Superman To Share Screen With Batman In 'Man of Steel' Sequel

This summer’s blockbuster hit Man of Steel will be getting a ‘dark’ follow-up – director Zack Snyder officially announced that they will be making a sequel and it will feature the most anticipated union of superheroes: Superman and Batman. Let that sink in for a moment.

The big announcement came during the Warner Brothers Comic Con panel, where Snyder made a surprise appearance.

“Some s**t’s going to happen up here,” Snyder said when he got up on stage. And, happen, something did.

“I wanted to come up personally because I know there’s been a lot of speculation about what we’re doing, and I wanted it to come from me and say that it’s official that we’re going to do another Superman movie,” Snyder told the crowd.

Snyder teased fans that he could not reveal anything else about the upcoming movie, but that there was a clue he could give those gathered at Comic Con. Snyder then brought out Harry Lennix, who played General Swanwick in Man of Steel, to read from a piece of DC Universe literature.

“I want you to remember, Clark. In all the years to come, in all your most private moments, I want you to remember my hand at your throat. I want you to remember the one man who beat you,” Lennix read.

For those unfamiliar with the DC Comic universe, that is a direct quote from The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller – in which Superman and Batman come face to face. And, if that weren’t confirmation enough that Superman and Batman will be sharing the big screen in the Man of Steel sequel, the Superman shield was projected superimposed with the Batman logo.

Fans, not surprisingly, went crazy. But, there were also many questions left unanswered, most importantly, would Batman be the same one from Christopher Nolan’s trilogy staring Christian Bale?

In a press release following the Comic Con announcement, it was made clear that the follow up to Man of Steel would mark the debut of a brand new Batman, not yet seen onscreen.

“The new Batman has yet to be cast,” reads the press release, though Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane will all return for their Man of Steel roles.

Also returning are Snyder as director and co-writer, David S. Goyer as his co-writer and Nolan will serve as executive producer. Production is set to take place in 2014, and the studio hopes for a summer 2015 release.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong