Marvel Studios and Warner Bros./DC, for a while now, have each had a big superhero movie scheduled to open in theaters on May 6th, 2016 - Captain America 3 and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, respectively. As such, it was always a given that one of the studios would eventually move their own comic book movie tentpole to a different date; what may come as a bit of a surprise, however, is that WB/DC has bumped director Zack Snyder's Batman/Superman flick up to early Spring 2016.

Batman V Superman is now scheduled to begin its theatrical release in the U.S. on March 25th, 2016, where it will face off against Beverly Hills Cop 4. More shocking, however, is that Warner Bros. has simultaneously announced release dates for nine (count 'em, nine) additional DC movies, along with two "event" films - which are seemingly not DC-related - on November 16th, 2018 and November 20th, 2020.

Below is the upcoming DC movie theatrical release date slate, as it currently stands. Batman V Superman is the only DC movie in development that has an official release date for the time being, though based on the rumored DC movie schedule that popped up online not too long ago - combined with other DC-related rumors - we can make an educated guess about what the future of DC's Cinematic Universe will look like.

  • Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice - March 25th, 2016
  • Untitled DC Film - August 5th, 2016 (Shazam?)
  • Untitled DC Film - June 23rd, 2017 (Justice League?)
  • Untitled DC Film - November 17th, 2017 (The Sandman?)
  • Untitled DC Film - March 23rd, 2018 (Green Lantern/Flash or Wonder Woman?)
  • Untitled DC Film - July 27th, 2018 (Man of Steel 2?)
  • Untitled DC Film - April 5th, 2019
  • Untitled DC Film - June 14th, 2019 (The Batman?)
  • Untitled DC Film - April 3rd, 2020
  • Untitled DC Film - June 19th, 2020

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David S. Goyer Interview - DC Movie TV Universe
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This confirmed DC movie release date schedule gels with a report from earlier this year, asserting that WB has some 11 movies based on DC comic book properties in development. It's possible that the eleventh DC film - the one that has not had a release date claimed for them - is Guillermo del Toro's Justice League Dark, which is currently stuck somewhere in the early stages of development.

As it stands, though, we know Snyder is currently shooting Batman V Superman and will direct Justice League thereafter (the latter may officially gain a screenwriter very soon); Joseph Gordon-Levitt has tentative plans to both headline and direct The Sandman and is currently working alongside screenwriter Jack Thorne on the project; Dwayne Johnson has been teasing a Shazam movie announcement arriving any day now; and Gal Gadot is reported to be contracted to do a Wonder Woman solo movie after she appears in Batman V Superman and Justice League.

Justice League Movie Aquaman Matt Damon

Beyond that, however, there are other possibilities that have been hinted at by DC personnel over the past year. Aquaman, who is all but formally confirmed to be brought to life onscreen by Jason Momoa in Batman V Superman, is seemingly being groomed for a solo movie down the line. That is, if previous comments made by such people as DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns and DC President Diane Nelson are anything to judge by. Not to mention, Aquaman is already starting to become a more prominent figure in both the DC comics and the DC animated film universe.

DC vs Marvel Movies Casts Casting Rumors

Until further notice, it now seems that we'll be getting 21 (that's right, 21) new comic book movie adaptations and/or superhero films combined from Marvel Studios and Warner Bros./DC, on through to 2020. That's not to mention, the plethora of comic book-inspired TV shows arriving in the near future (Agent Carter, Constantine, The Flash, etc.) and developing comic adaptations from Sony - which continues to take steps towards putting together a Spider-Man Cinematic Universe - as well as 20th Century Fox's next wave of X-Men and Fantastic Four movies.

Is that too much? It's certainly possible (some would argue it's a given), but so long as these comic book projects continue to diversify and branch out to incorporate multiple genres and/or artistic flavors - see, for a timely example, how Guardians of the Galaxy blends superhero tropes with cosmic adventure elements and director James Gunn's indie cinema quirk - then we think that the future will be bright for geeky cinema.

Source: Warner Bros.