Last week we learned both who will be playing Batman in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel (answer: Ben Affleck) and when Warner Bros. is planning to have the film in theaters (answer: July 17, 2015) , and now it's been revealed just where and when the movie is actually planning to go into production. The Hollywood Reporter has learned that cameras are now scheduled to start rolling on the project in the first quarter of 2014 and will be primarily shooting up in Michigan - which is a state well known for giving tax incentives to film productions.
The Michigan Film Office officially announced the plans today, and in doing so gave more credence to rumors from last Friday that said the city of Detroit would be standing in for Gotham City, Batman's hometown. It's worth noting that for the Dark Knight trilogy director Christopher Nolan used both Chicago (in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) and Pittsburgh (in The Dark Knight Rises) to stand in for the fictional DC Universe city, so perhaps by using Detroit Man of Steel director Zack Snyder wants to make his version of Gotham different from what we've previously seen. Said Snyder in a statement about the shooting location,
"Detroit is a great example of a quintessential American city, and I know it will make the perfect backdrop for our movie. Detroit and the entire state of Michigan have been fantastic collaborators, and we are looking forward to working together on this film."
When you think about how long it took for Man of Steel to come together - first announced in February 2010 and released this past summer - it's impressive how quickly the follow-up is getting ready to go. Snyder and screenwriter David Goyer have probably been thinking about where the franchise would go in a sequel from the very beginning of crafting their Superman reboot, but, still, a year-and-a-half less time is fairly significant. Not to draw too many comparisons to the Dark Knight trilogy, but it should be noted that Nolan took breaks between his Batman movies to make both The Prestige and Inception, spacing the sequels out by three and four years, respectively. Here's hoping that the accelerated schedule for the untitled Man of Steel 2 doesn't wind up affecting the quality.
In addition to having Affleck on board to play Batman, Henry Cavill is signed on to reprise his role as Superman while Man of Steel stars Amy Adams, Diane Lane and Lawrence Fishburne are all set to return as Lois Lane, Martha Kent and Perry White, respectively. There isn't currently any plot information available about the film, but judging from the quote that Harry Lennix read at this year's San Diego Comic-Con and Goyer's comments in a different panel at the same event it's been logically deduced that the movie will at least begin with Superman and Batman battling as enemies rather than teaming up as friends.
(Images via DeviantArt)
