For the past six years, we’ve been promised a sequel to Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot Man of Steel. While the movie was decidedly gloomier than previous Superman films and some would say it didn’t do the character justice, fans have taken to Henry Cavill’s portrayal of the last son of Krypton and want to see his incarnation of the character properly served in a solo follow-up.
We technically got a Man of Steel sequel in the form of Batman v Superman, but that wasn’t really Man of Steel 2. So, just in case it happens, here are 10 Things We Hope To See In A Possible Man Of Steel Sequel.
A more optimistic Superman
The Superman that we’ve been given so far in the DC Extended Universe doesn’t really feel like Superman at all. He’s mopey, full of angst and misery. This is partly due to his parents being characterized as bitter, struggling farmers who would rather let children die than allow their adopted alien son to reveal his abilities to the world.
The Superman of the comics is the quintessential boy scout, fighting for truth, justice, and the American way. Henry Cavill’s Kryptonian hero has been completely mischaracterized by these movies. Man of Steel 2 should get him back on track.
No other members of the Justice League
Warner Bros. called Batman v Superman a sequel to Man of Steel, but it wasn’t really. For some, it was a Batman movie with obligatory cameos by Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and the Flash, with Superman shoehorned into the scenes in between.
What DC should have learned from the success of movies like Wonder Woman and Aquaman is that stories that have nothing to do with a wider universe and focus on the trials, tribulations, and personal growth of a single superhero connect more with audiences. So, if they’re going to make another Superman movie, it should be just that: a Superman movie.
Developing Clark Kent and Lois Lane’s relationship
In the comics, Clark Kent and Lois Lane are one of the best romantic pairings in the DC Comics universe, but the DCEU has, as of yet, failed to give us a compelling reason to care about them. Henry Cavill and Amy Adams are both great actors who clearly have on-screen chemistry, but so far, Lois has no reason to even stay with Clark.
He’s always moping around, asking her for advice and validation and comfort, but what does he bring to the relationship? Not enough. Their relationship needs to be developed in the sequel, with Clark finally pulling his weight.
Supes dealing with his own death
Since the first Man of Steel movie, Superman has been killed and resurrected. One of the things that the MCU does to set itself apart from the DCEU and other less successful cinematic universes is delving into the consequences of its big events.
Instead of doing this, Warner Bros. has just jumped from big event to big event. The Man of Steel sequel should explore Superman’s psychology after dying and being brought back to life, because that’ll take a huge mental toll, no matter what planet you’re from.
A scene where Superman fails to save someone
In the comics, Superman’s biggest problem isn’t figuring out his purpose or having a mom with the same name as Batman’s; it’s not being able to save everyone who wants to be saved, simply because he can’t be in more than one place at once.
So far, the DCEU has given us plenty of montages of Superman saving people with a grave facial expression. What would be really powerful in the Man of Steel sequel is a scene where he fails to save somebody. There’s a threat that he can’t handle, or he gets distracted, or there are two crimes going on at once and he accidentally allows somebody to die. That would set up his internal conflict for the sequel: striving for redemption.
Superman losing his powers
It’s a standard-issue subplot for a superhero sequel, but at some point in the Man of Steel sequel – possibly in the third-act battle that every comic book blockbuster seems to require by law – Superman should lose his powers (whether it’s by the Sun getting blocked out or the villain creating a device to weaken him or some other means that better suits the plot at hand) and have to prove that he can be a hero and do the right thing and fight evil without the help of limitless godlike abilities.
It would help to settle Clark’s internal “Who/What/Why is Superman?” debate.
Lois Lane interviewing Superman
Batman v Superman really hammered home the storyline involving the public’s perception of Superman. At first, they saw him as a criminal who should be held accountable for destroying Metropolis. Then, after he sacrificed himself, he was praised as a god. Now, he’s come back to life and the public will probably be confused and divided over Superman.
So, as a means of damage control to set the record straight, maybe Lois Lane will interview Superman for the Daily Planet, with the dramatic irony coming from Lois knowing who he is and being in love with him, while putting on a front as a journalist seeking answers.
Bizarro Superman
There are reams of fascinating concepts from the Superman comics that have yet to be explored on the big screen. One of them is the Bizarro World, where everything is the opposite, including a mirrored version of Superman. Some fans have suggested that instead of the Bizarro World, the DCEU could have Lex Luthor create an evil clone of Superman that he simply calls Bizarro and looks like the Bizarro Superman.
Either way, it would be incredible to have Henry Cavill play both regular Superman and an evil mirror version of Superman. It could be like Will Smith’s new movie Gemini Man, but with Kal-El.
Personal stakes
The problem with the first Man of Steel movie was that the stakes didn’t feel personal enough. The whole city of Metropolis was crumbling down and skyscrapers were getting smashed to pieces, but the audience had no personal connection to it. Zack Snyder just shot two guys flying through buildings from a distance.
It scraped by on spectacle alone. If Superman just fights a villain like Metallo or a robo-suited Lex Luthor, then there will be more personal stakes and more character-focused action, which the 2013 original, and the DCEU as a whole, are sorely missing.
Less grounded tone
The biggest mistake that Zack Snyder made with Man of Steel was giving Superman a Dark Knight-style makeover. Christopher Nolan’s dark, gritty visual style suits the Batman character like a glove, but Superman needs a lighter, brighter, more colorful, more fun tone.
As Batman v Superman proved three years later, Snyder really wanted to make a Batman movie, and used a Superman movie to get there. He made his Superman movie as a Batman movie, and then made his Superman sequel literally as a Batman movie. The Man of Steel sequel desperately needs a less grounded tone than the first one, to be more faithful to the character.