Major announcement rumoured for Batman/Superman team-up movie!

[Paul (ral)]

http://www.batman-online.com/news/2013/7/20/a-supermanbatman-movie-for-2015-flash-justice-league-too

We COULD be due for a major announcement from WB/DC any moment now at San Diego Comic-Con!

According to both LA Times Hero Complex and The Hollywood Reporter Warners are expected to announce plans for...
...a Superman/Batman film in 2015...
...a Flash film in 2016....and...
...a Justice League film in 2017!

Warner Bros is expected to announce at its Hall H panel that Zack Snyder will direct the film as a follow-up to Man of Steel. Henry Cavill is due to return as Superman but a new actor will fill the Bat-boots (Christian Bale has indicated publicly that he has moved on from Batman)! David Goyer will write the script.

Batman and Superman first teamed-up in the comics in 1954 and a movie featuring both characters has been on WB's wish list for years now - going back to the failed attempt to bring them together in Wolfgang Petersen's 2004 Batman vs Superman.

- See more at: http://www.batman-online.com/news/2013/7/20/a-supermanbatman-movie-for-2015-flash-justice-league-too#sthash.le00ljlb.dpuf

[johnnygobbs]

Does Warner Bros' strategy strike anyone else as a total mess?  They're clearly trying to play catch-up with Marvel after the success of the Avengers set of films but they're rushing into these films.

Also, does this mean we won't get another standalone Superman film/MOS sequel?  I was hoping to see Superman up against Lex Luthor next time around.  If this is still a proper MOS sequel that just happens to feature Batman I could possibly go along with it but it's going to be hard for audiences to invest in this incarnation of Batman bearing in mind he won't be played by Christian Bale and will not therefore have had the benefit of a standalone movie establishing him prior to the team-up/JLA movies.

[BatmAngelus]

I'm actually liking this option.  It certainly makes more sense with WB's strategy than the Batman Beyond rumor. 

And while I understand the preference for setting up the rebooted Batman in a standalone first, I think it'd be interesting to introduce the new Batman through the eyes of another superhero whose incarnation audiences are already familiar with.  On the live action side, it's a new environment for the character to be presented, rather than releasing another standalone Batman movie within the next couple years that'll reboot the universe in a way that'll satisfy all audiences and won't seem too soon post TDK Rises, and avoids retreading ground we've already seen from all the previous movies, from Batman (1989) through TDK Rises.

EDIT: Confirmed. 

NEXT DC SUPER HERO MOVIE IN PRE-PRODUCTION
Director Zack Snyder Unites Superman and Batman in One Explosive New Film

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 inSummer 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."

Looks like Bale is not coming back and the "new Batman" is definitely going to be a different actor, which I'm 100% happy with.  I just tried to imagine Bale doing the "I want you to remember the one man who beat you" speech that they used in today's announcement...

[Paul (ral)]

[johnnygobbs]

I'm disappointed that there won't be another standalone Batman movie prior to the 'team-up' but I'll probably get with the project depending on the casting for Batman.  It's a shame that we probably won't see another Batman franchise now for a long while but better this than the live-action 'Batman Beyond' concept.

[BatmAngelus]

One thing I realized just now is that the new Batman, while played by another actor, will still be written by David Goyer (with Nolan possibly producing), so it will be interesting to see the differences and similarities between Goyer's Batman in the Nolan trilogy vs. Goyer's Batman here.

[thecolorsblend]

Does Warner Bros' strategy strike anyone else as a total mess?  They're clearly trying to play catch-up with Marvel after the success of the Avengers set of films but they're rushing into these films.

No they're not. Precisely the opposite, in fact. If they were chasing Marvel, they would have announced Justice League of America as the next thing. They haven't. I've said for a long time that if WB wants to avoid being unfavorably compared to Marvel, they should do Superman, then Batman/Superman, then maybe Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman or else directly to Justice League of America. The middle step makes a big difference. I approve of doing things this way so long as there's not some retarded scene where Batman beats Superman up.

Also, does this mean we won't get another standalone Superman film/MOS sequel?

No. It just means we won't get one right now.

I was hoping to see Superman up against Lex Luthor next time around.

You have three Superman films, one Singerman film, two seasons of STAS, one season (and change) of Lois & Clark and seven seasons of Smallville if you want that.

If this is still a proper MOS sequel that just happens to feature Batman I could possibly go along with it but it's going to be hard for audiences to invest in this incarnation of Batman bearing in mind he won't be played by Christian Bale and will not therefore have had the benefit of a standalone movie establishing him prior to the team-up/JLA movies.

Batman is a name brand unto himself right now. The excitement and interest will be seeing Batman and Superman on the screen together.

One thing I realized just now is that the new Batman, while played by another actor, will still be written by David Goyer (with Nolan possibly producing), so it will be interesting to see the differences and similarities between Goyer's Batman in the Nolan trilogy vs. Goyer's Batman here.

That same thing occurred to me a while ago too. You'd think Goyer would want to throw in a few things that will deliberately separate the MOS Batman from Nolan's. There are a few ways to do that but in my mind the most obvious way is a different costume and a few lines of dialogue that contradict BB.

[BatmAngelus]

You have three Superman films, one Singerman film, two seasons of STAS, one season (and change) of Lois & Clark and seven seasons of Smallville if you want that.

There's also still the possibility that Lex will be the villain, as I doubt Batman will hold the villain status in this sequel.  Plus, having Lex and Bruce in the same film makes sense as they're both big corporate businessmen with ties to Clark/Superman and it would be interesting to see their contrasting views on this "alien who's come to help us."  They'll likely have some opinion of what happened in Smallville and Metropolis as well.

That same thing occurred to me a while ago too. You'd think Goyer would want to throw in a few things that will deliberately separate the MOS Batman from Nolan's. There are a few ways to do that but in my mind the most obvious way is a different costume and a few lines of dialogue that contradict BB.

Agreed.  If they bring back MOS's Michael Wilkinson as the costume designer, I'll be pretty pumped to see what he comes up with as I thought his Nite-Owl costume in Watchmen was one of the best Batsuits in live action (without intentionally being a Batsuit).

Aside from a different actor and Batsuit, having dialogue contradicting the Nolan trilogy is another easy way to differentiate it.  Plus, who knows how much of the Batman supporting cast we'll see.  While I doubt they'll bring in Robin or any costumed character from the Bat-family, my money's on us seeing a new Alfred.  Someone younger than Michael Caine (and closer to the comic look) would be another easy way to separate it.

[thecolorsblend]

Agreed.  If they bring back MOS's Michael Wilkinson as the costume designer, I'll be pretty pumped to see what he comes up with as I thought his Nite-Owl costume in Watchmen was one of the best Batsuits in live action (without intentionally being a Batsuit).

If we get a Nite-Owl inspired Batman costume, I almost don't care what else goes right or wrong for the rest of the film; that alone would be awesome.

Aside from a different actor and Batsuit, having dialogue contradicting the Nolan trilogy is another easy way to differentiate it.  Plus, who knows how much of the Batman supporting cast we'll see.  While I doubt they'll bring in Robin or any costumed character from the Bat-family, my money's on us seeing a new Alfred.  Someone younger than Michael Caine (and closer to the comic look) would be another easy way to separate it.

I think an actual Batmobile would help too. He could drive a fixed up Lamborghini Veneno or something. You could make it work. And hey, Ben Kingsley could play Alfred. Haven't we all dreamed about that?

[BatmAngelus]

I think an actual Batmobile would help too. He could drive a fixed up Lamborghini Veneno or something. You could make it work. And hey, Ben Kingsley could play Alfred. Haven't we all dreamed about that?

YES.  And yes, I'd love that!  It's not like Trevor Slattery is going to pop up in Avengers 2 or anything, so Kingsley would be free up to cross over to DC, don the tux, and grow out the moustache.  I'm picturing him serving breakfast to Bruce in his Metropolis hotel suite right now, ready with a sardonic quip...

EDIT:
I also realized that if Hans Zimmer stays on for the MoS sequel, then he'll likely having to come up with another theme for Batman, which, again, could be very interesting and lead into a future "Which Zimmer Batman theme do you prefer?" discussion.  Of course, they could just carry over the music from the Nolan trilogy, but since they're working to separate the universes, I have a feeling Zimmer's going to have to think of something new...