In Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” The Joker says, “This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.” In this instance, DC Films is your unstoppable force, making Marvel Studios the immovable object. Over the next six years, these two comic giants will battle on the silver screen, according to numerous sources, including Cinema Blend and Variety. So let’s take a look at what each company has to offer, starting with the squad that has already been around the block a few times: Marvel.
Since the 2008 release of “Iron Man,” Marvel has dominated the superhero movie scene, even though Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy grossed over two and a half billion dollars for Warner.
Starting next summer, Marvel will release 11 films through 2019. The first of these will be the highly anticipated sequel to “The Avengers,” titled “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” slated to come out next May. The entire cast from the first film will return, minus Loki (Tom Hiddleston). That means we will see Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and the rest of Earth’s mightiest heroes team up once again. The original team will be joined by War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany) and the brother/sister team of Pietro and Wanda Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen), also known as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. The Avengers will face off against Ultron (James Spader), an almost indestructible robot whose powers include superhuman strength, flight and the ability to fire bolts of pure energy. Ultron is one of Marvel’s most formidable villains, and it will take all of the Avengers’ combined might to take him down.
The second “Avengers” will be followed by the release of “Ant-Man” next July, which will be the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (M.C.U) Phase Three. Phase One started with “Iron Man,” and Phase Two began with “Iron Man 3.” “Ant-Man” will tell the story of inventor Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D. The film will also introduce us to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), who will replace Pym as Ant-Man, a superhero with the ability to decrease in size while increasing in strength. They will team up to stop Pym’s former protege Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), who becomes the villainous Yellow Jacket.
“Captain America 3” will be presented in 2016 and show audiences what Cap has been up to since “Age of Ultron.” Last week, Marvel announced that Downey Jr. would join the cast and that the fabled Civil War storyline would be brought to the big screen. In this story, the U.S government introduces the Superhuman Registration Act which will force all powered individuals to register with the government, reveal their secret identity and undergo training. Iron Man leads the pro-registration side, while Captain America leads the opposition.
July 2016 will introduce fans to “Doctor Strange,” a former neurosurgeon who becomes the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said in an April 2014 interview with Empire that the film would be the “doorway” to the supernatural side of the M.C.U.
The following year, Marvel has two unannounced films coming out, along with “Guardians of the Galaxy 2” on July 28, 2017, 2018 and 2019 will bring three more untitled films from Marvel.
Meanwhile, DC has just jump started its cinematic universe under the guidance of Nolan, “Man of Steel” director Zack Snyder and scribe David Goyer. “Man of Steel” rebooted the Superman story with Henry Cavill playing the Man of Tomorrow. The film that will introduce fans to the majority of the Justice League with “Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice” will be released in 2016. Cavill’s Superman will share the screen with a plethora of important DC characters, including a new Batman in Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot’s portrayal of Wonder Woman and Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor, with Snyder returning to direct. While there are still many questions regarding the choices for those important roles, those have been quelled due to the announcement of their 14 film slate through 2020.
Later in 2016, DC will release “Suicide Squad,” which is a team of super villains that runs a series of high risk black ops for the U.S government in exchange for shorter prison sentences. This might be a bit problematic considering Warner Brothers and DC have not yet tapped a director or writer, not to mention picking a cast. Hopefully the DC brain trust can resolve this problem rather quickly so they can stay on track.
DC’s version of 2017 will present the standalone Wonder Woman film, where Gadot is slated to return as the Amazonian princess. Nov. 17, 2017 will bring comic book fans the great kahuna: Justice League will make its big screen debut. With Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman already in place, the film will give larger roles to Aquaman (Jason Momoa), the Flash (Ezra Miller), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and potentially Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern. Snyder will once again direct, and Brainiac has been rumored as the most likely choice for villain.
The Flash and Aquaman solo films, with Miller’s Flash showcased on Mar. 23, 2018, and Momoa’s Aquaman returning to rule the oceans on July 27, will be released in 2018. “Shazam” is slated to come out on Apr. 9, 2019 with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson playing Black Adam, the film’s primary antagonist. The second Justice League film will come out in the middle of the summer on June 14, 2019 where Darkseid is rumored to be the villain. 2020, which was the final year announced, will see two more solo superhero films released. Fisher’s Cyborg will get his own story on Apr. 3, while Green Lantern will get its own reboot on June 19. Furthermore, DC has four more film projects that weren’t given release dates: “Sandman,” which is a Neil Gaiman comic being adapted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt; “Justice League Dark,” which features darker heroes like John Constantine and Zatanna, and is reportedly being developed by Guillermo del Toro; and untitled Batman and Superman standalone films due to come out in the near future.
While Marvel’s plan is mostly unknown over the next few years, DC has boldly announced to the public when they are going to release each film. It’s a gamble that could either work beautifully or blow up in the companies’ faces if they aren’t prepared. Be ready for the rise of the superhero movie to continue over the next few years. Chances are, DC and Marvel will continue to battle over the hearts and minds of comic fans around the world.
Jordan Llanes can be reached at Jordan.llanes@theminaretonline.com.