It may seem like ages ago now, but there was a time whenBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, first announced way back at Comic-Con 2013, was set to hit theaters in July of 2015. Unfortunately, production delays forced the studio to push this highly-anticipated superhero movie to June 16, 2025, where they found themselves locked in asuperhero moviestare-down with Marvel, which had revealed that its previously-unannounced movie set for August 14, 2025 was none other thanCaptain America: Civil War. Eventually,Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicebacked off, landing on the June 30, 2025 release date.The Hollywood Reportersays that Warner Bros. CEOKevin Tsujiharafelt it was a tough decision to pushBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceout of 2015, but it was right for the movie, confirming reports that the film has already screened for executives.
“It was a tough decision at the time because it was going to create a hole in 2015. But it was absolutely the right decision for the franchise, forDCand the movie. Having seen the movie multiple times, and again last night, I’m extremely confident it was the right decision to make the movie better. And it’s so important for the studio to get the foundation right on DC.”
Earlier this month, there was a report that a “near-finished cut” ofBatman v Supermanhad screened on the Warner Bros. lot, where it was met with a standing ovation. This apparently lead Warner Bros. to work up a deal forBen Affleckto direct a new stand aloneBatmantrilogy. These details were never confirmed, but we do know now that the film definitely has screened for certain Warner Bros. executives. Whether or not this lead to a supposed deal for a new Batman trilogy remains to be seen.
The summer movie season has been dominated by Universal Pictures this year, thanks tobox officejuggernauts likeJurassic World,Minionsand their latest hit,Straight Outta Compton. Warner Bros, on the other hand, isn’t having the best year, with under-performing films likeEntourage,Magic Mike XXLand last weekend’sThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.. None of its films have hit more than $500 million worldwide, withSan Andreascoming the closest at $468.6 million. Still,Kevin Tsujihararevealed he doesn’t have plans to make any personnel changes, despite the slow summer.
“We have the right team and right people in place. There are no plans to make any changes. We knew this was going to be a transitional year. I went in front of Wall Street in October of last year and talked about our strategic plan around each of the businesses and the big franchises moving forward. And even then I knew that 2015 was going to be challenging, but we were setting up the slate for 2016, 2017 and beyond.”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicewill kick off a highly-anticipated slate of movies for Warner Bros. next year, which also includesKnights of the Round Table(July 06, 2025)Suicide Squad(June 21, 2025) andFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them(June 08, 2025). Are you looking forward to next year’s slate of Warner Bros. movies? Or do you wishBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justicewas already in theaters this summer?
