After a solid year’s worth of news, rumors and flat-out Internet BS regarding the future of the Superman franchise, Warner Brothers has decided: The Man of Steel is headed for a reboot.
As WB big-cheese Jeff Robinov explained to the Wall-Street Journal:
“‘Superman’ didn’t quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to. It didn’t position the character the way he needed to be positioned. Had ‘Superman’ worked in 2006, we would have had a movie for Christmas of this year or 2009. But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman.”
Personally, I was a fan of Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns and was anticipating his sequel (i.e. the oft-titled Superman: The Man of Steel!) Ahhh well! Nothing anyone can do about that.
I’m first and foremost a fan of the character. So let’s just hope that the studio lines up the right talent behind the camera with the right direction for Superman.
But a new concern seems to have arisen from the same article:
“Like the recent Batman sequel — which has become the highest-grossing film of the year thus far — Mr. Robinov wants his next pack of superhero movies to be bathed in the same brooding tone as ‘The Dark Knight.’ Creatively, he sees exploring the evil side to characters as the key to unlocking some of Warner Bros.’ DC properties. ‘We’re going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it,’ he says. That goes for the company’s Superman franchise as well.”
I wouldn’t worry (if at all, to be honest) towards the “dark” remarks from Robinov. They’re coming from a real high at the moment with The Dark Knight kicking so much butt at the box-office. He’s basically just talking out loud throwing out ideas.
Nothing more, nothing less.
And prepare yourself for months of 100% Grade-A B.S., folks. At the moment, there is no director nor screenwriter(s) currently working on the new Superman revival film. Nor is there a storyline or approach that everyone at WB has agreed upon.
It basically boils down to this, boys and girls. The studio knows exactly what they don’t want, and they’re working from there.
Regardless of what ultimately goes down, Superman will return to the silver screen again… eventually.
Source: The Wall-Street Journal
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69 Comments
Yah, I don’t see that happening. That is more like a fan of the show’s pipe dream. If they wanted to make a “superman” movie, it wouldn’t be cannon and it will have to be called something like “Smallville: Superman” or something corny like that so people would not confuse the two.
From what I know, they are not made by the same people and they might not have the rights to just make a Superman movie with their team right? Or maybe, they are both WB? I don’t know, haven’t really looked into Superman too much…
I’m a smallville fan and I like the idea of maybe doing a smallville movie….but not using the cast in the new superman movies. I think that they should keep the same cast as in superman returns……But a separate smallville movie….possibly made for TV only….would be cool.
790, better late than never :p, to answer your question regarding Superman’s worst (or best) alien nemesises, I’d have to say:
1. Brainiac – Lex luthor is the human antithesis of Superman; he’s everything Clark kent isn’t. Brainiac is the alien antithesis of Superman; he’s everything Kal El isn’t. With Brainiac, everything is about knowlege. Knowlege is power. With each world he comes across and destroys, he first takes all of it’s knowlege and a small piece of it, including a specimen of the world. (see Superman: the animated series episodes “Last Son of Krypton” parts 1 – 3 and “Stolen Memories”, I also suggest checking out the latest issues of Action Comics for a great read on Brainiac by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, also, the animated “Justice League” episodes “Twillight” 1 – 2)
2. Darkseid – He’s the greatest threat to the DC Universe and hates Superman. There’s nothing better then a good ol’ Supes VS Darkseid brawl. Darkseid is the malevolent ruler of the planet Apokoplips, which is pretty much like hell. He’s nearly all powerful. He’s also immortal, but his defeat is prophecised to come one day at the hands of his son, Orion, in the fire pits of Apokolips. He’d make a great Superman and/or JLA movie villain. (I suggest checking out the Superman: the animated series episodes “Apokolips…NOW!” 1 – 2 and “Legacy” 1 – 2, also the animated “Justice League/Justice league Unlimited” series episodes “Twilight” 1- 2, “Alive”, and “Destroyer”.
3. General Zod and the thousands of Phantom Zone criminals (among them Ursa, Non, Jax Ur, and Mala of course) – Superman 2 was pretty good, but for a REALLY good Zod smackdown, checkout Geoff Johns’ and Richard Donner’s “Last Son” 4 part Action Comics trade. It’s a realy great read and the Zod I’d want to see on screen.
(sorry for the messy post)
I say scrap Lex Luthor and leave him on that tiny island he got stuck on with Kitty. I say get a new Lois Lane ’cause this chick who played her didn’t do her justice. And that wig she had on was killing me. The whole kid thing is not too bad but don’t concentrate on it too much in the next movie. Yes, please choose an actual villain like General Zod. I know that Lex Luthor might be so smart that he can somehow get Superman to crash, but he’s still only human. And they should try using red kryptonite. I’m not into comic books because as good as they might be, I was never itroduced to them but I did fall in love with Superman from the movies and I am a fan of the Smallville series, and they’ve played the red kryptonite in at least one episode. But make it seem big. In the show, all red kryptonite did was make Clark go to Vegas and get hitched, which is stupid, but in the movie, they can really mess Superman up with that. In which maybe they can play with the whole new “dark” story.
A reboot of Superman might be interesting, but dark side? Supes has a dark side? The character doesn’t work as a dark, brooding anti-hero.
Instead, they should attack the problem by showing how much of a misfit he is. He’s basically a god walking around in a world of lesser beings. Normal people and their governmants might not like the idea of such a guy hanging around.
Here’s the trick. While I personally hate reboots, find them confusing, lacking imagination(like 98% of the drivel hollywood turns out these days) and utterly dispicable, I think this is one franchise(along with X-men thanks to Brett Ratner and his Last Stand) that definitely could use it. I mean, the Hulk was a great example of a reboot that worked. The original didn’t do anything but prove good special effects doesn’t equal an enjoyable movie, and make me want to put a hit out on Ang Lee. While the assasins are still in place, I think Louis and Ed Norton made a wonderful success in the wake of that cinematic abortion. This franchise deserves a revamp. But all this “make it darker” crap is just stupid. Superman is not Batman. I mean, that’s the point of them being two different characters. Batman was made to be the opposite of Superman after Superman’s rousing success way back when. Here’s my pitch. Do one origin, that lasts ten minutes. I mean, we’re pretty familiar with it by now, so no need to dwell, but definitely don’t just plummet straight into a reboot without some backstory. I would love to see a new actor take on Jor-El(and please let Bruce Timm do some screenwriting, as much as he’s done to revitalize the character). Maybe even feature his explanation that Braniac is responsible for the destruction of Krypton, then have Jor-El(portrayed by someone as iconic as Brando but definitely recast because Brando is, after all, dead) and have him sacrifice all to watch send his son to safety, to a place where he can stop Braniac, and protect a noble people. Once on Earth, feature Smallville as little as possible(if you really want to watch him living there, Check out the CW for friggin season 8-maybe he’ll even fly) and get straight into him knowing who he is, and what he can do. Don’t kill Pa Kent, which is a sad rip-off of Spidey’s great responsibility shtick. Let them raise him to use his powers to help others. Maybe feature him learning of his abilities all at once through one life-altering event, like saving a little girl from a train-wreck(Bruce Timm, you are a genius.) Then he goes, becomes a reporter, meets Lois, and begins to battle crime across the world. Loved the plane, lets see some more action like that(without making it seem like Lois would have to be invulnerable to survive) and then, after the first forty-five minutes, have Braniac threaten the Earth. Kal-el rises to stop him, and an epic battle ensues. When the chips are down, Braniac reveals to Kal-El he killed his father and destroyed Krypton. Then the tide turns, and Supes destroys Braniac. The film should end with Superman’s antics winning over the world, impressing Lois Lane(who is not of the gravest importance in this film, other than making Clark stumble over himself to accentuate his differences as Supes) and, right before the credits, catching the attention of a certain power-hungry billionaire genius. Make Luthor nothing more than a shadow-an afterthought. Got more ideas for sequels if anyone’s up to it.
That’s one of the problems with Superman,,, they can’t lock down a great supes like Sony did with Tobey.
They already have a great Supes. They just don’t realize the potential. Personally, I don’t think he’ll be getting an oscar anytime soon, but he pulls this role off wonderful. I say let the fans have what they want. Give em Tom Welling.
Naa naa can’t go there with you Hunter,,,
Smallville is the Buffy version of Superman.
True that. Haha. I like certain aspects of the storyline(like the Justice League deal) but the whole show is very loosely interpreted and way off continuity. Not to mention every episode with Lana(which is all of them until this last season) just play out more like a teen Soap(Smallville 90210) than a comic book show. The show would’ve been a lot better if it was about, you know, Superman! But as far as Welling goes, he can’t help the writers suck. Or that the producers decided to stick to a set of rules that sucked in the first place. He portrays the Man of Steel well, S’all I’m saying. As far as other Supes are concerned, I wouldn’t mind seeing a newcomer take up the mantle. But, the number one thing they gotta take into consideration- make him Super!! I mean, I think my little sister could take Routh in a dark Alley. He portrayed Kent well(geeks play geeks-its uncanny!) but as far as the most powerful being on Earth-he left a lot to be desired.
That’s the handcuffing prob with Smallville,,, once they go full powers,,, its Superman…
That one fact right there is why the story goes down the teen angst road of high school relationships. :-p
It also brings in the female demo. Yeah for the network.
(Man if had those powers, girlfriends would take a back seat,,, one that you could allway go back to.).
Welling might be a great Superman, but he’s on Smallville,
He’s kinda typecasted himself to the high school years of Supes in the minds of the fanbase. (Imo)
Dude’s in his thirties now! Smallville’s on its final season. I say let him grow up with the character. Give him a shot. The fans have spoken-that they would love to see him get the opportunity. Look on the bright side; if it sucks, they can always do another reboot. (Suck on that, Hollywood, with your lack of imagination.)
Hunter,,,
A lot of Superman fans don’t even know who Tom Welling is.
I would love to see a online poll on who would be the best Supes.
Routh or Welling ?
I have seen a few. Welling rides away victorious into the sunset every time.
> ‘We’re going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it,’ he says. That goes for the company’s Superman franchise as well.”
IDIOTS!!!
(BAM!)
MORONS!!!
(BAM BAM BAM!!)
FOOLS!!!
(WHAM BIDDY BAM BAM!!)
Does someone have to POUND IT IN WITH A HAMMER?
There IS no evil in Superman. That’s the POINT. He’s a Jesus Christ analogue.
You cannot have powers like his and have the least bit of evil inside you — power corrupts. And he’s got close to absolute power, so if he is not GOOD then he MUST be UTTERLY EVIL. Not “a little”, not “part of the time” — he has to be either totally corrupted or utterly incorruptible.
That’s why Superman is so difficult to write for — all the conflict tends to be external of necessity. You might do something with Red K, but not in the first movie.
Bleeding Halfwits!
@ OBloodyhell
You really need read Exodus and Revelation before committing an argument about Superman equaling Jesus Christ.
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