Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder have long maintained that following up Man of Steel with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was always in the cards -- a way to build their shared universe up quickly.

The fact that Batman V Superman was announced not long after Man of Steel hit theaters seemed to support that idea, but Russell Crowe -- who plays Jor-El, Superman's father, in the super-prequel -- says that isn't the case as far as he knows.

During an interview in support of his new film The Nice Guys, Crowe claimed that there were originally going to be more Superman solo films -- and that he likely would have taken part in those -- before the studio shifted focus to Batman V Superman and that change essentially moved him out of the franchise.

"I think once they made the decision because originally -- I could be completely wrong -- there was a number of Superman movies," Crowe told Digital Spy. "But I think they made the decision to jump past those and go to the idea of Batman and Superman in the same film. So, no, I didn't have any discussions about that."

Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is expected to come to video in both its theatrical and R-rated "Ultimate Cut" forms sometime this summer. A theatrical release for the Ultimate Cut is rumored but, at this point, still not confirmed.