'Batman V Superman' Shifts Release Date (Again); Plus Warner Bros. Unveils Plan To Add Eleven DC Comics-Based Movies To An Already Crowded Marketplace

Can 'Batman V Superman' kickstart a Marvel-like run for DC?

The marketplace for superhero movies just got more crowded as Hollywood reaches out its hand for every dollar in the wallets of comic fans.

Warner Brothers announced this week that they would be moving Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, their follow-up to Man of Steel, from May 6, 2016 to March 25, 2016. This was expected, as May 6th is the date Marvel Studios will release Captain America 3.

Review: "Guardians of the Galaxy"

In a perfect world, Marvel Studios would be thrilling us with their own versions of Spider-man, Fantastic Four, and X-Men, combining them into the same incredible onscreen world as The Avengers. Unfortunately, the rights to those other characters are tied up at competing studios (X-Men and Fantastic Four with 20th Century Fox, Spider-man at Sony), thanks to deals that were made long ago. Not having those characters in their cinematic stable forced Marvel to get creative, to reach into the not-so mainstream corners of their comics for characters and stories with cinematic potential. And it seems those limitations have turned out to be a benefit to the studio. Because if that "perfect" world existed, Marvel might not have had the creative or financial need for a movie about a strange band of alien misfits known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, and moviegoers would be all the poorer for it.