A Superman and Batman Team-Up Is Warner's Next Big DC Move

The move won't officially announced until the DC Comics panel at Comic-Con officially starts, but word has leaked that the long-fabled (and once scrapped) Superman and Batman team-up will be the company's big counter to Marvel's Avengers sequel.

Update, 4:54 p.m.: And Zach Snyder made it official during Warner's last Comic-Con presentation. (Seriously, it had a hint of Apple's "...one last thing" shtick.) Snyder confirmed Cavill will be back as Superman and that no Batman is confirmed yet. Snyder said he was searching for something he could show fans that would indicate what the movie (that is still being written, mind you) will be like when it's complete. For that, he brought out Harry Lennix to read this quote, per Slashfilm:

 “I want you to remember, Clark, in all the years to come, in all your most private moments, I want you to remember your hand at your throat. I want you to remember the one man who beat you.”

That's from the end of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, the book that has set the tone for Superman and Batman's relationship for close to thirty years. That little bit of information has comic book fans peeing their pants in anticipation already.

Update, 2:49 p.m.: The Hollywood Reporter says the Superman and Batman combo will kick-off a three year rush in DC comics movies, culminating with the debut of the Justice League. Apparently a Flash movie is slated for 2016 and Justice League will hit theaters in 2017.

Original: The move won't officially announced until the Warner Brothers panel at Comic-Con officially starts, but word has leaked that the long-fabled (and once scrapped) Superman and Batman team-up will be the company's big counter to Marvel's Avengers sequel.

The L.A. Times' Hero Complex blog reports DC Comics and Warner will announce the Man of Steel follow up this morning, slated with a release for 2015. Do you know what else comes out in 2015? Marvel's next Avengers movie, so this will likely set up a showdown for the summer between two massive heavyweights. Ali-Frazier didn't have this fire power.

Hopefully you enjoyed Man of Steel, though many did not, because they're going to reassemble the creative team to helm the follow-up: Zach Snyder will direct, with David S. Goyer handling the script. Henry Cavill will be back in the red-and-blues tights but it's unclear right now who will wear the cape and cowl. It likely won't be Chirstian Bale, so, if you'll recall the ending of Dark Knight Rises, it's a safe bet that Joseph Gordon Levitt will be prominently involved.

The bridge from one continuity to the next was already planted in Man of Steel, in case you were wondering. And Goyer has explained that Man of Steel was made so other superheroes could exist within its universe. "In our world, the 'Man of Steel' world, Zack has gone on record saying that we’re implying there are other superheroes in this world. But I don’t know that they’ve come forward yet. The idea is that Superman is the first one," Goyer told Bleeding Cool last month.

So! This kind of a huge deal, right? Superman and Batman coexisting on the screen is a fanboy's dream, obviously, but it could be seen as a little shallow after all of the teasing and promising of a Justice League movie. Cavill threw some cold water on that idea a few week ago, though, so he may have been deliberately lowering your expectations. This way DC gets two marquee names in the title and there's no need for any requisite origin stories from all of the new characters. That would have been exhausting. They can get to sniping and biting and playfully hating each other while being best friends right away.

This is actually DC's second attempt to bring Superman and Batman together in one movie. There was a previous project, before Batman Begins and even Superman Returns, when Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne were to appear together fighting bad guys in 2004. Nothing ever came of it, obviously, much to some fans' dismay.

Comic fans are also wondering which incarnation of the Batman/Superman relationship will they adopt for the new movie. DC Comics just launched a new crossover series written by Greg Pak, though it seems unlikely that story will jump to the screen so soon. Luckily there are years and years of squabbling to take inspiration from.