DC Comics
Sounds like someone over at Warner Bros. just got a cool new calendar and is pretty keen to get it filled up. The studio has announced a slew of thirteen release dates that will take it – and their growing DC-centric series, which account for nine of these dates – into the next six years. Do you hear that sound? It’s the noise that a thousand Marvel calendars make when they all get flipped open at once. It’s okay, guys, while Warner Bros. appears to be going all-in on this DC stuff, these new dates don’t directly conflict with any planned Marvel properties.
It’s a smart move from the studio, which has apparently allowed Marvel to take over dates in early May, July and November while sticking their films into slots that run the gamut from the middle of June to early April and beyond. Memorial Day also appears to be the studio’s new stomping ground, but only for a pair of animated features that, if they pan out in the way we think they will, won’t have much other competition anyway. Let’s take a look:
First up, yesterday also brought us the news that Warner Bros. has moved their Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice feature from its original release date of May 6, 2016 to March 25, 2016. After Marvel put their own Captain America 3 on that very same May release date, it was speculated that someone would have to move. It’s just too many superhero movies! Shots fired! Everybody duck!
Pushing Batman v Superman is a fine move, it had to be done, and it means that the blockbuster summer season has now moved all the way back to March, because this is all madness. It does, however, also hint that another newly-announced DC film might have a little something to do with the new feature, simply because the dates are too similar. Are we going to be getting another Batman and Superman film on March 23, 2018? Well, studios do like their “traditional” release dates, and it’s the only March date that was included on this new list. Only time will tell.
Boxoffice Mojo has provided us with the full list, and it’s got enough information to keep us buzzing for awhile:
- Untitled DC Film – August 5, 2016
- Untitled DC Film – June 23, 2017
- Untitled DC Film – November 17, 2017
- Untitled DC Film – March 23, 2018
- Untitled Animated Film – Memorial Day 2018
- Untitled DC Film – July 27, 2018
- Untitled WB Event Film – November 16, 2018
- Untitled DC Film – April 5, 2019
- Untitled Animated Film – Memorial Day 2019
- Untitled DC Film – June 14, 2019
- Untitled DC Film – April 3, 2020
- Untitled DC Film – June 19, 2020
- Untitled WB Event Film – November 20, 2020
The pair of untitled animated films – set to arrive on Memorial Day 2018 and 2019, respectively – are already believed to be part of their burgeoning LEGO franchise, although only one of them is understood to be part of the LEGO Movie franchise. Wait, what? The first LEGO Movie sequel is already set to arrive on May 26, 2017 (the Friday of Memorial Day weekend), with a LEGO: Ninjago spin-off coming on September 23, 2016. The Hollywood Reporter shares that the 2019 date could feasibly be for a third LEGO Movie, uh, movie, with the 2018 date going to a second Ninjago feature. There, that’s two out of the way.
But what about those “event films”? First of all, burn to the other “non-event” films, Warner Bros. Ouch. Over at /Film, they’re betting that those films are a pair of Harry Potter spinoffs from the new Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them series. The November dates are in line with the release date for the first prequel – November 18, 2016 – and fits in with the studio’s desire to make them “megamovies.” Megamovies, events? Potato, potahto.
With nine DC titles on the list, that leaves a lot of room for speculation. One of them will surely be the Justice League film, and it seems fair to assume we’ll be getting at least a third Superman film for trilogy purposes. But what else? More standalone Batman films? A Wonder Woman feature? Is a second Justice League film already on this list? We’ve heard rumors of a Sandman feature, a Shazam film, a possible Aquaman spinoff, even a Justice League Dark. That’s a lot of moviemaking, but this is a huge list. There’s room.
What DC property do you want to see on the big screen?