EDITORIALS
Here's the Marvel & DC Comics Movie Dates So Far - Is It Too Much?
by Ethan Anderton
August 7, 2014
Just yesterday, Warner Bros. blinked in their face-off with Marvel that would have seen Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice going head-to-head with Captain America 3 on May 6th, 2016. But neither studio would have won in that scenario, so Warner Bros. made the smart decision to move the film to March 25th, 2016. Either the studio aims to start summer early, or they see what's becoming more and more obvious: blockbusters don't need to open during the summer anymore. But along with this date shift, the studio also announced a slew of new release dates for DC Comics films through 2020, adding to Marvel's future slate that runs through 2019. But is this truly exciting stuff, or just overkill? More below!
First of all, here's the complete list of films based on Marvel and DC Comics on the way:
The Avengers: Age of Ultron - May 1st, 2015
Fantastic Four - June 19th, 2015
Ant-Man - July 17th, 2015
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - March 25th, 2016
Captain America 3 - May 6th, 2016
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse - May 27th, 2016
Untitled Marvel Film (Doctor Strange?) - July 8th, 2016
Untitled DC Film - August 5th, 2016
The Sinister Six - November 11th, 2016
Untitled Female Spider-Man Universe Film - TBA 2017 (?)
Venom Carnage - TBA 2017 (?)
The Wolverine 2 - March 3rd, 2017
Untitled Marvel Film - May 5th, 2017
Untitled DC Film (Justice League?) - June 23rd, 2017
Fantastic Four 2 -July 14th, 2017
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - July 28th, 2017
Untitled Marvel Film - November 3rd, 2017
Untitled DC Film - November 17th, 2017
Amazing Spider-Man 3 - TBA 2018
Untitled DC Film - March 23rd, 2017
Untitled Marvel Film (Avengers 3?) - May 4th, 2018
Untitled Marvel Film - July 6th, 2018
Untitled Fox (Marvel) Film - July 13th, 2018
Untitled DC Film - July 27th, 2018
Untitled Marvel Film - November 2nd, 2018
Untitled DC Film - April 5th, 2019
Untitled Marvel Film - May 3rd, 2019
Untitled DC Film - June 14th, 2019
Untitled DC Film - April 3rd, 2020
Untitled DC Film - June 19th, 2020
Whew! That was exhausting. Take notice that we've included the Marvel movies that are situated at 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures as well, just so we can take full stock of how the two primary comic book companies are duking it out at the box office. Otherwise, Marvel Studios and DC Entertainment will be releasing two comic book movies every year for the next six years (so far), with DC having a leg up by venturing their schedule deeper into 2019 and all the way into 2020. This is the way Hollywood works now: staking out release dates before a project (or product as it seems) is even remotely ready for hype.
But with the lesser known comic book property Guardians of the Galaxy exceeding expectations last weekend, it appears audiences are showing no sign of fatigue, at least when it comes to Marvel Studios. On the other hand, Sony Pictures is having trouble rounding up interest in The Amazing Spider-Man universe, forcing them to shuffle some dates, and even try to strike while the iron is hot on female led action films by planning some kind of female superhero set within the confines of their shaky Spider-Man cinematic universe, not to mention their Sinister Six and Venom spin-offs. Meanwhile, DC is still playing catch-up by venturing into ensemble territory by having Batman and Superman share the big screen for the first time (with Justice League not too far behind).
Looking at this schedule, we have to wonder if this is just too much. As Sony is currently showing, planning ahead doesn't always work out, especially when your films don't perform as well as initially thought. Though that doesn't seem to be a problem for Marvel Studios for now (the struggles behind the scenes for Ant-Man could prove to be a problem, but we'll find that out next year). At the same time, if fans see that the studios have a grand plan for their comic book universe, then they might be more inclined to invest in each and every film as it's released. Again, that's something that Marvel Studios has done very well.
At the end of the day, it's becoming clear that comic book movies aren't going anywhere, and audiences aren't sick of them at all. However, what studios are beginning to notice is that audiences just might be getting tired of certain heroes, and the horizon needs to be broadened a bit. The problem Sony has is they are limited to the Spider-Man comics while Marvel has a huge playground of untapped characters that they can turn into household names. 20th Century Fox doesn't quite have that issue because of how expansive the X-Men roster is, allowing them to plan tons of standalone movies, like the forthcoming Gambit spin-off, likely to bring Channing Tatum into the comic book playground.
We're on the verge of seeing Marvel and DC take the battle that once fueled comic book sales unfold on the big screen, but with much higher risks and stakes. These are multi-million dollar films, backed by endless merchandising, that might not work out, thereby throwing a wrench in any bigger plans that any of these studios may have had. This mentality of planting a flag in the future for hype is dangerous, mostly because it means too much focus is being put on an uncertain future. Do movie studios need to slow down? Do you like knowing a grand scheme coming down the road? Are you sick of comic book movies? Sound off below!
49 Comments
1
Sony just need to throw in the towel.
OfficialJab on Aug 7, 2014
2
Throw the towel back to Marvel where it belongs
prantsdagger on Aug 7, 2014
3
We want Spiderman in The Avengers already!
DAVIDPD on Aug 7, 2014
4
NOT IN the Avemgers per se ; but if you're going to situate both of them in NY , then they should meet inevitably . Team up against some world menace that uses spidey's villians to do his dirty work ..
Dominic on Aug 10, 2014
5
Flag planting with unnamed projects is dumb. That goes for both Marvel and DC.
JDubs on Aug 7, 2014
6
It's called "building up anticipation, exitment and speculation, and when shortly announced which film hits which date, huge joy" 😀
Tuomas Lassila on Aug 7, 2014
7
And they can always move things around if anything inconvenient happens.
DAVIDPD on Aug 7, 2014
8
Thanks.
Tuomas Lassila on Aug 9, 2014
9
I agree. Focus on getting the movie right, not getting it out by a deadline.
Jonathan on Aug 7, 2014
10
Onley one date I don't get! Superman VS batman? Why 2016 when it's already in production? Does it take 2 years to complete it?
Avi on Aug 7, 2014
11
masterpieces take time
Jon Odishaw on Aug 7, 2014
12
Even interstellar has a faster production slate, so very strange...
Avi on Aug 7, 2014
13
Nolan puts a new movie out every two years. Not everyone can keep up with that kind of schedule. He's got some game.
Jonathan on Aug 7, 2014
15
that's obvious when they release it in 2016!
Avi on Aug 7, 2014
16
Batman v Superman. But not any better I know.
John Parker on Aug 7, 2014
17
Maybe if it's going to have Bruce sue Kent for the partial destruction of metropolis.
John Parker on Aug 7, 2014
18
It was more of a marketing decision than it was a production choice.
DAVIDPD on Aug 7, 2014
19
Well as a huge Marvel fan, I am really excited with all Marvel, Fox and Sony plans, especially with the movie unverse concepts they are building up right now 😀 Marvel Cinematic Universe has become my personal favourate movie franchise and one of the most facinating ones there is, and Sonys reboot Spidey films so far has been really nice and show big potential for the future universe franchise as well, I'm sure Sinister Six and other spin-offs will be so much fun to follow 😀 Fox has to be my least favourate Marvel properties owning studio, but they are not doing terrible job either 😀 So if you are a big Marvel fan like me, you're going to have an exiting future 😉 Oh, and good luck DC...
Tuomas Lassila on Aug 7, 2014
20
The last two X-Men films were brilliant, IMO. Sony is definitely my least favorite studio. Spiderman films were just average at best.
DAVIDPD on Aug 7, 2014
21
I honestly like Webbs Spidey movies more than X-Men films. Sure TASM2 did fell into the "boring zone" couple times like Raimis Spider-Man 2 did for me (not a word!), but overall I found it good.
Tuomas Lassila on Aug 9, 2014
22
Too much!!
TheOct8pus on Aug 7, 2014
23
10 comic book movies in 2017, seems to be a bit much alright
Richie G on Aug 7, 2014
24
It's 2015 all over again!
DAVIDPD on Aug 7, 2014
25
Can't say if it's too much or not. If they all suck, then it's too much. If they're all amazing, then I'm cool with it. It's relative. Weird that DC is putting stuff out in March. Soon it'll be all blockbusters, all the time. I haven't NOT seen a Marvel movie in the theatre yet. My perfect Cal Ripken like streak will have to end at some point because it looks like it's gonna be fucking expensive.
Jonathan on Aug 7, 2014
26
Demasiado
Jeff Prioleau on Aug 7, 2014
27
Thank you for adding a Latino spin to this comment board
TheOct8pus on Aug 8, 2014
28
What will they do when audiences tire of these sorts of movies?
cobrazombie on Aug 7, 2014
29
I hope fantasy makes a comeback. WORLD OF WARCRAFT could make it happen.
DAVIDPD on Aug 7, 2014
30
Has people tired of Comedy movies yet? I think the Comic book trend is here to stay or quite a while.
ColtNoir on Aug 8, 2014
31
Ha! Too many, that like saying there's too many comics or video games..
John Parker on Aug 7, 2014
32
But don't worry, for every awesome superhero movie we get, we'll get the typical fast & furious, hangover, cg kids movie, torture porn, and romantic comedies we all know and love.
John Parker on Aug 7, 2014
33
OVERSATURATION. Looking at that list is terrifying. It represents billions oof dollars. People should take a look at that and think.
DAVIDPD on Aug 7, 2014
34
Mmmmmm....... Money. (Thought about it) nope, I would like my comic book movie collection to be as vast as my comic collection, or at least an animated series. Make mine Marvel.
John Parker on Aug 7, 2014
35
That's true. They certainly know what they are doing compared to DC.
DAVIDPD on Aug 7, 2014
36
If you look at all the crappy films that came out this year, the best ones were superhero movies. I'm glad Netflix is producing 4 hero TV shows. I like Agents of Shield and Agent Carter should be good, although I don't watch the crappy DC TV shows, you can get rid of those and we'd be good. Not oversaturated at all.
The Punisher on Aug 8, 2014
37
Dude Arrow is awesome. Agents of shield is pretty unfavorable compared to where you hear nothing but praise for arrow.
Yusuke Urameshi on Aug 11, 2014
38
If super low rent and boring is awesome then knock yourself out. All the Netflix shows and AoS are in the MCU and those CW shows don't have any connection to BvsS or Man of Steel. Why? Because the DC studios don't want them to.
The Punisher on Aug 11, 2014
39
Everytime I hear about AoS I hear people saying the show sucks. You've probably only watched the first episode of arrow so don't diss it. I'm not saying AoS is bad or good because I haven't seen much of it only from what I hear other people say, Pretty much everyone loves arrow. It's cool that Marvel is tying there TV shows into the movies but DC is doing it different. There keeping there movie and TV series separate. Marvel has everything planned out so they can tie everything together. We don't need DC trying to sloppily tie the TV series into the movie universe.
Yusuke Urameshi on Aug 11, 2014
40
If you haven't seen AoS YOU do not have the authority to complain about it. I watched 2 eps of Arrow because of Barrowman who was great in Doctor Who and Torchwood, but I couldn't take it. And I saw the Flash's stupid outfit and said hell no to that show. And besides AoS has Samuel motherFin' Jackson, so you should at least watch the episode before the Winter Soldier and all the eps after and then talk.
The Punisher on Aug 11, 2014
41
Did you even read my comment? I already said since I haven't seen AoS I can't say it's bad or good? I've only seen episode 1 of AoS but that doesn't give me the right to say if it's bad or good. But you're dissing Arrow yet you have only seen 2 episodes? WHAT? You don't know what you're missing out on. Season 2 was amazing and it had death-stroke who was bad-ass. I plan on watch AoS in the future to see for myself if it's good or not.
Yusuke Urameshi on Aug 11, 2014
42
We will continue this conversation after you've watched at least two AoS episodes. Later!
The Punisher on Aug 11, 2014
43
That wasn't even the point of the conversion though? I never said anything about AoS. I said that all I hear about the show is that it's a disappointment. I was just saying Arrow is an amazing series and you can't diss it if you've only seen 2 episodes. I had a problem because you called DC shows crappy and said A"get rid of them" which would be stupid as they are so good.
Yusuke Urameshi on Aug 11, 2014
44
And Gotham is going to suck as well because they already had a Gotham show without Batman. Birds of Prey.
The Punisher on Aug 11, 2014
45
u kno wshh niggas cant read past the first line
TRENT [ᴀɴɪᴍᴇɢᴀɴɢ] on Nov 26, 2014
46
I can't wait to see Untitled Marvel Film on May 3rd, 2019! Maybe it'll tie in Untitled Marvel Film from November 2nd, 2018!
TheOct8pus on Aug 8, 2014
47
I love both marvel and dc but they are totally different flavors. Marvel i feel has has more comedy in it. Dc is more dark and gritty, which I love both styles and most of the characters. That's why it's always hard for me to compare the two. I hope both continue to grow and make amazing movies. I'm not really a comic geek as much as I am into animation..... (Dc is definitely better at animation and story in that department). I don't think I will ever get tired of too many comic book movies. Does anyone else miss the rated R marvel movies (more blade anyone)? That would be a nice change up.
timnimbus on Aug 8, 2014
48
All those movies, all I wanna do is be an extra.
MisterBeasley on Aug 8, 2014
49
My eyes! Its too awesome!
Xerxexx on Aug 13, 2014
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