With just about seven and a half months until the highly-anticipated release of the super hero epic Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the hype machine is about to be shifted into full steam ahead. And apparently, at least according to Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara, the film is going to live up to said hype.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, on the topic of WB’s relatively weak summer and low box office returns (Hot Pursuit, Entourage, Magic Mike XXL and the most recent bomb, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. comprised Warner Bros. summer 2015 slate), the decision to push Batman v Superman back from it’s original release date of July 17, 2015 was brought up in conversation:
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, for DC and 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.
While the delay (made before production had even began) certainly bothered fans at first, with more and more details about the film coming out, the studio execs agree (and hopes audiences do too) that waiting until March of 2016 was the right decision for both the film and the franchise as a whole. By the time Dawn of Justice finally hits theaters, it will have been about two and a half years since the release of Man of Steel. While this time gap is certainly larger than any of the films in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, perhaps it was imperative, for the future success of the franchise, that DC not rush into their Cinematic Universe before they were ready.
Now, with both the release of Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad on the horizon, the production of Wonder Woman‘s solo film scheduled to begin production this fall, and the first part of Justice League slated to be released in 2017 as well as a rumored Ben Affleck-headlined Batman standalone project, it looks as if the patience Warner Bros. exercised may be paying off in the long run.
Batman v Superman: Dawn for Justice will hit theaters March 26, 2016.