It looks like May 2016 won't be a clash of the superhero titans after all: Warner Bros. has moved up the release date of Zack Snyder's "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" by more than a month. The movie will now premiere March 25, 2016 as opposed to its previous release date of May 6.
The date change avoids what at one time looked like to be an inevitable confrontation between comic giants DC and Marvel when Warner Bros. placed "Batman v. Superman's" release on the same day of Marvel's "Captain America 3." Many expected one studio or the other to budge, but Marvel Entertainment CEO Kevin Feige continued to state that Marvel would not be moving Captain America from his May 6 spot.
According to a WB insider speaking to The Wrap, Warner Bros. moved dates not only to avoid Marvel, but also because spring releases are becoming much more of a sure bet after the success of films like "The Hunger Games" and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier."
Through it all, Marvel and Feige remained adamant that the studio wouldn't be budging. In a recent interview with Empire magazine, Feige continued to say the same when asked if Marvel would movie "Captain America 3" in order to avoid rival DC's summer blockbuster.
"I continue to be all for quality entertainment for moviegoers to enjoy on weekends...If it is on the same weekend, I enjoy it slightly less," Feige said. "But we are doing what we've always done, which is sticking to our plan and sticking to our vision for the movies going forward and we have a very large vision that we're working on for 'Cap 3' and for all the threes movies and just because another movie plops down onto one of ours, doesn't mean we are going to alter that. Maybe we should, but we're not going to."
In addition to the news that "Batman v. Superman" will be coming sooner than expected, a number of untitled DC films have also secured release dates, including a yet to be announced film set to be released in 2016.
It looks like Warner Bros. and DC will be following Marvel's example by going all in on the idea of a DC Cinematic Universe, as now more than 10 DC Comic films are planned in the next six years. "Batman v. Superman," which includes Wonder Woman and is rumored to also include an appearance from Aquaman, is believed to be setting the stage for a Justice League film in the same vein of Marvel's "The Avengers."
