So Warner Bros have taken the opportunity during their time at Comic-Con to announce that their follow up to MAN OF STEEL, won’t be a full Justice League film, but a live action team up of Batman and Superman.

If, like a large number of the cinema going audiences out there you enjoyed MAN OF STEEL, then this news will probably have you jumping for joy, but for those of us who have actually read a Superman comic and have a basic understanding of the character, you might want to stop reading now. 

MAN OF STEEL director Zack Snyder will team up again with screenwriter David Goyer to script the follow up, with production set to begin in 2014 for a 2015 showdown release with Marvel’s AVENGERS 2 (with a Flash movie planned for 2016 and the long promised Justice League Movie hit cinemas in 2017).

No names have been announced with regard to who will play Batman yet, but Cavill will return as Superman, with Snyder directing and with his wife Deborah and Charles Roven producing. Christopher and Emma Nolan will serve as Executive Producers.

The logo, as debuted at Comic-Con

“Superman and Batman together on the big screen is a dream come true for DC fans everywhere,” said Diane Nelson, president of DC Entertainment. “All of us at DC Entertainment could not be more excited for Zack’s continuing vision for the DC Universe.”

Snyder said: “I’m so excited to begin working again with Henry Cavill in the world we created, and I can’t wait to expand the DC Universe in this next chapter. Let’s face it, it’s beyond mythological to have Superman and our new Batman facing off, since they are the greatest Super Heroes in the world.”

There are no story details at the moment, but given the amount of property damage caused by Superman in the first film, the smart speculation money is on a story that will see Bruce Wayne come to Metropolis to help with the rebuilding of the city, which will invariably get in the way of Lex Luthor’s bid to rebuild his city.

It’s fair to say this writer is not a fan of Snyder’s complete misunderstanding of who and what Superman is in his film, so I find the prospect of his and Goyer’s joyless “grounded” take on a Superman/Batman team up truly uninspiring, but the ticket receipts for MAN OF STEEL have proved me wrong and the news of this project seems to have been well received by the 6000 fans in Hall H at San Diego (if that’s anything to go on).

Does this show a lack of faith in Superman’s box office draw following MAN OF STEEL’s steep box office drop in its second week? Is this just Warners attempt to get the DC fans – who were let down by Snyder’s un-Superman take on the character – back onboard? Or are they just looking for a way to get some of that big AVENGERS money?

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