Warner Brothers will be following up the success of this summer’s Superman epic Man Of Steel with having the Man of Tomorrow meet their other big box office superhero star, Batman, in 2015.
Rumors of the announcement began swirling earlier today and were finally confirmed at the Warner Brothers panel this afternoon. Also rumored, though unannounced at the panel were a film featuring the speedster The Flash for 2016 and a Justice League film in 2017.
As noted in the official press release below, Man Of Steel director Zack Snyder, writer David Goyer and producer Christopher Nolan will all be returning for the Superman/Batman film as well as star Henry Cavill. Christian Bale will not be back to reprise his role as Batman from the blockbuster Nolan-directed trilogy of films, having repeatedly stated that he was done with playing the superhero.
In 2002, director Wolfgang Peterson had been developing a Batman Vs Superman film with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker, but even after some rewrites by Akiva Goldsman the studio put the project on hold in favor of Nolan’s first Batman film.
As has been expected for some time, Warners is clearly looking to build a cross-franchise, shared universe similar to the one Marvel Studios has built with their comic book characters over the last five years. Previously, it was rumored that the studio was looking for a 2014 release for a Man Of Steel sequel with a Justice League film targeted for 2015, though most, including myself, regarded that schedule as perhaps a bit too ambitious to be reasonable. But man is it exciting to see that they finally have their act together with a plan to bring their popular heroes to the big screen.
And I would like to point out that this movie has the potential to introduce us to a cinematic version of Batman we have not seen before. In all of the Caped Crusaders film appearances, he was the soul focus of the story and we saw things basically through his eyes. But this time, we have the opportunity to see Batman through the eyes of another, Superman. If Snyder and the rest capitalize on this, I am sure that there could be some interesting results.
BURBANK, CA, July 20, 2013 – On the heels of the worldwide success of “Man of Steel,” director Zack Snyderis bringing together the two greatest Super Heroes of all time—Batman and Superman—for the first time on the big screen. The announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, and Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution,Warner Bros. Pictures.
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 upcomingfilm 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.
Silverman stated, “Zack Snyder is an incredibly talented filmmaker, but beyond that, he’s a fan first and he utterly gets this genre. We could not think of anyone better suited to the task of bringing these iconic Super Heroes to the screen in his own way.” Kroll added, “We are thrilled to be back in business with Zack and his team on this next movie. The success of ‘Man of Steel’ is a wonderful testament to the love and support that both fans and new audiences, worldwide, have for these characters. We are very excited to see what Zack has in store for all of us.”
Diane Nelson, President, DC Entertainment, noted,“Superman and Batman together on the big screen is a dream come true for DC fans everywhere. All of us at DCEntertainment could not be more excited for Zack’s continuing vision for the DC Universe.”
Zack Snyder, who made a surprise appearance at Comic-Con today, breaking the news to audiences there, later said, “I’m so excited to begin working again with Henry Cavill in the world we created, and I can’t wait to expand the DC Universe in this next chapter. Let’s face it, it’s beyond mythological to have Superman and our new Batman facing off, since they are the greatest Super Heroes in the world.”
The new film brings back Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder as producers. This time, Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas are serving as executive producers, along with Benjamin Melniker and Michael E. Uslan.
Thomas offered, “Whilst our ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy is complete, we have every confidence that Zack’s fresh interpretation will take the character in a new and exciting direction. His vision for Superman opened the door to a whole new universe and we can’t wait to see what Zack does with these characters.”
The film is based on Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, and Batman characters created by Bob Kane, published by DC Entertainment.
Tom Stroud liked this on Facebook.
Watching Superman trying to out-Batman Batman in his own film was bad enough. This could get messy. Fast.
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But, of course, I’m still excited. :-)
Unfortunately for this film, Zack Snyder’s used up his three strikes with me. After Man of Steel, I feel a certain obligation to not contribute to the box office of another Snyder Superman movie.