Watch: 'Batman V Superman' Reimagined As A 1940s Film

Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice promises to be a thoroughly modern film, from the high-tech costumes and cutting-edge CG work, to the grim and gritty tone, to the annoying naming convention that suggests it won't be a standalone feature but rather just one tiny component of a massive mega-franchise.

But for all these 21st century flourishes, the characters themselves are actually ancient by pop culture standards. Bats and Supes were created in the 1930s, and Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor in the 1940s. So naturally, the internet got to wondering: what would Batman v Superman have looked like if it were made 66 years ago? Watch the Batman v Superman 1940s trailer after the jump. 

Vulture unleashed the Batman v Superman 1940s trailer as part of their ongoing Remix series.

Video artists Diane Bullock and Mike Schuster pulled footage from 1940s Batman and Superman serials to try and create an era-appropriate Batman v Superman trailer. And it is just Batman v Superman, because the Justice League didn't dawn until 1960.

It's not nearly as polished as modern superhero sagas, but that's kind of the charm. This is exactly the kind of mainstream comic book movie we'll never get, no matter how desperate Marvel and DC become for new ideas. So it's fun to see a Superman and a Batman that just look like dudes in leotards, rather than chisel-jawed bodybuilders in muscle-enhancing costumes, and special effects that look worlds away from the Uncanny Valley spectacles that clog up our multiplexes these days.

Of course, Vulture isn't the first to think of bringing the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel back to their midcentury roots, as they themselves readily acknowledge. Below, check out a very different take on a Batman v Superman 1940s trailer from Paul Cornish.