So we here at Screen Rant are pretty good at thinking two steps ahead of the suits in Hollywood. That is to say, we can usually predict their next move before even they know what it is.
Screen Rant writer Jamie Williams has been the all-seeing, all-knowing, Oracle of everything Superman related. For proof of his precognitive prowess, just take a look at his early prediction that Superman Returns star Brandon Routh will most likely re-don the red and blue suit for the next supes film (which is still in the pipeline somewhere).
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When the rumor mill started churning about a scene in the upcoming Green Lantern movie in which mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent pops up for a look at the new superhero on the block, the blogosphere went wild with speculation about which of the current Supermen (Smallville’s Tom Welling or Superman Returns‘ Brandon Routh) would play Kent in the Green Lantern cameo.
Well, MTV recently caught up with Green Lantern co-writer Marc Guggenhiem, who had a little bit of info to offer on just that very subject. Were Screen Rant’s predictions on the money? Or do we need to get a new crystal ball?
According to Guggenhiem:
“There were rumors that Tom Welling would have a cameo in ‘Batman Begins’ as a young Clark Kent, to meet up with a young Bruce Wayne,” Guggenheim noted. “But you have to be careful when you do things like that, because it sounds great in concept, but when you sit down to watch it, it poses the danger of pulling you out of the film.”
(Hmmmm, it’s a good thing they DIDN’T do that. That kind of tongue-and-cheek moment would’ve been TOTALLY out of place in the dark world of Batman Begins.)
When asked specifically about the GL/Supes cameo, Guggenhiem added:
“…Robert Downey, Jr. in ‘The Hulk’ was awesome. I love that stuff in general, and I think the fans would enjoy it. Brandon Routh or even Tom Welling [in 'Green Lantern'] would be awesome. And anything is possible. The beauty part of being the writer, though, is that I don’t actually have to make that judgment call.”
No, no he does not have to make that judgment call. But you know who probably WILL make that judgment call? That’s right, Warner Bros. Studios. So what call should they make? What call will they make?
To bring this all around in a nice tight circle, I’ll once again defer to the wisdom of Screen Rant’s own Jamie Williams who speculated that it will most likely end up being Routh we see in Green Lantern, since DC/Warner is trying to get Superman on deck after GL hits theaters.
Speaking of GL, Guggenheim let it be known that he and fellow co-writers Michael Green and Greg Berlanti (who is also directing the film) are in the middle of their third studio revision, polishing everything to a fine finish so that Green Lantern will be the very best film it possibly can be.
“[The changes are] nothing that’s affecting the storyline, really,” he said. “It’s pretty well set. But sometimes we’ll move a scene to a different location for budget purposes, perhaps in an already established location instead of a new one. It’s a question of, which locations can we live without? It’s a constant process to streamline what you’re going through, even after the film is shot, when you’re cutting things in the edit. That’s what the rewrite process is like, how you sand down the roughness of the a movie to its smoothest.”
Hollywood politics as usual.
No word yet on if Ryan Gosling (who was rumored to be the top candidate to play GL) will in fact don the emerald ring. (Though they might want to get that figured out fairly soon. Green Lantern is still slated for Spring/Summer 2010.)
Do you think the Green Lantern movie is progressing as it should? And do you believe Screen Rant’s assessment that it will likely be Routh who makes the Clark Kent cameo? (Provided the scene makes it into the finished film, of course.) Sound off on it and let us know.
Source: MTV News
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31 Comments
Considering the direction that Smallville has gone in with the past few seasons, as well as the overall feel for the show, I would hope that they go for Routh instead of Welling.
Welling’s take on Kent is okay as far as TV goes, but if they made a Green Lantern movie that could actually use Welling’s Kent and make it fit, then it’d be a worse movie for it.
I think Routh could fit into a good Green Lantern movie much better.
Routh is finished as Superman. We know you love the dude Jamie, but give it up already. WB isnt THAT stupid where they’ll reboot an entire franchise and then go ahead and use the face of the one that just failed. The guy was average at best in the role, so there’s no compelling reason for them to have to bring him back. Way too much risk and far too little reward on their part. The public was lukewarm at best with SR, why try to associate with that?
Honestly I think that given the current economic climate, the Superman film franchise wont be going anywhere for a LONG time. The profit figures just arent there to justify the expense it takes to make a movie of that kind, which as the latest Hulk film showed, that even if you make a better reboot, it doesnt necessarily mean it will outgross the failed first attempt. Given WB’s current stock price compared to a year ago, those hits are going to be harder to absorb even if they’re splitting costs and profits with Legendary.
As for the GL film, I dont see any reason to go out of their way to put Routh in the film as CK if that franchise isnt going anywhere. Or even Welling for that matter. Since neither of them will be appearing in any future Superman films, they can just cast a nameless actor for the small cameo, and call him Clark Kent.
I sure hope BR will make a cameo in the GL movie! That would hopefully precede the opening up of the DC movie Universe. BR played my second favorite live action Superman, so hopefully he’ll get to reprise his role.
Tom YES
Brandon NO!!!!!!!!!!!!
God, I’m tired of Metrosexuals! Esp in spandex!
Armor is the ONLY way to go! -Stark
Bringing back Routh is the right move. Welling is nice on TV, but Routh is a great movie Superman.
And I don’t know why “Brian” is attacking Jamie in the post above. He didn’t write this article. The writer merely noted that Jamie had been dead-on with his prior stories. That would seem to give Jamie credence.
I seriously can’t believe how many of you actually want Welling despite the craptacular job Smallville has wrought upon the Superman mythos and television in general. Especially on the fact that the show isn’t great or even good anymore. It’s all been downhill after season 2. But I digress, there is a reason Welling wasn’t cast as Superman for SR. And as this article states,
“There were rumors that Tom Welling would have a cameo in ‘Batman Begins’ as a young Clark Kent, to meet up with a young Bruce Wayne,” Guggenheim noted. “But you have to be careful when you do things like that, because it sounds great in concept, but when you sit down to watch it, it poses the danger of pulling you out of the film.”
People familiar with Smallville would be immediately confused on why Welling is there with the ALREADY established Routh Superman (face it, he’s in, Welling is out…get over it).
And by the logic explained in the aforementioned quote, it’s likely to be Routh or the scene will get cut from the film at a later point for whatever reason (Hollywood Politics). This isn’t the first time this has happened. Ben Affleck’s scene as Matt Murdock (Daredevil) was cut from “Elecktra.”
aaron eckart or josh lucas. nuff said.
I don’t know why so many people are upset with Routh. I thought he did fine as the new superman and if there is to be a cameo or another superman movie, I would expect it to be him doing the role.
Routh was the best part of Superman Returns.The film stunk big time but it wasn’t because of him! I’d like to see him cameo in the GL film but it pointless even talking about it because Warners will pull the plug on GL at the last minute, the film wont happen. Warners haven’t got the balls to go ahead with anything, which is preposterous considering how much money they made off of The Dark Knight, they can at least afford to take a chance on something a bit different.
I brought Jamie in to the post because the article states he’s the one speculating that Routh will be doing the CK cameo in GL.
For all we know Routh could’ve been the greatest Superman ever. But Singer completely ruined him with that ridiculous costume, poor characterization, and silly plot. Like it or not, Routh is the face of that failed attempt at a Superman film, and being that film is a visual medium people will associate any future film with him as Superman as being part of Singer’s absurdity. I feel your pain, like you I waited years for a new Superman film, but I’ve been able to accept the reality that it was a poor effort. We need to move onwards and upwards from it. You can put Routh in a decent looking costume, ignore the stupid plot elements of SR like the kid, etc, and even actually have him act like Superman in a new film, and 90% of the general population will still think of it as a sequel. That’s one thing that Marvel understood with the Hulk relaunch it that they couldnt recast Bana as Bruce Banner and have any hope of people thinking it wasnt a follow-up to Ang Lee’s mess.
Point is, the character of Superman is bigger than any one actor. People need to realize that there are other people besides Routh and Tom Welling who can play the role. (As an aside, in Welling’s defense, although the past 3 seasons of Smallville weren’t watchable, this current season has been great)
I loved Brandon Routh’s portrayal of Superman/Clark Kent in “Superman Returns”. And his cameo in “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” was a very amusing screen-stealer. It would be really cool to see Brandon to reprise the role of Superman and/or Clark Kent for a brief cameo, in the Green Lantern movie.
The only reason I would be interested in a movie about GL would be an appearance of Superman in it with Brandon Routh playing him; I know noone in this present generation who can convey so easily this feeling of quiet strength combined with such amazing otherwordly (alien!) grace.
I will literally walk out of the theater if Tom Welling is the Superman cameo. That show sucks, and so does Welling’s acting.
SR had some big issues, but Brandon Routh’s performance, even with a terrible script, was the sole reason for making them easier to forget.
Routh is the only choice here, folks.
To stop this, they should let another guy play superman, who the hell cares, which guy plays him, least it’ll stop the “Oh this guy’s great” .. “This guy’s bad at acting” enough said.
Sheesh people.
You, can’t judge tom welling yet.
He’s not really done anything but play Clark kent in Smallville.
How the hell can you judge someone from just being in one show?
Give the guy some credit.
or least drop it.
@ Elesta
Actually you can judge someone by one show. Especially if that show has been on the air for 8 seasons and when his entire filmography consists only of Cheaper by the Dozen 1 & 2, and The Fog.
Welling is not the reason that Smallville has been, um, less than good over the years. Separate him from the cheesy teenage soap opera aspect of the series and let him stand alone in his portrayal of Clark Kent (especially this season) and I think he’d make a great Superman.
Not that there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that will happen…
Vic
I like both Brandon and Tom, but I think I’d rather see Routh return as Superman in a movie or new franchise. He just embodies the character better.
How can Welling even be considered for this role?
It will be Routh.
@ Vic
It’s true, a lot of the crappiness of Smallville comes from it’s writing and overall campness the show has (I’m not saying it’s campy in the 60’s Batman way, just campy in the taking itself too seriously way… think 90’s television). And yes, you can’t blame the character of Clark Kent in Smallville solely on Welling, with the right writing and direction he could be more than what he is.
That said, compare him to Routh, who had very little to work with in Returns and still pulled in a decent performance and I think it’s fair to say that if Welling were to prove himself as an actor, I should hope it be in some other project and not this one.
Okay, Let’s see
1. Superman Returns was a sequel to the the Previous Superman Movies. Hence, the word “RETURNS”
2. Why are they doing a reboot? Because the movie FAILED expectations!!
3. What is “reboot”? The process to clear and restart something i.e. cpu.
4. So my question is. How can you reboot a movie with the same actor playing the same lead role? Hmmm
5. Another option is a fresh face playing Supes. Problem with that is that we would have THREE different actors playing Clark Kent/Superman in less than a decade!! That’s just crazy! Do we want to mirror what they did to the Batman Movies of the 90s? I don’t.
6. Tom Welling was only “Clark Kent”. He has not flown, worn the suit or been called “Superman”. So technically he has not portrayed Superman.
So if they’re doing reboot, Tom Welling should be given the role.
Fascinating news, but did anyone else pay any attention to the other news bits on the film? It seems like all the focus is on the cameo news, which isn’t really that big of a cameo, according to the script [SPOILER] all that happens is the ring whizzes by a “glasses wearing reporter at the Daily Planet” in its search for Hal [SPIOLER]. I’m glad that the folks behind this are really putting their hearts into it, and that the script is in its third draft (I have a copy of the first draft, and while it’s overall good, it needs a re-write, specifically the end, I’ll post that spoiler heavy review of mine I keep talking about sometime). I really hope this gets made, I’d be fine with Gosling as Hal, he’s a good actor, and upon reading the script, everytime there’s a Hal Jordan scene, Ryan Gosling immediately pops into my mind, he’d work great for this film version of Hal, even tho I think he’d be a perfect Barry Allen/The Flash. Altho I heard that Gosling had turned down the role, along with Casey Affleck, a few weeks ago but time will tell. And I really hope they make the script longer, because if the minute per page thing is true, then this is gonna be a short movie, the script was a quick read and only 104 pages.
They should at least extend the fight scenes. 
And I agree, Routh should get the cameo. But couldn’t you guys have found a less effeminite picture of Routh? I mean seriously, he looks so….I dunno, un-SuperMAN-ish in that pic.
@ KEL
Yeah, I can think of about a hundred better pics of Brandon than that one. Here’s a good recent one. I think he looks very supermanish in it.
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/03KHcKH42i5JG/340x.jpg
“The only reason I would be interested in a movie about GL would be an appearance of Superman in it with Brandon Routh playing him; I know noone in this present generation who can convey so easily this feeling of quiet strength combined with such amazing otherwordly (alien!) grace.”
YES, absolutely, Brandon Routh just embodies the character perfectly. He is the only choice here. He IS Superman.
Bring him back!
@Lunar child:
That’s a fantastic picture of Routh there. He is Superman in the flesh! They won’t find anyone better to portray this beloved character than him. It’d be awesome if he does a cameo in GL movie!
i’m a die hard marvel fan , but ive alwase had a little aera for GL.
but i would like tom welling to do the cameo. cuz if they did that and (if possible)merg the TV show that is almost over in to the movie to JUMP start the JLA movie , if they do then they already got Flash & Green arrow but i would assume they would recast but at least it would save sum time.
also id love 2 know who would play senestro ??
assuming he’s the villan.
vic any thoughts ?????
@Lunar child,
Thanks. That’s a MUCH better pic of Routh. I don’t want to see any pictures of guys who would look good in a dress, especially for the part of Superman.
@War Machine
Most fan choices for Sinestro are as follows:
Jason Isaacs (my personal fave)
Timothy Dalton
Christian Slater
Daniel Day Lewis
Hugo Weaving
Sinestro is in the movie but he isn’t a villain, sounds like they’re saving that for the second film, which I’m all for. I think it’s great that they have Sinestro established as the “greatest GL” in the first film, in the script he’s actually so great that he’s “bored” with the power ring, they really convey that Sinestro wants something more powerful, the power of fear, and his control fetish is also explored, but he isn’t unsympathetic at all, and as I said, he’s one of the good guys, just like he was in the comics, and is one of the best written characters in the film, IMO. Sinestro helped train Hal Jordan when he became a GL in the comics, so it makes sense that in the first film, which tells of Hal’s origin, that Sinestro isn’t the film villain. The villains are instead Legion, who is somewhat of a hybrid of the GL villains Parallax and the Manhunters, and Hector Hammond, a powerful telepath who gained his powers from being exposed to a piece of Legion, the alien beast that killed Abin Sur and hunts the Green Lanterns.
Man, I’ve got to post my review of the script sometime!
@ Ash Ali
Totally agree with your comments!!! I’m sick of these Smallville fanboys pushing Welling and their favourite tv show down our throats. This is a BIG SCREEN GL movie, not tv, and Brandon Routh should do the cameo, get it!!!
@Lunar Child
Dude, you can really picture Routh in the suit in that picture, great shot!! I want him in the cameo!
@KEL
I feel the same way. I think that pic of Routh with the eyeliner originated from some trippy fashion magazine. The picture I found just kinda shouts ‘SUPERMAN’ Imo. I hope it’s not too bold of me to ask if it could be used for any further articles dealing with Routh. Or at least for the love of Krypton don’t use that fashion one anymore. lol
@Ralph
I agree. That is definately a Superman look.
@Lunar Child
I second that.
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