June 14th, 2013: Man of Steel, the first film in the DC Extended Universe, a cinematic shared universe project, is released into theaters. Directed by Matthew Vaughn of X-Men: First Class fame and starring relative unknown James Wolk as Superman and Joaquin Phoenix as the megalomaniac General Zod, the film receives largely positive reviews for its fresh re-imaging of the titular character, engaging story with a strong mix of action, humor and emotional gravitas and its solid action-sequences and set pieces, earning a Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh score of 91%. The film grosses $364 million in the United States and $897 million worldwide.
July 6th, 2013: Warner Bros. announces the next film in the planned DCEU; Batman vs. Superman. Set to be released in the summer of 2015, it will feature Superman facing off against the Dark Knight due to a misunderstanding engineered by the notorious criminal business mastermind Lex Luthor. Bradley Cooper is set to play Batman, while producers eye J.K Simmons for Lex Luthor.
March 2nd, 2014: At the 86th Academy Awards, Man of Steel wins the award for Best Visual Effects and also receives nominations in Best Cinematography and Best Sound Editing.