This was bound to happen one of these days, right?
Now, after years of dancing around each other, the rival Marvel and DC cinematic universes appear ready to tangle head-to-head for the first time following the announcement that Captain America 3 is tentatively slated for a May 6, 2016 release — the very same day Warner Bros. planned to debut Man of Steel sequel Batman vs. Superman.
Ohhh…awkward.
The Hollywood Reporter uncovered this week that the previously unannounced Marvel pic penciled in for that date was Cap 3, an eyebrow-raising factoid that was also reported by other outlets like Crave movie site Cinema Blend.
Of course, Marvel announced last year that one of their films would street that date — and that bit of knowledge didn’t seem to faze Warner back in January when they announced that production delays for Zach Snyder’s hotly-anticipated flick would push the Bats-Supes faceoff from July 17, 2015 to that now infamous day in May 2016.
Well, looks like it’s Marvel’s turn to be unfazed. Earlier this week, Marvel President Kevin Fiege told Crave movie site /Film that no, Marvel wouldn’t be budging from that May 2016 date, despite the Warner announcement.
The fact that the film in question turns out to be Cap 3 is no small revelation. It’s no secret Marvel is high on the Steve Rogers business based off their early reaction to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which they’re already so happy with that they’ve re-upped directors Joe and Anthony Russo as well as screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely for Cap’s next solo adventure.
Point being: this ain’t gonna be no little Marvel film. Cap 3 promises to be as big a picture as any Marvel solo movie to date — and they already seem to be daring Warner to carry through on their plan and let these two juggernauts slug it out.
While the thought of a Cap 3–Super-Bat double-feature 26 months from now is the stuff of fan geek wet dreams, let’s remember there’s still a whole lotta time between then and now — plenty of time left for someone to blink.
And who knows? Box office for the April 4th release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier could cause one or the other to rethink their stance.
But for now, enjoy one of the most expensive games of chicken Hollywood has ever produced. This is gonna be fun…
