There is a rumor that Zack Snyder’s much-anticipated Batman v Superman will be split into two movies, with Part I hitting screens this October, and Part II opening in March 2016. This is the sort of thing that gives fanboys the jitters. The rumor stems from a photo from a purported teaser trailer, one that Uproxx speculates might be tagged on to Jupiter Rising (which opens in February). EW.com reports on a non-denial denial from Warner Bros. about the veracity of the rumor. “When contacted by EW, Warner Bros. did not comment on the rumors about the movie-splitting, possibly because it’s not true, possibly because it is true, and possibly because Warner Bros. already announced like a million movies from now until 2020, so even the studio has lost track of what is and isn’t being made. In the ‘no way is it happening camp’: As Batman-News.com discovered, Warner Bros. doesn’t own the domain name BatmanvSupermanEnterTheKnight.”
There are several reasons for thinking the rumor is true. Firstly, as AintItCoolNews points out, a film focusing on a new Batman (Ben Affleck) “would allow the character to breathe before pitting him against Henry Cavill’s Kal-El, and would establish him as his own entity in this rapidly expanding universe.” Secondly, money is money, and why would a movie studio turn down the chance to make more cash by splitting the film into two? After all, Harry Potter finished his run at the cinema with a two-parter. The Hunger Games third part has been split into two. And Peter Jackson turned The Hobbit into three movies. Thirdly, given what we know about the plot, it’s so crowded with characters (Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, a possible female Robin, and a possible appearance by Aquaman) that it makes sense to split it into two to be able to tell the whole story without it feeling rushed.
