Alright, before we go any further, let me be clear that this is a rumor, and that nothing has been confirmed by anyone connected to Warner Bros. Last night, a photo appeared on popular image-hosting site Imgur, allegedly taken from a cell phone recording of the upcoming teaser trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Check it out below, along with the caption that accompanied the original post.
“I have an iPhone video of the teaser trailer (it has updated since, but close with most things), and no, I will never distribute it, but I will offer this screen shot.”
The important part is there at the bottom: according to this, the film will be split in two parts, with Batman v Superman: Enter the Knight arriving on October 23, 2015, followed by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on March 25, 2016.
As mentioned above, Warner Bros. has declined to comment on the rumor, but that isn’t stopping the internet from speculating. And it would make sense – the studio made plenty of money splitting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows into two parts, and they managed to extend The Hobbit into three installments. Batman v Superman was already poised to make a truckload of money – why not try to maximize profits?
Plus, there has already been a fair amount of apprehension over the fact that the film seems to be stuffed to the gills with too many characters. Aside from the titular superheroes, we can also look forward to Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, Aquaman, and Cyborg putting in appearances – not to mention the handful of rumored cameos. Perhaps splitting Batman v Superman into two installments will allow for some much-needed breathing room so this project doesn’t fall victim to some of the same woes that plagued other over-stuffed superhero films (I’m looking at you, Spider-Man 3 and X-Men: The Last Stand).
At any rate, we can’t ascertain the validity of this until Warner Bros. makes an announcement, or until the teaser trailer is released. Rumors suggest that the teaser will be attached to Jupiter Ascending, which opens on February 17. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: The folks over at Batman News have pointed out that Warner Bros. doesn’t own the domain for BatmanvSupermanEnterTheKnight.com – it was just purchased today by a Colorado resident. Hard to believe the studio wouldn’t have acquired that website before making this decision, so this one is looking less and less likely.