Screen Rant » superman unleashed

No Superman Movie Plans For DC Entertainment

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:18:31 +0000

MTV recently spoke to Diane Nelson, the newly-anointed head of Warner Bros.’ DC Entertainment Inc., and picked her brain about how the new venture will affect the DC films already in the pipeline and which heroes we can expect to see onscreen in the near future. In the midst of all this talk, Nelson let a quiet bomb (no, not that kind) drop: DC Entertainment has no current plans in the works for another Superman movie.

Why is this news such a big deal? It’s a bit of a convoluted story but luckily your friend Outlaw has been keeping his eye on Superman for a minute now. Keep reading to see what Nelson’s words may mean for the cinematic future of the Man of Steel and WB/DCE.

If you haven’t been following, the rights to Superman are currently in dispute. On one side of the courtroom are DC Comics and Warner Bros. – on the other side, the heirs of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The legal conflict started back in 1999, when the heirs of Jerry Siegel launched a lawsuit against DC/WB, claiming that they hadn’t been paid enough in licensing fees for the development of Superman TV shows (Smallville) and movies (Superman Returns). Later the heirs of Joe Shuster joined in the fight and as of this summer, WB has lost the right to use Superman’s origin story in any films or TV shows, and a judge has already ruled that unless the studio gets another Supes film into development by 2011, they will not be able to do so without first having getting the approval of the Shuster/Siegel heirs, who will own the rights to the character (his initial incarnation, at least) come 2013.

That’s a lot to follow, but if you get the jiist of it, then you understand how wild it is to hear that WB/DCE apparently has NO PLANS in the works for the next Superman film! Here’s the quote from Nelson:

“We actually don’t have any current plans for Superman…We’ve obviously done a lot of great things behind the property in our history, and it’s a key part of the family, but we don’t have current plans behind Superman…”

Well, 2009 is almost done and one year is a hell of a short time to get a massive tentpole like a Superman movie underway, so Unless the studio has a rabbit hidden under its hat, it looks like the chances of us seeing another Supes flick in the works before the legal deadline are pretty slim.

But does that mean we won’t EVER see another WB/DCE Superman movie?

I was toying with that very notion recently, when I suggested that the newly-formed Disney/Marvel team could concievably buy Superman – that is, purchase the rights from the Siegel/Shuster heirs in 2013. As was pointed out in our discussion threads, only those aspects of Superman originally created by Siegel and Shuster are being handed over, and at best, Disney/Marvel would own a severely limited version of the character. Now that Warner Bros. has created DCE (partly in order to keep pace with Disney/Marvel, no doubt), it’s looking more and more likely that the studio will invest heavily in their top player and throw the necessary zeroes onto the check they cut for the Siegel/Shuster heirs, in order to keep Superman in-house. Once that legal quagmire has been cleared, I suspect a new Supes film won’t be far behind.

For the meantime, let’s remember that the goal of DCE is to maximize the profitability of the ENTIRE DC brand – not just trying to find new ways of cashing in on the same sacred cow. The studio already has Jonah Hex, Green Lantern, Deadman, The Losers and Lobo – all lesser-known DC heroes – headed to the movies, so why not continue to focus efforts on turning no-names into show-names? Superman will always be king, whenever he should choose to return to the big screen.

However, I’m sure Nelson and DCE are all too aware of this. As I’ve stated: they’ll likely clear up all the legal woes (quietly), secure their hold on Superman, and worry about shelling-out big bucks for another movie later. We’ll keep you posted, though, just in case I’m wrong (gasp!).

Source: MTV News

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Superman To Get New Owners – What About a New Movie?

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:48:29 +0000

This week, a U.S. District Court Judge made yet another ruling in the decade-long legal battle between DC/Warner Bros. and the estate of late Superman co-creator, Jerry Siegel. The latest ruling (in this convoluted case) stated that all was fair (legally at least) regarding the licensing fees WB paid to DC comics in 1999, in order to develop properties like Superman Returns and Smallville.

Here’s the part you’ll care about: while the judge found that the deals between WB and partner DC weren’t illegal, he did state that WB should’ve paid 3-4 times what they did, and that if WB doesn’t produce another Superman film by 2011, the heirs of creators Siegel and Joe Shuster (who will jointly own 100% of the rights to Superman come 2013) will be able to sue the studio to “recover their damages.”

So, will Warner Bros. try to get another Superman film into production by next year?

Here’s what Warner Bros. currently has going for them, as far as a new Superman movie is concenered: No script. No director. No Supes film of any kind in development. No star to play Superman. Bupkis, really. No Man of Steel sequel to Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns; no “dark” Superman Unleashed reboot. Nothing but Bupkis. So much for months and months of rumors…

So what’s the best move now for Warner Bros. and DC?

Understand: in 2013, when the Siegel/Shuster heirs take ownership of the rights to Superman, NOTHING gets done without their approval. DC doesn’t release one issue of the comic book or any animated features; Warner Bros. doesn’t put out any Superman-related movies or TV shows. Unless the Siegels/Shusters give the go-ahead, WE DON’T GET SUPERMAN.

That said, it becomes easy to see why DC/WB might suddenly halt other planned comic book films to focus all their attention on Superman. After all, Supes is the most recognized superhero in the world and anything released with his name slapped on it is automatically going to have a better chance at ma$$ appeal than any other superhero this side of The Dark Knight.

Whatevs, I wasn't too keen on a "dark Superman" movie anyway...

But what can DC/WB do at this point? Developing and producing a Superman film takes a great deal of time and a WHOLE lotta money. And 2011 is NOT far away; we all know how quick time passes as movies crawl their way towards theaters.

So, the big questions: Should DC/WB try to push out one more Superman movie before the legal deadline? Should they try to go live action, or focus on an animated feature like the upcoming Superman/Batman: Public Enimies? Should they be in backrooms right now, trying to beg the Shuster/Siegel heirs to cut them a new deal before Superman ends up playing for team Marvel (it is possible)?

And finally: will this legal stuff effect the rumored Superman cameo in the upcoming Green Lantern live-action film?

Let’s get to the debate. Leave your comments.

(If you want to read more about the current legal battle between the Siegel estate and DC/WB, you can do so here.)

Source: Variety

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Counterpoint: How To Make DC Comics Movies That WORK

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:16:27 +0000

With DC Comics about to have another hit on their hands when Watchmen premieres in theaters on March 6th, a lot of movie blogs/news sites have been pondering where DC/Warner Bros. should go from here.

With all the hype surrounding Watchmen, and all the internet chatter about DC Comics’ uncertain cinematic future, I found myself wondering: Why hasn’t DC had as much success at the box office as rival company Marvel?

In an attempt to answer that very question I came up with this comprehensive guide to how DC Comics SHOULD be making movies.

This week, writer/director Joss Whedon (Dollhouse, Firefly) spoke up about why he believes DC Comics has had a hard time making the transition to the big screen. According to Whedon, Batman has been a cinematic cash cow in the last few years primarily because The Caped Crusader is one of the only heroes out of the DC stable who’s whole reason for being a “hero” is an all too human anguish that makes him easily relatable to the average person.

I get what Whedon is saying on that front: I’ve always maintained that Superman Returns flopped in large part because the film was this grand meditation on why Superman is better than the average person–not just because of his god-like powers, but rather the moral strength of his character. In this day and age what moviegoer wants to pay money to see a film where they’re being told that some Superman is better than them? If Superman Unleashed hopes to revitalize the struggling franchise, I hope the filmmakers are out there right now scouring comic shops and compiling the most celebrated Superman stories they can get their hands on.

Marvel on the other hand, has always had the luxury of building their movie franchises on the backs of characters that Stan Lee purposefully created as allegories for the experiences of the common man, so that the common man would better be able to relate to them. Peter Parker is the geek who never gets the girl; X-Men are minorities who face discrimination and prejudice at every turn, etc… etc… We relate to these characters because they’ve been fashioned for us to do so. It’s easier for a fanboy to believe he can be Spider-Man than Superman; therefore it’s easier for the moviegoer who doesn’t read comics to believe the same.

However, I do think Whedon’s comments overlook an important point. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were big $uccesses at the box office (IMHO) because the filmmakers drew their screenplays from some of the most celebrated Batman lore that is currently in print. Batman Begins borrowed heavily from Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s now-classic reimagining of The Caped Crusader’s origins, Batman: Year One. The Dark Knight’s intricately woven crime-saga was built off the comic book bones of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s noir-epic, The Long Halloween, while Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance as The Joker borrowed from the more dark and modern renderings of The Clown Prince of Crime such as Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke.

And for those who’ve been paying close attention, DC/Warner Bros.’ next big venture, Green Lantern, has generated positive early buzz primarily because the script for the film will reportedly adhere closely to “Emerald Dawn,” one of the most famous GL stories ever told.

Do you see the pattern here?

The powers that be over at DC/Warner Bros. need to start thinking not only of which DC characters deserve a box office run, but also which famous DC Comics stories need to be told. To phrase this another way: DC, let Marvel worry about the character stuff; you worry about the many, many celebrated storylines you have at your disposal.

Watchmen is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. It’s one of the most famous Comic book stories ever told under the DC banner–now it’s poised to be one of the biggest movies of 2009. Watchmen has endured not because of people’s fascination with the particular characters (aside from maybe Rorschach), but rather because of the impact of the story as a whole. Name me one Marvel storyline (storyline, not character) that has had THAT kind of social impact.

So what other famous stories does DC have to tell? Obviously there is Frank Miller’s iconic vision of Batman’s future, The Dark Knight Returns–a subject which resurfaced once again this week, in an interview First Showing conducted with Watchmen director Zack Snyder. (Snyder would still like to tackle the project, but there’s no guarantee yet that he will. Maybe Watchmen will change that if it does well enough at the box office.)

DC/Vertigo’s The Losers is on track to becoming a feature film. The comic had only a small cult following, but many of those that read it have had good things to say about it. We’ll see how the film turns out.

If I ruled Hollywood (and I aim to), I would love to see the early Preacher storylines compiled into a film (I’m talking the “Gone To Texas” and “Until The End of Time” storylines). There’s also Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s Batman: Hush, or Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All Star Superman–arguably one of the best Superman stories I’ve read in the last decade. Another safe bet would be ANY of the stories Grant Morrison told during his run on Justice League, should a JL movie ever crawl its way out of the grave.

Of course I’m just scratching the surface here. There are many, many, great DC Comics storylines that I’m totally blanking on at this moment. But then, that’s why I have you my wonderful, knowledgeable, readers. What DC Comics Storylines do you think DC/Warner should be adapting for the big screen? Hit us back and let us know.

Sources: Slash Film & First Showing

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Will Superman Be Unleashed In The Sequel?

Rob Keyes — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 20:39:23 +0000

It was just last week when we heard the crazy rumor of the Wachowski brothers possibly directing a new trilogy of Superman films that was later debunked – and now we have more Superman rumors!

Peter over at /Film apparently got into a password protected page on the Legendary Pictures website with the help of one of their readers and this particular page listed some interesting information for the next Superman project.

Listed on this page of films in development was a movie titled Superman Unleashed, a supposed sequel to Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns. The synopsis of the film listed on the page went as follows:

“Ramping up the action of its esteemed predecessor, the sequel to ‘Superman Returns’ promises to raise the stakes and take the audience to heights of action that no other superhero movie can achieve.”

What does this mean? Probably not much.

I highly doubt the film will be called that for obvious reasons. To me, it’s just the temporary name of the project which emphasizes the increase in action and excitement that they want the movie to achieve.

We already knew there were going to be more Superman films down the road but this suggests that the next will be a follow-up to Superman Returns as opposed to a complete reboot which has been hinted at for a while now (since we found out Bryan Singer would not be involved in the next Man of Steel project).

This information from that page has been taken down since the story was first put online.

What do you think of the synopsis for a possible next installment in the Superman franchise?

Source: /Film

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