aquaman in this universe and so we look forward to the next few years evolving this exciting DC universe.” 


As for Flash, Wilkinson confirmed rumors that we will be getting our first look at this character in Batman v Superman. He also commented on Barry Allen’s characterization and costume design in the DCEU, as well as how he physically compares to the rest of the League. “You do get a glimpse of him, of course, in Batman v Superman. But I’m really looking forward to taking the amazing, iconic costume for The Flash and interpreting it in a fresh way where Ezra Miller is playing The Flash. He’s an extraordinary performer, he has a sort of interesting sense of humor and the youth that will be great for Barry Allen and I think he’s going to make a great Flash. It’s a different silhouette than the other ones and I think that’s what makes the Justice League so amazing. They all are different, together they are super strong, but they all have their own different fighting styles, their own different look, their own different physique. The Flash is more like an Olympic marathon runner or something like that. He’s shredded and he’s not as bulky and as huge as a lot of the other guys in the League.” So, not as muscular or physically imposing as say, Batman and Superman, but that is to be expected.

Wilkinson then confirmed that the look of Lex Luthor will evolve throughout the DCEU. This isn’t surprising, since Lex starts off with hair in Batman v Superman and will be bald by the film’s end. How does he end up that way? Guess we’ll find out when the movie comes out.

Finally, Wilkinson talked about designing the “Desert Batman Knightmare Batman” suit in Dawn of Justice. He confirms that the costume comes from a dream sequence in the film, where Bruce Wayne sees a potential future where Superman is an antagonistic force. “[Director] Zack [Snyder] had a great idea of this sort of nightmare-ish vision, almost a vision of the future, a post-apocalyptic vision. It’s like a dream that Ben has, so we wanted to, it has almost a Mad Max quality to it where it’s like the end of the world, trying to survive and then of course Superman and his minions come, so it’s sort of a way of representing the amazing amounts of, the sort of obsessive quality that Bruce Wayne has about the threat of Superman. … In this film, [Superman’s] motivations, the consequences of his actions are really being questioned by the world. Is he a savior? Or is he a dangerous alien with unknown intentions? And this becomes an obsession for Bruce Wayne. And he really wants to sort it out. So, it’s manifested in this sort of incredible dream that Zack decided to create.”



Fans have been speculating that the desert sequence, which saw Batman taking on Superman’s army and being unmasked by Kal-El himself, would be some sort of dream/vision. And, quite frankly, it fits flawlessly within Bruce’s arc in the movie. He has fear over what Superman could do with his extraordinary power, and imagining a possible future where the Man of Steel uses his power for evil makes perfect sense. It will be interesting to see how the sequence plays out in its entirety.

For much more from Wilkinson, where he talks more about designing Batman and Superman’s suits and how Wonder Woman compares, click the links above.

Paul Romano

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of WOBAM! Entertainment.