DC movie marathon to air in honor of Captain Marvel’s TV premiere

Superhero movie premieres tend to be big gets for cable networks hoping to catch the eye of the dwindling-but-persistent channel surfing audience. So nabbing the rights to a Marvel or DC comic book premiere is worthy of some fanfare. Which is why, on Wednesday, TNT announced that it would have the honor of airing the television premiere of Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. ET. But that wasn’t all: To pull out the stops for its big exclusive, the network announced it would also program a huge comic book movie marathon. Just not Marvel titles. Instead, all weekend long in the lead up to the premiere, TNT will air DC movies like Justice League, Suicide Squad, Batman Begins, Wonder Woman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Man of Steel. Is this the most epic troll in television history or an admission by WarnerMedia (owner of TNT) that the DC movie universe needs to siphon off Marvel’s energy to survive? There’s no editorial clarity in TNT’s announcement — this is just what it’s doing, because those are the movies it’s got, I guess. Either way, I gasped. Not only do DC and Marvel both have characters named Captain Marvel — and the stories behind both are fascinating comics history — but the two now feel linked in an even more diabolical corporate move, albeit one that, admittedly, does not matter and that I may forget by the time the premiere rolls around on the Jan. 10. But for this split-second, consider this comic book movie #fan in awe of the audacity to program a weekend of nonstop Justice League content in the lead up to a Marvel movie that made nearly $250 million more than the ultimate throwdown promised by Batman v Superman. Damn! What the hell!

Here’s the marathon schedule

Justice League Friday, Jan. 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET and Saturday, Jan. 9 at 5:30 p.m.ET

Suicide Squad Friday, Jan. 8 at 10:30 p.m. ET and Saturday, Jan. 9 at 3:00 p.m. ET

Batman Begins Saturday, Jan. 9 at 12:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. ET

Wonder Woman Saturday, Jan. 9 at 8:00 p.m. ET and Sunday, Jan. 10 at 5:00 p.m. ET

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Sunday, Jan. 10 at 11:00 a.m. ET

Man of Steel Sunday, Jan. 10 at 2:00 p.m. ET

Captain Marvel, obviously Sunday, Jan. 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET

  Source: polygon.com