"Superman Returns Again" still in limbo...

[Spaceman Spiff]

I think Routh will be a little less boyish by the time the next film gets made.

[Captain Craig]

Routh really was the only major thing they got right. Oh, they did other things right as it pertained to the Donnor-verse, however, the problem they didn't percieve was that they would fumble the resurrection and presentation of that verse to today's audience.

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

I thought Routh was decent as Superman, but I didn't particularly like his acting as Clark Kent. Routh and Bosworth would have been much better served by a new take on Superman where the characters are young reporters just starting out at The Daily Planet.

I actually think that Singer's take on the Superman mythos might have worked great if he'd cast leads who were appropriate in terms of portraying a Superman and Lois Lane who have shared a long history together, with Superman having left and come back after a long absence. Imagine Jim Caviezel and Diane Lane in the roles and it's a very different movie.

[TemporalFlux]

Given the modern history of his films, the next movie should be titled "Run Superman, Run!".

[JacksonArcher]

Out Of My Vulcan Mind wrote:

---

I thought Routh was decent as Superman, but I didn't particularly like his acting as Clark Kent. Routh and Bosworth would have been much better served by a new take on Superman where the characters are young reporters just starting out at The Daily Planet.

I actually think that Singer's take on the Superman mythos might have worked great if he'd cast leads who were appropriate in terms of portraying a Superman and Lois Lane who have shared a long history together, with Superman having left and come back after a long absence. Imagine Jim Caviezel and Diane Lane in the roles and it's a very different movie.

Ironically enough, back when Mark Millar was so confident that Jim Caviezel was going to play Superman, I was actually convinced. I thought he could pull it off. I was a tad disappointed that it wasn't actually him, since Millar had pulled off one hell of a convincing argument. Then again, he is one very manipulating, very conniving guy. He would lead everyone to believe he was doing the next Superman film ... even himself!

[davejames]

Out Of My Vulcan Mind wrote:

---

I thought Routh was decent as Superman, but I didn't particularly like his acting as Clark Kent. Routh and Bosworth would have been much better served by a new take on Superman where the characters are young reporters just starting out at The Daily Planet.

I actually think that Singer's take on the Superman mythos might have worked great if he'd cast leads who were appropriate in terms of portraying a Superman and Lois Lane who have shared a long history together, with Superman having left and come back after a long absence. Imagine Jim Caviezel and Diane Lane in the roles and it's a very different movie.

I myself had no trouble accepting that it was a slightly different version of STM that was being followed up (with different actors and a different looking Metropolis), but I do think it might have been confusing for general moviegoers.

Going in either one of those directions you laid out probably would have been better. If I had to pick, I'd go for the first, with Routh and Bosworth as a couple of young reporters in a reboot. That way they'd grow and mature into the roles and not risk looking middle-aged by movies 3 and 4.

[RandyS]

Frontier wrote:

---

I think they need to abandon "Returns" and start from scratch.
Lois Lane needs to be a lot more sassy and smart, a lot less... Bosworth.

Agreed. But they need to fire Routh too. He came off like he was parodying Reeve. He looked and sounded too much like Reeve. They need a new actor who can bring his own characterization to the role.

And Bosworth was a bad move no matter how you look at it. If they can't get Teri Hatcher, at least get Erica Durnace. Either would be better.

[ClayinCA]

While I wouldn't want them to replace Brandon Routh, I'd be fine with bringing someone else to play Lois. Nothing against Kate Bosworth as an actress per se, but Lois should be a little more fiery, and Bosworth came off much too blandly (though that could be down to her director as well). I'd prefer somebody like Anne Hathaway or Rachel McAdams.

I think that if they do recast either Superman or Lois, they should go with someone not previously associated with the characters from any other version of Superman - in other words, no Erica Durance or Tom Welling, for example. While I like both actors and their portrayals of the roles, if you're not literally doing Smallville: The Movie, it would just be too weird to have one of them show up, especially if it was only one of them.

[Galactus]

I can only hope that they make a Superman movie that I actually want to see. Like I said I will be happy either way. I either get a movie I want to see, or I get to see Singer fail again.

Rami gets the diss. In Hollywood you really are only as good as your last movie unless you have at least 10 hits under your belt like Eddie.

And yes Jim Caviezel would have been the perfect Superman. How did the WB mess that up again.

[DarKush]

I'm all for going with a new director and cast. I thought Routh was okay, but he was a bit too slender. Tom Welling from Smallville has the right type of build for the role. He's muscular, broad chest, but not like he's on steroids. As for Routh's performance I blame Singer. I think Routh could've done a good job if Singer hadn't had him trying to act like a wan Christopher Reeve.

Bosworth was just a terrible choice.

As for Luthor in a new film. I think Lex is a credible villian, Clancy Brown and Michael Rosenbaum have proven that. It's a matter of approach. Spacey was brilliant casting, but once again I think it was misdirection which hurt his character.

That being said, I'm not opposed to seeing other villians, with Luthor playing a supporting role or no role at all. It is time to see Brainiac, Darkseid, Doomsday, Parasite, Metallo, Bizarro, etc. I think the FX today could really make them pretty awesome villians. As for Zod, I'm not sure they should go there again-Terrence Stamp just gave a great performance. I would rather see Jax-Ur and Mala from STAS as the Kryptonian villians. It would be new character territory for the writers/director to explore.

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

I want a clean break. While there were some things about Returns I liked, some casting too, there was nothing at all that i loved and need to see return.

Most of all, I want something's that a clear break in TONE and visual STYLE.

Time for a new visual aesthetic, one that's more upbeat, adventurous, and hopeful, a Superman that's colorful, threats that are big and Superman ish, and a Clark/Superman that isn't stuck in the past trying to recapture the un-capturable magic of a 30 year old film and a mimicking a like actor who's passed away.

when I saw Spider-man 2, man, I got that vibe, that "Romita Sr. era" vibe. Dark Knight just feels like a Batman story, with elements of Denny O'Neil, Moore's Killing Joke, Long Halloween, etc all wafting in and out like great cologne. Iron Man just nails Tony Stark. None of them are perfect movies, but they FEEL like Spider-Man, and Batman, and Iron Man. Even the first two X-Men movies manage to capture bits of that Claremont-era "feel" despite the massive changes. I want something that feels like SUPERMAN.

I don't really care if there's an origin or no origin, but the benefit of an origin is to clearly signal that this is a new thing and we can forget about past movies, it's a "short-hand" way to tell the audience that without having to read some EW article that tells them it's a new series. But it doesn't matter much to me either way, as long as the rest of the movie feels right.

I want a Superman more faithful to the 'post Crisis' modern version of Superman. My Superman doesn't have to be muscular, but I'm so done with idolizing everything after the Donner movie. This may shock internet fans, but you know, as much as the film is fondly remembered, the general audience really doesn't rank it as a Godfather masterpiece.

Superman TAS is a great initial blueprint for what I'd like to see, particularly the portrayals of Superman, Lois, and Luthor.

[StarTrek1701]

S:R literally killed the Superman franchise. The comics can do so wonderous stuffs with him yet screenwriters tend to have no idea how to take a crack at this well established character. I say keep Routh, and bring in an entirely different team.

[Samurai8472]

At least this time the development hell won't be as long as the last one. I can go as far back as 1998. Some can go back farther.

Btw can some explain the polars and fortress thing? I only know it was as jon peters idea and he hated the old suit "it was too pink"

Ofcourse he seems to have changed his mind in the "look up" documentary. He said that past attempts didn't have the heart of what singer was creating.

[CaptainCanada]

DarKush wrote:

---

I would rather see Jax-Ur and Mala from STAS as the Kryptonian villians. It would be new character territory for the writers/director to explore.

Jax-Ur and Mala were just stand-ins for Zod and Ursa; there was literally nothing distinct about them (Mala was even voiced by Ursa's actress in her second appearance).

I liked all the casting in SR apart from Bosworth, who was just too young; Routh, Langela, Spacey (who could have been a fantastic Luthor if he hadn't been stuck playing "goddamn wacky Lex", as Paul Dini described it) all fit their roles. But if they ultimately decide to go in a different story continuity, they should probably recast, just for clarity. And for the love of god, nobody from Smallville.

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Zod and Jax-Ur are both characters from the comics, both making their first appearance in 1961 (in April and October respectively). They are very similar in that they're both Kryptonian criminals who were imprisoned in the Phantom Zone.

I'd like the films to use Metallo, Brainiac, Parasite, the Ultra-Humanite, and Darkseid, and then to bring in a new version of Zod at some point down the line (General Zod is just a much cooler name for a villain than Jax-Ur).