Warner Brothers is showing confidence in the next film from Matrix creators, the Wachowski Brothers. Variety announced today that the studio is bumping up the release date of the Wachowski’s cartoon adaptation Speed Racer, moving it forward two weeks and putting it in between some awesome competition.

Originally scheduled for a late May 2008 release, Speed Racer is now slated to hit screens on May 9th. This puts it right against Universal’s Iron Man which will open May 3rd and Disney’s Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian which opens May 16th.

It’s hard to think about movie releases a year from now, what with summer 2007 still a couple of months away, but that competition is going to be pretty fierce for 2008. Considering most of those films have barely begun filming (if even that) it’s quite a bit of posturing on the part of the studios to throw their blockbusters against each other, based solely on preliminary buzz.

Who wants to bet at least one of those films winds up with another release date before all is said and done?