It looks like there are two movie title options for the big Batman / Superman movie.
"Batman Vs. Superman" or "Superman Vs. Batman."
Really.
During the Superman 75th Anniversary panel at Comic-Con Comicbook.com reports "Man of Steel" screenwriter David S. Goyer revealed the two names.
"So over in Hall H at the Warner Bros., I guess most people know now, at the end of the Warner Bros. panel Zack came out and he brought Harry Lennix, who plays General Swanwick in Man of Steel and we –- actually, Harry read a bit from [The Dark Knight Returns] and so the next film we’re making, we’re already in pre-production, comes out in summer of 2015. We’re actually not sure whether the title is Superman vs. Batman or Batman vs. Superman but yes, it’s –- that rematch, that combination, the two guys onscreen and that’s happening."
A lot of people missed out on the news because the "X-Men: Days of Future Past" panel was taking place simultaneously.
If you head to film sites for both potential names, you'll find Warner Bros. already has registered web domains.
SupermanVsBatman.com will take you to DC's Superman page.
BatmanVsSuperman.com will take you here.
It looks like Warner Bros. may be leaning toward the latter. The studio hasn't made any comment.
The title's pretty uninspiring.
Part of the creative process behind first Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy and then Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel" was that they didn't use the generic names for the superheroes like "Iron Man" and "Hulk."
That's what set the DC universe apart at the box office from Marvel.
When Warner Bros. first considered a Batman / Superman movie — teased in 2007 — it was also aimed to be called "Batman vs. Superman."
According to David Hughes book "Tales from Development Hell," the failed "Batman Vs. Superman" project paved the way for the Nolan's trilogy.
Warner Bros. has always had a difficult time putting the right label on any project between its two biggest superheroes.
Previous 1997 animated feature film was titled "The Batman / Superman Movie," featuring the Joker and Lex Luthor as villains. Sometimes, the movie is referred to as "World's Finest"— a comic series featuring the two heroes. In 2002, comic series Superman/Batman was released. The more recent 2009 animated picture was called "Superman / Batman: Public Enemies."
Of course, we understand why Warner Bros. would lean toward such a title.
Pitting superheroes against each other sounds like box-office gold to a general audience.
You can't use the "Dark Knight" title since that's reserved to Nolan's trilogy.
And Warner Bros. can't exactly call the film "Caped Crusader Meets Son of Krypton."
The easiest way for people to identify with the film is to have the names of the two superheroes in the title. How do you do that without getting clunky?
Perhaps something like: "Batman & Superman: Gotham City Crisis" (or Metropolis) or "Batman & Superman: Blackest Night." Even "Batman & Superman: No Man's Land" makes sense.
These titles of course are presuming there's a Lex Luthor connection in the "Man of Steel" sequel — which was hinted in the film.
What do you think of the potential titles?
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