This announcement has been a long time coming, however what better place to reveal that we’ll be seeing Batman and Superman sharing the screen than San Diego Comic-con, the crown jewel of the convention season.
‘Man of Steel’ has been a big success, generating revenues at the box office of over six hundred million worldwide, a sequel was a given after reaching numbers like that. Yet while we knew there’d be more Superman films, and that ‘Man of Steel’ included hints at a wider DCU (the Wayne Enterprises satellite), a persistent cinematic DCU has now been confirmed.
Zack Snyder revealed in San Diego that his ‘Man of Steel’ sequel will feature Batman, this announcement was quickly followed up with a formal statement from Warner Bros.
On the heels of the worldwide success of Man of Steel, director Zack Snyder is bringing together the two greatest Super Heroes of all time —Batman and Superman —for the first time on the big screen.
The current hit, Man of Steel, has taken in more than $630 million at the worldwide box office to date, and climbing. Along with its star, Henry Cavill, the upcoming film brings back Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane. The new Batman has yet to be cast.
Snyder is co-writing the story with David S. Goyer, who will then pen the screenplay. Production is expected to begin in 2014, with an anticipated release date in Summer 2015.
David S. Goyer of course was involved with both the recent Dark Knight trilogy, and the new Superman film, he seems to have found a home on DC film projects for now. Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy however looks like it will exist just to the side and independently of this new cinematic DCU with the search for a new actor to portray Bruce Wayne/Batman no doubt already underway.
Christopher Nolan’s influence will now be limited to an executive producer role on the new film, though hopefully his interpretation of Batman will still be influential in what is increasingly looking like an effective reboot of the character.
Looking beyond these two lead characters, also coming from San Diego are rumours of a Flash film for 2016 and a Justice League film in 2017. Nothing formal seems to have emerged on those projects, for now it’s all about Superman and Batman.
Both of these characters have appeared multiple times together in DC comics, being dubbed the ‘World’s Finest’ superhero team the pair have also found themselves at odds on many occasions. We’ll just have to wait and see where Snyder is planning on taking things however there might be a subtle hint from his comic-con panel given that the film announcement was made via reading a passage from Frank Miller’s ‘The Dark Knight Returns’.
Those familiar with the book, would know it contains one of the most significant, and influential Batman/Superman brawls of all time!
Let us know what you think of seeing Batman and Superman on screen together, and if you’re excited at the idea of a persistent DC cinematic universe.
