CAPTAIN AMERICA 3 Will Face Off Against BATMAN VS SUPERMAN In 2016

The comic book movie showdown of 2016 has been revealed, and it will be epic! The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Captain America 3 will take the May 6, 2016 spot, pitting it against the Man of Steel sequel Batman vs. Superman. The Reporter describes this move as “creating the biggest superhero box office showdown in history.” Batman vs. Superman was previously scheduled to be released on July 17, 2015 before Warner Bros. postponed its release. Earlier this week while promoting Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige stated that the then-untitled film would not be moved from the May 6 date.

However, there’s a possibility that we may not see this showdown take place. Earlier today before Captain America 3 was announced, Brazillian website Juado (via HeyUGuys) stated that the DC Comics film would open on April 28 in South America and April 29 in the U.S. This has yet to be officially confirmed, but if it’s true, this would be the third release date change for the film. It’s likely that Warner Bros. will wait to see how The Winter Soldier does before making a decision.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo are in talks to return for the third installment, and Chris Evans will return as Steve Rogers. Batman vs. Superman starts filming this month with Zack Snyder in the director’s chair, and starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne.

While this could unleash one of the greatest Marvel vs. DC battles the world has ever known (I don’t even want to think about what would happen at their midnight releases), the logical part of me imagines that one of these films might cave and change their release date. Having two high-profile superhero movies come out on the same day eats into both of their profits. If there’s one thing these superhero movies strive for, it’s massive amounts of ticket sales.

Judging by Warner Bros. previous date shift, I wouldn’t be surprised if they gave in again and moved Batman vs. Superman to April or several weeks after Captain America 3. My inner DC fan tells me that even though Batman and Superman would overwhelm Captain America at the box office, he’d put up a fight and take a lot of their money. Plus, with Marvel becoming more recognizable with general audiences, Warner Bros. will want to play it safe and not go head-to-head with an established trilogy.

Still, if this does go down, we’re looking at a full-blown fan war erupting. You thought The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises coming out the same year was bad? Oh no, this will be way worse. There might even be fisticuffs thrown. Well, maybe not that violent, but certainly a lot of name-calling and hurt feelings.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter