News is floating around that Bryan Singer is lining up to direct the next Superman film, tenatively considered a reboot of the entire franchise called Man of Steel. Some sites are even saying he WILL be, but that isn’t the feeling I got from the quote that spawns it all.
“At the moment I can’t really talk about that,” said Singer. “I wish I could. From my perspective I’m going to take a brief pause. Valkyrie has taken a long time so I’m going to take a pause. A movie like that takes some time to do right. That’s all I can say about that.”
Sometimes “I can’t talk about it” means he is in consideration and doesnt want to rock the boat as he negotiates. Sometimes it is just a fancier way of saying “no comment” while still getting your name in the headlines.
So will Singer direct? Who knows. I sure like Mark Millar’s idea for writing the movie in an epic story arc, but nothing is solid just yet outside of their desire to wash away all that came before (climaxing with Superkid) and start over.
Buzz says they would still keep Routh even though this is a complete reboot, and normally I wouldn’t want the same actors in if they were rebooting, but no matter how you feel about Superman Returns – Routh nailed it.
Bryan Singer did to the Superman franchise that Christopher Nolan did to the Batman franchise. Did anyone accept Batman Begins as a perfect movie? It grossed worldwide almost the same as Superman Returns, so WB coming up with the, “We expected Superman to put up more numbers worldwide and have more action that catered to young men.” is a horrible excuse to try and “reboot” the franchise. Batman Begins had some action, not as much as I wanted to see.. but I payed attention to the story and character development to help fuel the anticipation for the Dark Knight which exceeded my expectations greatly. I expected the same with The Man of Steel but now, my dreams for that are possible shattered due to corporate Hollywood’s desire for fat marketing possibilities and toy options.
Did anyone even see Superman Returns? It starts with him beaten, bruised, and collapsing in the arms of his foster Mother upon his return to Earth looking for Krypton. That right there sets the possibilities up for a brutal battle flashback in the sequel and possibly his motivation for going, “all Wrath of Khan…” in the new movie. All of the character development is out of the way with Returns and can now move towards a deeper, darker story involving plenty of action for the “younger men” croud but without sacrificing a believable story with enough scene cohesion and depth to be nothing short of oscar worthy.
and Tyrone, Millar is the comic writer of the Ultimates series that is responsible for the current film interpretations of Iron Man, Hulk, and the newer Avenger-based movies.
Troy,
I’ve actually studied Apt Pupil for a film class years ago. Yes I appreciate the story. The film . . . ok Singer is faithful to the original piece but that is not grounds for making a good film. Especially not one on par to “The Usual Suspects,” no? As for J.J. Abrams . . . I hope his venture into Star Trek isn’t a bust. Fringe is not a good show . . . i’d call it, as most would, a poor man’s X-Files at best. Abrams tends to stick to the same formula when it comes to the fantastical. Usually has a lot of twists that lead to cheesy romance and dissapointment (i.e. Lost Season 2, Alias, MI:3). Let’s not forget, Abrams is the creator of FELICITY. FELICITY! He gets no cred in my book. Lost was his saving grace or lack thereof, and I’m just glad he’s managed to salvage enough of the story for me to watch the show ONLINE . . . no I won’t tune in weekly because I lose patience. Not to mention, Cloverfield left me with a headache and bowel syndrome. That movie should be burned. Hence, the Abram’s formula at its worst.
Back to the original conversation, I do agree with you. Let’s see something original for Superman. However, the story and character of Superman is very hard to conquer on film . . . only because it is so linear. Who wants to see a film of someone who is perfect? The whole CK/Superman dilemma is not that exciting only because every superhero with an identity crisis(which occurs for most superhero movies) have problems dealing with that. Superman is the most boring superhero character EVER. Only cause the character is too perfect. I hope that the new Sup movie, will be a reboot, with a completely different team that involves action worth seeing and a story that won’t make me feel like I wasted $12 for CG action sequences. I could wait for that on Blu-ray and it will look better.
In a nutshell, something original would be nice.
(haha “up and comers” you said it and stated the obvious)
Routh to stay on as Supes and who directs, I do not care. Millar, Singer. Let us just see something epic. It is Superman for crying out loud.
EA820 and Kevin,
I respect both of your opinions but I have my own, especially regarding Apt Pupil. If you haven’t read the book, may I suggest that you do.
Bryan Singer is by far one of the most faithful directors close to the source material.
My biggest problem with Bryan is that his original work is probably better than his adaptations. He has some visionary ideas.
I also find that Bryan Singer as well as JJ Abrams are the “up and comers” (NO PUNS!) of the new generation of directors and producers. Bryan Singer produces both House and Dirty Sexy Money. JJ Abrams with Lost, Fringe and Star Trek. JJ is a bit more of a writer.
I’d rather see something original rather than yet another Superman Movie.
wb announced today that the discussion of a possible superman reboot will now be approached as being a reboot of the discussion of a possible superman reboot.
if superman is supposed to be a blank, dreary, completely charisma-less bore then yes you could say he nailed it.
he was awful.
EA820, I would agree, Singer needs to go!
Singer hasn’t had a good movie since the Usual Suspects. Maybe Apt Pupil.The X-Men Franchise, eventhough made a lot of money, is on par with the Fantastic 4 franchise. In other words . . . SUCKED. I don’t think I’ve been happy with any of Singer’s projects since Usual. It’s been downhill since. Superman Returns . . . the CG was amazing. But the storyline, characters (other than Sup), etc. fell short. Routh I’ll give a pass only cause he didn’t get a chance to act. Hasn’t this blog said (and I’m paraphrasing) that looking the part of an iconic character isn’t the same as acting the part? Let’s get one thing straight, there was no acting from Brandon Routh in Superman Returns. Most of the time he stood there and acted as if he were flying. I don’t think it’s his fault, I put that on Singer and his team. Get rid of Singer but I think it’s too late. Be Prepared for Superman: Man of Suck in 2011.
I’d rather they keep Singer and Routh on for now, just so there’s a better transition between movies. I still think Singer’s a great director for this, and for what little action there was in “Returns,” he did it pretty well. He just needs a better script in his hands.
I’ll say again, I don’t care who makes it, JUST FRIGGIN MAKE IT WB.
I liked Superman Returns, but I don’t think it was anywhere near the calibur of Superhero movies we are experiencing now (Dark Knight and Iron Man) but I would like to see another movie, but leave the Luthors out of it, I mean it’s been done, and is tired, move on, there are plenty of interesting baddies throughout the years, use one that is a real threat (although Spacey should make a cameo, because he rocked as Lex). I also loved Brandon Routh, he nailed Superman to a T. The only think I have a problem with is Brian Singer. I simply don’t care for his work, I wasn’t a big fan of the 2 X-men movies he did (even though I was a huge fan of the comics) I think they should bring in a new perspective, and not a reboot. Leave Lois out of this and move on!
Actually, both Brian Singer and Brandon Routh have both been signed by Warner Brothers for the latest Superman film. There hasn’t been a lot of buzz about it because WB is focusing on The Dark Knight’s impending DVD release.
As for Mark Millar, I don’t like his writing style or the way he hypes his own work (i.e. the Wanted film). And don’t forget how he’s supposedly working on that Superman trilogy proposal with a ‘secret Hollywood producer’. Yeah, right. ^_^
I love Mark Millars Trilogy idea! LOVE IT TO FUCKING BITS! However, I don’t ever seeing a studio going for it. It would take out some of the core fan base of Superman “the kiddies”. Does that suck for the rest of us, yes and no.
I agree, bring back Singer and Routh but have Superman fight someone like Darkseid or Brainiac or maybe Metallo. Someone worthy of a great fight.
Hopefully Mark Millar will get to flesh out his “Trilogy” an EPIC comic series and we will still get to read it… or better yet, just sit down and make one no fuck that THREE graphic NOVELS for that story. I think it deserves to exist and would be better told in it’s page medium.
to me reboot and remake are the same thing… some marketing genius found away to take money and generate interest from us. i’m okay with singer directing if he chooses to. i would be more happy if routh were to play supes again.
I also think he’s “considered”, but I don’t think he’ll get it. It has nothing to do whether or not the next Supey film is a restart/reboot/retcon prequel or sequel or whatever it is supposed to be. It has to do with the budget of Superman Returns, the overhype of Superman Returns (and thus more of a letdown to some) overconfidence (expecting another ‘Batman Begins’, Superman is now in a box-office world of other superheroes and thus may not be as exciting as the character in film once was) and then there’s the story itself: not horrible, just retread, and annoying characters that we are supposed to likeand when you add all those up…it makes Superman Returns look more disappointing.
Whoever is at the helm this time around, I hope WB wises up, bites the bullet, and simply works out a SEQUEL to Superman Returns. A reboot is a bad idea, it’s like…whenever you have a “problem” in a storyline of a previous film, instead of finding a inventive and clever way of solving it that one problem (in this case, the kid is the *only* real problem- and it can be solved : kill/hurt him, make the kid a Mytzlyplyk trick, have the kid be the next Superman villain as he turns into a rebellious little snot who lashes out at the world…or all three. Easy!) let’s “wipe the slate clean and start anew”.
I just find it a cop out. Yes, it worked for Bats. Yes it worked for Bond (and even keeping Dame Judi as M) Star Trek remains to be seen, but it’s a reboot without being a reboot. (Which is smart-because if it doesn’t quite work, they can wiggle themselves back without much problem and still not break a Trek timeline!) But this won’t work with every franchise. I stand my ground. Superman does not need a reboot.
i vote routh and singer, and also for the idea of a minimal reboot or re-focus.
they just need to do something more with the story, not start it all over again. i’m so tired of that idea, if we start it now we’ll have reboots for every major franchise every decade or so, where will it end?
it doesn’t have to be “dark” but i’d like to see superman in a situation where he could actually be beat because i never got that vibe in SR. kill off a main character, bring in a cool, new, highly dangerous villain and do not heavily involve lex luthor. do the unexpected, change up the story a bit just to keep it fresh.
i actually loved the jason/super kid idea because at least they were trying something to further the character. i thought it fit nicely with the jor-el/kal-el father/son mythology. just remember… change can be good as long as it’s handled in a respectful way.
I love X-1 and X-2 and consider them to be the best comic films right below Batman Begins and Dark Knight. That being said Superman Returns was to much of a remake of the original. I still think it was a great film but I think this reboot trilogy is the way to go. If it SInger was to direct this new reboot trilogy then I think he should do it.
I feel like they should get a new director for The Man of Steel instead of Bryan Singer because i don’t like his directions sometimes and as for Brandon Routh he should stay as Superman because where else your going to find a actor like him for the role especially when he loves Superman, actors like that are really rare to come by.