Warner Bros. and DC’s big Comic-Con announcement regarding a sequel to Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel leaked on the Internet via the L.A. Times several hours before the big panel in Hall H. The surprise ended up being not so much of a surprise when it became official: Zack Snyder is directing the Man of Steel sequel and Batman will co-star in the film.
The seeds for this expansion of the DC Cinematic Universe were planted in Man of Steel with numerous “Lexcorp” Easter Eggs and a “Wayne Enterprises” branded satellite making an appearance. It has been believed for the past couple years that Warner Bros. and DC would move forward on expanding their cinematic superhero world if Man of Steel was a success. It was, especially overseas, so the show will go on.
This Batman won’t be the Christian Bale Batman as seen in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. Synder will be putting his own stamp on the caped crusader. In Synder’s words, and take note of the use of the word “new:”
“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.”
Man of Steel 2, or whatever Warner Bros. will call it (World’s Finest would be ideal), will be co-written by Snyder and David S. Goyer. Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Benjamin Melniker and Michael E. Uslan are executive producing, with Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder serving as producers.
In addition to Cavill returning, Man of Steel co-stars Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane will also appear in the sequel. Batman has yet to be cast. Production will begin next summer with the film arriving in theaters in the summer of 2015.
I will be adding some additional thoughts about DC’s direction with this Batman/Superman announcement in the near future.
