So I was debating with some friends of mine on the merrits of a World's Finest movie. They seem to be eager to have a film with Bale and Routh in the starring roles. My argument was that the two worlds depicted in Batman Begins and Superman Returns are not compatible. One is gritty, down to earth and very realistic. The other is whimsical fantasy featuring a moustache twirling villan with a cheesy realestate scheme. Still, many people have long been aching for a well done Superman/Batman movie (myself included). Just look at some of the buzz the mere glimpse of a poster in I am Legend managed to generate. There is definately an audience for this film. However, given the success of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, there seems little point in reinventing the character. The problem lies squarely with the Superman franchise. So I got to thinking about how one might incorporate Superman into such a down to earth and very human world....and do so without another origin story. My solution to a reboot is to basically avoid Superman all together. My idea is to do a film I call L. L. Instead of doing Superman's origin, the focus is on the rise of Lex Luthor. This keeps most of the story telling gounded. It would be more of a mob/godfather film focusing on his corrupt ascention as Metropolis' leading son, founder of Lexcorp, and the richest man in the world. Intertwined with his rise is the story of a veteran crime reporter, Lois Lane, who starts looking into Luthor's background and trying to reveal the skeletons in his closet. This establishes Lois' life before Clark showing that she managed to be the fearless reporter even before big blue. The key to making this work is to keep it real. The story should look more at home in Law & Order. Only at the very end of the movie, when Luthor's at the pinnace of his power and feels most secure in his position. Does word get out that a man, a mysterious flying man (no costume), rescues an aircraft carying Lois (the downed plane being part of Lex's plot to eliminate her as a threat). The world is stunned. Some think it was a stunt or a hoax, but both Lois and Luthor know better and realize that nothing will ever be the same. END I figue after that, then a subsequent film would focus more on Lois and her competitve relationship with a new arrival at the Planet, Clark Kent. Superman would truly make his debut in the second film. In this instance, you're intorducing the character in the same way that the average man on the street would experience such a miraculous and earth shattering event.
No offense, but if the story would be "at home on Law and Order" then it would suck as a Superman story for a general audience. Trying to replicate Batman's very successful formula for Superman is a fool's errand--you've successfully come up with a Superman movie that has less action than Superman Returns
Better still, simply throw the heroes together, and imply that they already know one another, and don't delve too deeply into the background of either character. It just isn't unnecessary to do so. Seriously, if you're doing a story about auto racing, your story doesn't have to cover the invention of the wheel in ancient times to be understood. Most people already know what a wheel is, and don't need for you to explain it to them, for them to understand your story premise. And it's pretty much a safe bet that just about everyone in the audience of a "World's Finest" film already knows pretty much everything they need to know about the origins of these two iconic characters, or else they wouldn't be in the theatre in the first place. Like the wheels in the racing story example above, the audience already knows what they need to know for the rest of the story to make sense to them. They don't want or need for you to explain to them, things that they already know. And those few who aren't already all that familiar with these characters will undoubtedly figure out who is who, and what is what, from story context alone, provided that the story is even moderately well crafted.
^ Agreed. As much as I love the character (he's on the top three list of my favorite bad guys) even I want the next film not to feature him - or if it does he should be a background character and not in it for very long.
I've always thought that the worlds in Batman Begins and Superman Returns were about the same. They don't look all that different or incompatible to me.
I'm not really bored of him I just wish that the movies would focus on other villains. You'd think that Lex Luthor is Superman's only villain going by the films.
Somewhat off-topic: I think that a short Routh cameo in Batman 3 could be very cool. Maybe the stars'll never align for a full-blown crossover movie, but with Batman hunted by the cops as well as baddies, what better time for Supes to drop in and provide a clue or small piece of useful information?