Since 2013, Warner Bros has already released three films under the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and they are “Man of Steel,” “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and “Suicide Squad.”
Of the three films, “Man of Steel” made the least in the box office with $668 million. “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” made $873 million while “Suicide Squad” raked in $720 million.
There were reports saying that because each movie cost more than $225 million to make, Warner Bros apparently placed the sequel to “Man of Steel” in the backburner, which came off as a surprise to many fans and critics.
Critics believe that Warner Bros decision to relegate Superman to the back of the herd was not a good one given the popularity of the Man of Steel and his importance in the DC canon, reports the Cheat Sheet.
With recent reports saying that “Man of Steel 2” is now in active development, it seems that Warner Bros has come to its senses on the overall importance, not to mention the popularity of Superman in the DC universe.
The most positively reviewed DCEU film
In addition to Superman’s pull and clout in the DC universe, Warner Bros also had to rethink its decision when “Man of Steel” turned out to be the most positively reviewed film in the DCEU thus far with 55% compared to 27% for “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and 26% for “Suicide Squad.”
In a recent disclosure, Amy Adams, who plays Lois Lane in the DCEU, said that Warner Bros is now in the scripting stages for “Man of Steel 2,” reports the Screen Rant.
Adams said that she just read about “Man of Steel 2” from the press and that a lot of times, she finds out after the fact, which is completely normal for her. She, however, confirmed that she knows that Warner Bros is working on a script and the movie is in the works.
While no concrete release date has been announced yet for “Man of Steel 2,” DC has two unclaimed slots on their release calendar: October 25, 2018, and November 1, 2019.
As many have pointed out, neither of those dates make much sense for “Man of Steel 2” considering they’re not summer releases and fall releases are generally reserved for Oscar contenders or “Star Wars.”
The important thing to look at is the year: 2018 and 2019. Of those two years, 2019 looks most likely given that a 2018 release would mean the film would have to go into production pretty much now. Even 2019 could be pushing it, but if Warner Bros is just moving into active development it seems to make sense for the timeline.
Addressing the complaints
Warner Bros is now aware of the complaints about Superman in “Man of Steel” and is determine to fix them. Apparently, the production company now believes that Superman is a top priority for the studio and getting the character right for audiences is of utmost importance.
Reports also have it that Warner Bros took too long to decide for “Man of Steel 2” because the first movie was completed with a huge budget of $225 million.
It went on to generate a respectable $668 million showing in the global box-office, which netted for Warner Bros a profit of $443 million, which is certainly big money in any language.
Given that the DCEU has already begun after “Man of Steel,” it is likely that Warner Bros will spend more than $225 million in producing the sequel which was the main reason why there was a sort of hold-up in the decision of the production company.