Comic book fans have loved the combination for years — and dreamed of seeing it on the big screen. And now it’s going to happen: Superman and Batman, D.C. Comic’s most enduring franchises in print and in movies and TV, will team up in a major movie set for 2015 release, The Hollywood reporter confirms:
After decades of fighting evil solo, Batman and Superman will finally be teaming up on the big screen, multiple sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter.
Warner Bros. is expected to announce at its Hall H panel that as the follow-up to Man of Steel, it is pairing two of the most recognizable superheroes in the world for a one-two punch that will be directed by Zack Snyder.
Henry Cavill will reprise his role as Superman, but it is unclear who will play Batman in the new film. A release date of 2015 has been set, with tentative plans for a Flash movie appearing in 2016 and a Justice League movie in 2017, sources said.David Goyer, who co-wrote Man of Steel, will write the script. Rumors of the team-up movie have been circulating Comic-Con for a couple of days.
Snyder’s Man of Steel, which rebooted the Superman franchise, has grossed north of $600 million worldwide since it hit theaters this June.
Batman and Superman have a long history of teaming up in the comic book universe.
Starting in 1954, D.C. published a comic titled Worlds Finest, which featured the two as best pals who joined forces.
It’s a brilliant move as D.C. comics continues in its battle against it’s main comic competitor, Marvel. It’s a battle not just for an individual move, but for embedding in the heads of new generations in a new century characters created in the 20th century that appeared in movie serials, films, and in low budget 1950s and 1960s live action TV and limited animation cartoons. Both characters leapfrogged into bigger film productions in the late 20th century and have enjoyed 21st century films that correctly embraced new special effects technology and modern film pacing.
Prediction: it will be a monster smash, even if the actual script and production are tepid — and it won’t be.
UPDATE: Here’s the Warner Brothers press release:
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 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 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.
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.”
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.