Another Man of Steel?

Warner Brothers has announced changes to their forthcoming movie-making plans, and they include another Superman film, one which will “re-introduce” the character and make him “darker.”

The plan sounds half-right.

What do you think? And…

…How would you keep DC-inspired movies powerful and successful?

12 replies on “Another Man of Steel?”

  1. Keep? DC has barely begun.
    As good as the 2 Batman movies have been, Superman Returns was successful like Spider-Man 3 — despite itself. DC needs to go the Marvel route and start building a DC Movie Universe. I think the way to do that is to limit the scope of each individual movie while tying smallish elements between movies until each stands on its own while "feeling" like part of something bigger. Marvel has started this process, it looks promising, and DC should copy it shamelessly.

    • Re: Keep? DC has barely begun.

      The point has been made before, but Batman works as a dark character because that’s who he is. Copy the quality, but make each film so that it reflects the nature of each character. Superman’s not dark. Captain Marvel’s really not dark. Plastic Man’s a clown.

      The interesting thing about the crossover films is how the disparate elements fit together to create, as you say, "something bigger."

      • Re: Keep? DC has barely begun.

        The interesting thing about the crossover films is how the disparate elements fit together to create, as you say, "something bigger."

        It looks like Marvel’s plan is already set up to allow the Avengers to catalyze via the intervention/impetus of SHIELD, and it’s been cool so far.

        As I wrote below, I think WB/DC could do something similar by making Superman the hero among heroes whom other heroes want to emulate, culminating (after at least 2 movies starring other DC heroes) in a truly refreshed Superman (Superman Returns wasn’t too refreshing) and a big Justice League film based on characters we already care about on the big screen.

        Unfortunately, it looks like they’re going to try using Justice League to establish their movie universe in one shot, which I think is moving too fast.

    • Re: Keep? DC has barely begun.

      As good as the 2 Batman movies have been, Superman Returns was successful like Spider-Man 3 — despite itself. DC needs to go the Marvel route and start building a DC Movie Universe. I think the way to do that is to limit the scope of each individual movie while tying smallish elements between movies until each stands on its own while "feeling" like part of something bigger. Marvel has started this process, it looks promising, and DC should copy it shamelessly.

      Will they ever learn? No, I guess not. A "darker" Superman will fail. They can make the MOVIE darker, fine, but the character has to stay true to the comic. In the end, Superman must stay the overgrown boyscout that saves the day. They compromise his morality and they lose us. That’s why I have always liked the Superman/Batman friendship. Its a little yin/yang thing.

  2. Darker? Please.
    It’s hell to be old. I’ve watched Batman through 3 incarnations. (TV-Keaton/Kilmer/Clooney-Bale). Same roughly for Superman (TV-Reeves-Cute New Kid). I see no reason to make Superman "darker". Maybe I’d feel that way if I was a comic reader, but as a casual visitor to Marvel and DC’s worlds, I don’t see the point. The story does not need re-interpreting.

    Somebody at these studios needs to get off their ass, go to the book/comic store, and find some new material. After all the birth rate is declining, and there will be even fewer new sets of eyes to foist this crap off on the next time they decide to remake it.

    Or maybe they could remake "Quark" with Steve Carell and Jessica Simpson as the Bettys. That fits current studio mentality.

    • Don’t Give Them Ideas

      Or maybe they could remake "Quark" with Steve Carell and Jessica Simpson as the Bettys. That fits current studio mentality.

      Shhh! The last time one of us sarcastically suggested the studios remake something that, obviously, no sane person would remake, it was the suggestion they remake Rocky Horror.

      • Re: Don’t Give Them Ideas

        Or maybe they could remake "Quark" with Steve Carell and Jessica Simpson as the Bettys. That fits current studio mentality.

        Shhh! The last time one of us sarcastically suggested the studios remake something that, obviously, no sane person would remake, it was the suggestion they remake Rocky Horror.

        So here’s the problem! Quick, start suggesting the good ideas!!

        Let Joss Whedon write for Spider-Man!
        Get Harry Potter books broken up into more movies!
        Turn off the reruns. All of them!

  3. Define darker?
    If by "darker" they mean place Superman in a world that is darker then it could work. I think the assumption is that they will make Superman himself darker. As everyone has said, they can’t do that and maintain the intergrity of the character. There were plenty of events in the comics that were dark (Superman’s death being one obviously). He can still be a boy scout but face dark and terrifying times.

    • Re: Define darker?

      If by "darker" they mean place Superman in a world that is darker then it could work. I think the assumption is that they will make Superman himself darker. As everyone has said, they can’t do that and maintain the intergrity of the character. There were plenty of events in the comics that were dark (Superman’s death being one obviously). He can still be a boy scout but face dark and terrifying times.

      In fact, he needs to face dark and terrifying times for the story to be compelling. Superman II was extremely dark with Clark facing off against 3 Kryptonians who made short work of dominating the US government and military, and kicked Superman’s butt quite thoroughly.

      The Superman of Superman Returns was creepy enough to be a turn-off (stalking is gross). If they push him any further away from who Superman is "supposed to be," the movie will fail and making movies based on other DC characters (besides Batman) will be that much harder.

      Clark Kent is a nice Kansas farm boy who had a great childhood and grew up to be an extremely nice, moral superhero. There’s no reason such a character can’t be a great movie character as long as the bad guy is bad enough.

      While writing this, I had a thought about what might be a cool way to reintroduce Superman (and start the process of erasing Superman Returns). Make movies based on other characters (like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, etc.) and openly reference Superman in the scripts as being the hero other heroes want to emulate. Maybe even toss in glimpses of the red-and-blues in a scene or two (characters seeing TV news reports could be perfect for this kind of exposition). Then, assuming everything’s working out nicely, a new Superman movie could be done without any references to the previous Superman movies and he could already be an established big part of a fresh, new DC Movie Universe.

      Just a thought…

      • Re: Define darker?

        While writing this, I had a thought about what might be a cool way to reintroduce Superman (and start the process of erasing Superman Returns). Make movies based on other characters (like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, etc.) and openly reference Superman in the scripts as being the hero other heroes want to emulate. Maybe even toss in glimpses of the red-and-blues in a scene or two (characters seeing TV news reports could be perfect for this kind of exposition). Then, assuming everything’s working out nicely, a new Superman movie could be done without any references to the previous Superman movies and he could already be an established big part of a fresh, new DC Movie Universe.

        Just a thought…

        Or don’t even do a Superman Movie at the end of it, but make the references to him more and more obvious until you get to a Justice League movie, and give him a big heroic reveal in that.

  4. Dark Superman
    making superman darker doesn’t solve the major issue with superman, namely because he is superman. Credible threats with credible resolutions are hard things to come by for the filmed Man of Steel.

  5. Red Son
    I also think Superman is big enough, and there are enough Alternate Supermans, why not make a one-shot movie that way, like turning Red Son into a movie? You can even go Darker, if that’s what you want. Sort of as a way to cleanse the palette…

Comments are closed.