COMICS PORTAL: Even More Comic Movies Coming!

First off, let me weigh in on whether Marvel “defeated” DC recently when Warner Bros. moved Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice to March 25, 2016. Personally, I appreciate that this took place because it means the fans are the winners – we get to enjoy one comic-related film on May 6 since now the third Captain America film will be the only one debuting then. Phew!

If it EVER happens again that two comics-based movies are up against each other, I’ll give kudos to whoever prevents that from taking place! I’d be just as happy about May 6 if Marvel had done the “blinking.” So there!

I have to say that I was also fascinated by the scheduling of more films that will feature comics heroes/characters in the next several years. I was confused by having two separate lists, so here’s how things stand right now regarding the Marvel and DC films:

2015
May 1: Marvel: Avengers: Age of Ultron
July 17: Marvel: Ant-Man

2016
March 25: DC: Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice
May 6: Marvel: “Captain America 3” (Not Yet Officially Titled)
July 8: Marvel: Unnamed Film
Aug. 5: DC: Unnamed Film

2017
May 5: Marvel: Unnamed Film
June 23: DC: Unnamed Film
July 28: Marvel: Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Nov. 17: DC: Unnamed Film

2018
March 23: DC: Unnamed Film
May 4: Marvel: Unnamed Film
July 6: Marvel: Unnamed Film
July 27: DC: Unnamed Film
Nov. 2: Marvel: Unnamed Film

2019
April 5: DC: Unnamed Film
May 3: Marvel: Unnamed Film
June 14: DC: Unnamed Film

2020
April 3: DC: Unnamed Film
June 19: DC: Unnamed Film

Rumor has it that DC may include films on Shazam, Sandman, Justice League, Justice League Dark, Wonder Woman and a Flash/Green Lantern team-up, not to mention Man of Steel 2. Could there also be another new Batman series of movies coming as well?

On the other hand, Marvel’s motion pictures are likely to focus on Doctor Strange, the Hulk, Inhumans and Runaways, with possibly more Iron Man films (if they give Robert Downey, Jr., a lot more money).

I have to give credit to Marvel for how they’ve marketed Guardians of the Galaxy, with everything from variant covers on their recent comic releases to a great many television ads. From what I read store owners saying, Marvel books, especially those connected with the Guardians, have been moving more briskly. (Oh, and I did get to see Guardians of the Galaxy recently. I enjoyed it a lot! They threw everything at us including the kitchen sink, so it was a lot of fun!)

This is how I’ve always hoped things would work when comics-related films arrive in theaters, with this kind of support in the comics. If nothing else happens, fans/readers might get more excited and invest more of their hard-earned quatloos in the industry.

I still hope local shops will set up tables are local theaters to market their wares when these films come. I’m not sure how often this set-up makes money, but it’s a great way to advertise one’s store, seems to me. If one gave out discount coupons, it would something that could be easily tracked, I think. That way, you’d know just how much influence this kind of thing had.

If we’re really lucky, the same thing will happen with comics-connected TV shows like The Flash, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arrow and Agent Carter. Maybe titles related to those concepts will pick up in sales as well.

Still, we have a LOT of comic-related movie-going in our future, and that’s a GOOD thing as long as the quality stays high! Maybe we can all reserve our favorite seats in local theaters so we can be sure to see all these comics-related movies as soon as they come out! Hey, I can dream, can’t it?