Man Of Steel Merchandise Demand On Par With The Dark Knight Rises

Warner Bros. has a lot riding on the Man of Steel movie, as they hope to relaunch the Superman franchise. Success at the box office isn't the only benefit for Warner Bros., as they also have merchandise sales to look forward to. However, one of the drawbacks of a super strong man who can fly is that he doesn't need all the gadgets and vehicles that say a Batman needs. Fortunately, Warner Bros. is finding success with Superman even without all the additional accessories. According to a report in Variety, Warner Bros. already has a longer list of licensees for Man of Steel than they had for Superman Returns. In fact, the demand from retailers so far is actually on par with that of The Dark Knight Rises. Quite impressive considering that The Dark Knight Rises was the third in a series, and Man of Steel is a completely new start. In order to get around Superman's lack of a need for gadgets, Warner Bros. has reportedly partnered with Mattel to build elements of flight and strength into the toy line. Apparently, the action-oriented approach that director Zack Snyder is taking with the Man of Steel is also helping on the toy front. In addition to Mattel, Warner Bros. is also working with Lego, Rubie's Costume Co., Thinkway Toys, RC vehicles, Sideshow Collectibles, Kotobukiya, SquareEnix, Neca, Jakks Pacific, Noble Collection, Cardinal Industries, Funko, and more on merchandise. Man of Steel is scheduled to be released in movie theaters on June 14, 2013.