Batman v. Superman has moved off the May release date fight with Captain America 3 for March 2016; WB announces 11 more DC movies!
It was no secret that May 6, 2016 wasn’t big enough for two superhero movie epic events, and either Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice or Captain America 3 was going to have to blink. Well, it looks like Warner Bros. just got “heat vision” in its eyes.
In a shocking announcement, WB revealed Wednesday afternoon that Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is moving to the weekend of March 25, 2016! WB has also announced, in an approach that would do Kevin Feige proud, 11 new movies slated right after Batman v. Superman all the way until 2020! However, it should be noted that only nine of them officially are left with the Asterisk of "Untitled DC Film." Two are simply listed as "Untitled WB Event Film." If that means non-superhero fare--which given the building calendars over the next six years that might be a relief--or whether those might be the Justice League movies, remains to be seen.
The complete list of untitled release date slots is below:
Untitled DC Film – 08/05/16
Untitled DC Film – 06/23/17
Untitled DC Film – 11/17/17
Untitled DC Film – 03/23/18
Untitled DC Film – 07/27/18
Untitled WB Event Film – 11/16/18
Untitled DC Film – 04/05/19
Untitled DC Film – 06/14/19
Untitled DC Film – 04/03/20
Untitled DC Film – 06/19/20
Untitled WB Event Film – 11/20/20
The move guarantees fans will see the dawning of this justice earlier than expected, despite WB being the one to set up this head-to-head quarrel when they first announced that Batman v. Superman would be taking the first weekend of May for itself, the (then) untitled Marvel Studios slated film be damned.
And despite mostly favorable buzz on the DC superhero movie crossover—which culminated last weekend with San Diego Comic-Con’s well received Wonder Woman reveal and first footage of Ben Affleck as the Batman—the studio still moved off Marvel and Disney’s date.
This is clearly an inevitable and intelligent decision by WB, because there is simply too much money left on the table for either studio to allow these films to ever share the same weekend. And despite fan handwringing, there was obviously never going to be a real showdown between the franchises. However, it is still a surprising thing that Batman v. Superman blinked first, considering that the last two Batman movies, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, both crossed $1 billion worldwide, a feat that even the much beloved Captain America: The Winter Soldier fell short of.
In any case, the die is cast, and both studios now stand to make off like bandits come 2016. In its wake, however, Brett Ratner’s Beverly Hills Cop reboot might want to consider packing up to another location.
As to the new superhero film release calendar from WB/DC? I think it is safe to assume that along with Justice League, three of those earliest releases will likely include films for Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam. After all Gal Gadot is certainly playing the Princess Diana, Jason Momoa has all but confirmed he will appear as Aquaman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Dwayne Johnson, aka the Rock, has more than hinted he will be playing Shazam for DC in the very near future.
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, picks up after the ending of 2013’s Man of Steel as Superman (Henry Cavill) deals with the aftermath of his battle with General Zod, which leaves him still as an alien entity to many Earthlings. Inevitably, his super-status places him on a collision course with the Dark Knight (Ben Affleck). The film will also feature Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, and Diane Lane reprising their roles from the previous Superman movie. Jesse Eisenberg and Jeremy Irons have meanwhile been cast as Lex Luthor and Alfred Pennyworth, respectively. Principal photography is already underway in Michigan Motion Picture Studios, as well as in Detroit.
Also check out Everything You Need to Know About Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
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