Barring a miraculous collapse at the box office, Zack Snyder's upcoming "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" will pave the way for Warner Bros.' "Justice League - Part I" to begin filming in April, Entertainment Weekly reports.
"The idea that we could begin to boot up a Justice League concept was a cool thing," said Snyder, who also directed the DC Extended Universe's first entry in "Man of Steel."
"It was a little bit of an 'about time' moment, and I don't blame [the studio] for feeling that way, because it's a long time coming. "But I do feel like it's a little bit of a creative hurdle. It seems like an easy thing to do at first glance, the idea that, 'Oh, we just get the rest of the superheroes in there.' But you have to [establish] a world where they can exist."
"Dawn of Justice" will feature Henry Cavill reprising his 2013 role of Superman/Clark Kent while introducing a new Batman/Bruce Wayne courtesy of Ben Affleck. Batman, having witnessed the destruction in "Man of Steel" first hand, believes the Kryptonian to be a severe threat to humanity. Along with these two titans, "Dawn of Justice" also boasts the first big screen live-action version of Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot. "Batman V Superman" will also briefly introduce other members of the Justice League such as The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). Snyder's aim is to build a bridge to the eventual two-part "Justice League" series, which promises an even greater villain.
"Justice League" will film at the Warner Bros. Leavesden studios in England in addition to other locations around London and in Iceland. Wonder Woman will receive her own standalone film in between "Dawn of Justice" and "Justice League - Part I," while The Flash and Aquaman will also get solo adventures in 2018 before "Justice League - Part II" arrives a year later.
"The studio really wants us to try and pace it up, as far as - now we have an idea where we're going," Snyder said of the DCEU release schedule.
"Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" will arrive on March 25. "Justice League - Part I" will hit theaters on Nov. 17, 2017, while "Part II" is expected to arrive on June 14, 2019.
