'Justice League' Movie to Follow 'Batman vs. Superman'
Warner Bros. is moving forward with its challenge to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the announcement of the untitled sequel to Man of Steel, known colloquially as Batman vs. Superman until Warner Bros. tells us differently, comes the announcement of plans to follow the 2016 superhero blockbuster with a big-screen Justice League movie in 2018.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Warner Bros. production president Greg Silverman confirmed that Zack Snyder will be taking the helm, directing a Justice League movie that will hit theaters in 2018, teaming Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and all the non-Marvel guys you know and love. Maybe Martian Manhunter too?
“It will be a further expansion of this universe,” said Silverman. “Superman vs Batman will lead into Justice League.”
Of course, the other big takeaway from all this is that Silverman openly called the project Superman vs. Batman, and while this doesn't necessarily mean that will be the official title of the movie, it seems to indicate that at least those in the inner circle of the production are using that codename. Naturally, this would go against the habit most of the internet (myself included) have gotten into of putting the "Batman" first. Although it wouldn't be the first time the internet (myself included) ended up wrong. Maybe we should have just been calling it Man of Steel 2 from the start. Or Man of Steel, But Also Others.
Warner Bros. is certainly optimistic about the project, given the high-profile nature of these characters, and the success of Man of Steel last summer. Sue Kroll, Warner Bros’s president of worldwide marketing implied that if this film is well-received, there's no reason not to, say, give Wonder Woman her own film . “That is our hope,” Kroll told the WSJ. “With the right script, that could be viable. The world is ready for her.”
WARNING: NERD RANT AHEAD
Credit: Warner Bros.
However, from a certain perspective, this creates a bit of a problem. The Avengers worked because it was the culmination of a long-gestating story with an even longer-gestating threat that ran through separate films and ultimately brought our individual heroes to a point at which they needed to team together. We got to know and love Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and Nick Fury (also The Hulk, although it was a different Hulk) through separate films. Thus, when they finally teamed up, it felt like a big deal. Like worlds colliding. But this? Superman vs. Batman will be the introduction for Ben Affleck's Batman and Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman (and also Ray Fisher's Cyborg). And then bam! Right into Justice League. There's no real sense of buildup, of worlds colliding. We didn't need to spend as much screentime on each of The Avengers because we already knew them from their own movies. But we'll have to be splitting time all over the place, building up all these characters separately to make audiences care about these specific portrayals. To put the "big team-up movie" before the "solo introductory movie" is putting the cart before the horse because you want the short-term money instead of building a more profitably, long-term franchise. Then again, it's a movie with SUPERMAN, BATMAN, WONDER WOMAN, AND OTHERS in it. So I'd have to be a moron of some kind to realistically think it's going to bomb. But my argument is that Justice League might not end up being as profitable as its Marvel counterpart. Of course, it's not like I haven't been hilariously wrong before. But then, if I am, who's even going to remember I wrote this four years from now?
Via: Wall Street Journal