Excuse us while we gargle with gravel to get the appropriate announcer voice: “Lllllet’s get ready to ruuummbbllleeee!” Ring the bell that signifies the start of a superhero summer showdown, because The Hollywood Reporter has learned that it’s Steve 'Captain America' Rogers who will go up against Clark 'Superman' Kent and Bruce 'Batman' Wayne on May 6, 2016{
The first inklings of a potential release date tussle came in January, when Warner Bros. announced that the as-yet-untitled match-up between Henry Cavill’s Man Of Steel and Ben Affleck’s new Dark Knight would be flying out of 2015 and onto the May 6 date the following year. Which Marvel/Disney had already chosen for an unspecified comic-book movie.
Cut to earlier this week, when Kevin Feige was asked about the potential conflict at the Captain America: The Winter Soldier press junket. The Marvel boss was adamant that they wouldn’t blink in the face of the new competition. While Marvel isn’t going on the record as to which film will face Bats and Supes, the Reporter’s sources point to Chris Evans’ third outing.
Which would make sense: the film is already in development, with returning directors Joe and Anthony Russo working alongside writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely on ideas for the new adventure. And the company is clearly feeling confident about Steve Rogers’ future, with very positive buzz on the sequel and the likely future boost from Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Of course, one of the studios may eventually blink, but if not we could see the first real test of Marvel’s dominance and a tough opening slot for Warners’ Justice League plans... Who will survive, and what will be left of them?