Superman: The Reboot --- Its official

In theory you present him with someone who should be his equal, or perhaps even (apparently) better, and he proves he truly is super by beating him in the end anyway.

Agreed. This is why Superman stories have yet to truly capture me. I think that may be why I appreciated Singer's choice to play up the father/son relationships because it gives him a real heart and soul. Having issues with my own father(s), I swallowed it hook, line, and sinker, and it made me care more deeply for him.

Now, obviously that didn't work well enough for everybody, so that's clearly not what they'll go for again in the reboot.

I'm struggling to see what else they can do to make Superman more than just "goodie-two-shoes with tons of power".

The answer is, apparently, "as much as need needs to be." I doubt we ever see it quantified.

That's the real trick.

 

Sorry I disagree with that totally. Like I said Luthor appeals to people for a certain reason. It is the common theme that always plagues science fiction and fantasy.

Do you actually know a lot about Superman and his history?

 

Agreed. I wonder who would fit the bill? It needs someone with at least somewhat of a naturally thick body, who can then add on some muscle in training, and on top of that use makeup/costuming to finish off the look.

IMO it can't be someone who is already "too known" for either a specific role or a general character type. It needs to be someone more versatile.

I feel a little sorry for Routh in all of this. One day he's this generation's Superman, a couple years later and he'll be just a small spot on the Superman timeline.

From above: (with added highlight)

 

Gerard Butler with the body he had for 300.

This.Is.Kryptooon.

 

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- It's official

Luthor has been in:

• Superman--The Movie
• Superman II
• Superman IV
• Superman Returns

That's four of the five Superman films. You better believe that Luthor has been overused. It's time for a classic alien villain like Brainiac. If Luthor is seen again let it be in a minor role, like Scarecrow in The Dark Knight.

 

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- It's official

And seven seasons of Smallville that have been heavily Luthor-centric. Luthor is great, but it's time for a rest. Brainiac, Parasite, Metallo, Darkseid, and the Ultra-Humanite are the villains I most want to see in future Superman films.

 

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- It's official

I couldn't agree more.

 

just make a fucking Smallville movie already...

and then spin Green Arrow, Black Canary, Aquaman and Impulse out into their own movies, then get the Smallville people to do Green Lantern and Wonder Woman and bob's yer uncle, JLA movie.

 

Sorry, terrible idea. Thankfully it's not going to happen.

 

Re: WB to reboot Superman franchise after awful "Superman Returns"

While I'm more than fine with Warner taking the Superman films in a new direction, I loved Superman Returns.

 

I really, really like that. I'm stealing it.

SUPERMAN: Peter Krause (Six Feet Under, Dirty Sexy Money)
LOIS LANE: Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There, The Aviator)
LEX LUTHOR: Clancy Brown (Carnivale, The Shawshank Redemption)
PERRY WHITE: Martin Sheen (The West Wing, The Dead Zone)
JOR-EL: Lance Henriksen (MillenniuM, Aliens)
LARA: Joan Allen (The Contender, Nixon)
JONATHAN KENT: Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner, Braveheart)
MARTHA KENT: Rita Moreno (Oz, West Side Story)
JIMMY OLSEN: Jared Padalecki (Supernatural, Gilmore Girls)
JOHN HENRY IRONS: Mathew St. Patrick (Six Feet Under, Reunion)
EMIL HAMILTON: Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, V for Vendetta)
ZOD: James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville)
JOHN CORBEN: Terry O'Quinn (Lost, MillenniuM)
BRAINIAC: Callum Keith Rennie (Battlestar Galactica, The X-Files: I Want To Believe)
PARASITE: Garrett Dillahunt (Deadwood, The 4400)
MERCY: Lena Headey (300, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
MANCHESTER BLACK: Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica, L&O:UK)
MORGAN EDGE: Michael Emerson (Lost, The Practice)

 

Re: WB to reboot Superman franchise after awful "Superman Returns"

I was disappointed with Returns at first, but enjoyed it more on subsequent viewings. It's easy to tell that Bryan Singer had a passion for the first two movies and respected the character and mythology.

What worries me is this new trend of simply rebooting a franchise if Joe Public didn't really embrace to the studio's expectations. There's no need to reboot Superman, they're just milking the appeal of his origin story again instead of trying to think of new plotlines.

 

This reboot gives me a measure of hope, but it is a tepid measure. For one, WB has now finally acknowledged that the Singer Superman was a failure; that admission shows they have woken up to reality in some degree. Secondly, the goal of emulating the Begins movies means that they have acknowledged a successful formula; the key to success or failure will be how much of the formula they actually understand.

A Superman movie could have a "darker" tone - a catalyst for such a direction could be Brainiac. Taking a cue from the animated series and the recent direction of the comics, Brainiac could be presented as an alien whose goal is to collect information and then destroy the original so that Brainiac has the only copy in the universe; this path would ultimately lead to Brainiac being in control of the entire universe as all that will remain is its ghost in his hard drive. Brainiac would be driven to possess the unique knowledge Clark holds as the last Kryptonian and pressed into collecting as quickly as possible through any means necessary before something else kills or damages Clark and the knowledge held by him and his equipment.

The above is the foundation of the Batman Begins formula. A formidable, recognizable comic villain who has never gotten proper exposure (Ra's al Ghul / Brainiac); a secondary villain adding thrust to the main villain's plot (to fill Scarecrow's shoes, you could have Parasite trying to absorb Superman's power, memories, etc.); and the last part of a Begins formula is a vehicle for touching upon Superman's origin without seeming like you're retelling Superman's origin (i.e. We see memories during absorptions / attacks that relate to the current battle scenarios Superman is locked in).

And again like Begins, the arch enemy (Luthor) should be hinted at in the first film but ultimately saved for the second film.

It would be a darker Superman movie, but it would very much be a Superman movie. Of course, this again is conditioned on just how much WB and any hired writers actually understand the Begins formula. At the very least, Begins provides the WB something more than what they've had for the past 15 years in Superman film planning; Begins is very much a blueprint to the right eye.

 

Re: WB to reboot Superman franchise after awful "Superman Returns"

Impartial news headlines: You're doing it wrong.

 

Re: WB to reboot Superman franchise after awful "Superman Returns"

I'd rather contract genital herpes than watch X-Men III again.

 

Re: WB to reboot Superman franchise after awful "Superman Returns"

Not by MSNBC standards.

 

Re: WB to reboot Superman franchise after awful "Superman Returns"

QFT.

I've tried to find that part of my brain that remembers X3...and destroy it.

But then, I'm afraid, I might see it again...

*shudder*

 

Re: WB to reboot Superman franchise after awful "Superman Returns"

The other thread is literally still at the top of the first page... you didn't even have to do a search.