Hot on the heels of the record-breaking opening weekend for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel Studios has officially announced the release date of Captain America 3 as May 6, 2016.Of course, Captain America will be seen on the big screen again before that, when he appears in Avengers: Age of Ultron, opening May 1, 2015.The May 6, 2016 date has been contentious. Marvel originally staked out the date, but didn’t name the film that would be opening. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. pushed Batman vs. Superman back from its original 2015 opening date to the same May 6, 2016 release date. There have been unofficial confirmations that Captain America 3 would be opening on that date, but everyone has assumed that one company or the other would reschedule. After all, two superhero film’s taking box office dollars away from each other isn’t really good for either side. With this official announcement from Marvel Studios, however, it does seem like they are pushing this game of release date chicken forward, if just a bit.No plot details for Captain America 3 have emerged just yet, but Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, are attached to direct the sequel. Chris Evans will reprise his role as Steve Rogers and, though there has been no official word, I think we can safely assume that Sebastian Stan will be back as the Winter Soldier, given the length of the actor’s contract with Marvel and where we last saw the Winter Soldier on screen.Captain America: The Winter Soldier is currently in theaters.
