Zack Snyder Almost Set Man of Steel in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Universe Zack Snyder Almost Set Man of Steel in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Universe Prior to the birth of the DCEU, Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan discussed the possibility of setting Man of Steel in The Dark Knight universe. Henry Cavill's Superman and Christian Bale's Batman could have shared the same cinematic universe. As we know now, Man of Steel would be the movie to launch the DCEU when it was released in 2013. Many other movies would follow in the coming years set in the same universe, which includes a version of Bruce Wayne played by Ben Affleck.