Superman: The Reboot --- Its official

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

^ The Animated Series is a great template to start from. they really did an outstanding job of mis-mashing some of the more iconic aspects of Superman lore... every character felt right, Lois personality, Perry's good-natured-yet-gruff, Lex Luthor the corporate tycoon, the "superman" of metropolis before Superman showed up

 

[butch101]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

It might not be a bad thing to do it like the comic version, but maybe as a sequel, not a godforsaken reboot. You can add realism to it, put some ingredients here and there and make something wonderful. But comparing "The Dark Knight" to "Superman Returns" or any other Superman, this is totally wrong.

I don't think that add "darkness" to this wonderful character is the true way to help. Superman is a symbol of optimism for mankind. Superman had dark moments in his life, but this is nothing to compare to Batman. Batman is a man wearing a suit and using today's technology to be a vigilante. Superman is NOT.

Changing Superman's "identity" is not the answer to make big buck$$$. Get a strong storyline. Great director (Singer added some heart to Superman after all), and great actors to make us believe that a man can still fly...

my 2 cents
Butch

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

They don't have to make Superman Dark. Just his villains.

Zod ripping babies in half? Bizarro Ice Visioning a zoo till all the animals are dead. The Toyman enslaving half a continent and keeping the adults in kennels. Parasite draining Jimmy Olsen till he's a desiccated husk. Maxima raping Superman to get those babies out of him she's been after forever.

And a bright and positive Kal-El optimistically hopeful in the face of such things?

 

[T'Baio]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

Imagine if Brett Ratner got it now? Man, I'd laugh my ass off!

You know who I think would be a good director for it? Wait for it...

Judd Apatow.

I'm serious.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

An origin story is the key to the superhero formula, as ever single wildly successful super hero franchise has done. SR broke that tread and crashed for it.

Blade, X-Men, heck, the original Batman? None of them did an origin, and all were big hits.

So Marvel is never giving going to let DC use Captain Marvel again huh.

Why would they want to help DC make money?

 

[Samurai8472]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

If they're going for a dark tone(as far as the characters allow it) Clark should be investigating some shady people at the dock who he suspects were smuggling weapons.

He soon finds out they work for Luthor and were helping Luthor construct a new military weapon

On one hand Superman can go right in and demand answers, but what would the public think? Luthors claims that Superman is dangerous would be confirmed. So Clark can't go as Superman

Clark would just be a reporter who has no hard proof and can't fight Lex's money and lawyers.

 

[RandyS]

Bye bye Jason.
Bye bye Bosworth

^Well THIS is certainly good news, but a darker Superman??

THAT won't work.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

And they've had how many commercially and creatively successful super-hero films in a decade or so prior to TDK...?

In the last decade their output of live action comic book films (including non-DC and non-superhero) has been Catwoman, Constantine, Batman Begins, V for Vendetta, Superman Returns, 300, and The Dark Knight, with Watchmen forthcoming.

Catwoman was of course terrible, one of the very worst comic book films ever, but their output since then has been an interesting group of films representing much more ambition in terms of creating bold, striking comic book films than Warners has shown since Tim Burton's Batman films. Opinions of course differ as to whether these films were realized in a creatively satisfying way, and that difference of opinion can be vehement, but at least Warners is aiming high with their comic book films. I'd rather they aim high and sometimes not quite hit the target than aim low and churn out films on the level of Fantastic Four and Ghost Rider.

The fact that they've been redoubling their efforts in the development of DC films by consulting with top DC writers and artists is a good sign, too.

 

[CaptainCanada]

The fact that they've been redoubling their efforts in the development of DC films by consulting with top DC writers and artists is a good sign, too.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves; they've had a meeting or two, after a decade or so worth of meetings already.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves; they've had a meeting or two, after a decade or so worth of meetings already.

The meetings are one element in what is obviously a redoubled effort to ramp up and get more DC films made. That's a good thing. Maybe things will fall apart, maybe the films will end up being disappointing, but maybe we'll get some excellent DC films over the next few years. WB has increased their DC output over the last few years and the level of ambition in the projects has been high, so I see cause for optimism that those trend lines will continue in a positive direction.

 

[Galactus]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

An origin story is the key to the superhero formula, as ever single wildly successful super hero franchise has done. SR broke that tread and crashed for it.

Blade, X-Men, heck, the original Batman? None of them did an origin, and all were big hits.

X-Men should the origin of how Wolverine and Rogue joined the X-Men, Batman definitely showed the origin of Batman and why he became Batman and how that tied to the Joker. Again it was not full of details but it was still an origin.

So Marvel is never giving going to let DC use Captain Marvel again huh.

Why would they want to help DC make money?[/quote]

Not letting them use the name is not keeping DC from doing anything, just keeping Marvel from earning a little extra cash off of DC

 

[Bad Bishop]

From the original WSJ article:

"Superman Returns," which had disappointing box-office returns, didn't please executives. "'Superman' didn't quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to," says Mr. Robinov. "It didn't position the character the way he needed to be positioned." "Had 'Superman' worked in 2006, we would have had a movie for Christmas of this year or 2009," he adds. "But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all."

This quote has a bit of Hollywoodspeak that I find interesting. When Robinov says that SR didn't "position" the character the way he needed to be positioned, what exactly does he mean?

1. The domestic gross was too low
2. Fans weren't supportive enough of the film
3. Lois Lane's son created a problem for future films
4. All of the above
5. Something else not listed above

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121936107614461929.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

 

[Cartoonist]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

We've talked about it ad naseum for the last 2 years. Multiple threads. The recent limbo talks have now moved to flat out REBOOT.

Bye bye Jason.
Bye bye Bosworth

Superman to be Rebooted

Like the recent Batman sequel -- which has become the highest-grossing film of the year thus far -- Mr. Robinov wants his next pack of superhero movies to be bathed in the same brooding tone as "The Dark Knight." Creatively, he sees exploring the evil side to characters as the key to unlocking some of Warner Bros.' DC properties. "We're going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it," he says. That goes for the company's Superman franchise as well.

*sigh*

And once again Warners proves they don't have a fucking clue. The Dark Knight was dark because Batman works great dark. Superman doesn't - never has and never will. Neither does Wonder Woman. Or for that matter most of the DC characters. What they desperately need to do is make each character as true to his/ her essence as TDK was to Batman's. I can't believe what they're taking away from TDK is "make 'em all dark!" How can they possible produce something as good as TDK and still not understand what they're doing? It truly amazes me they have such a cluelessly simplistic view of their stable of characters.

Didn't anyone read the "to the extent that the character allows" part? I read that to mean a Superman film's not going to be dark the way Batman was, but it might have a far more menacing or realistic version of Lex Luthor, Bizarro (maybe the Timm version), Brainiac, or Darkseid. Not to mention a less campy, more imposing (not Gotham, just more intimidating) version of Metropolis. Superman himself doesn't have to be "darker" in order to produce a darker film.

I also take it to mean they want to develop films around characters that lend themselves to darker treatment. Green Lantern would work. There's a lot of loss in Hal Jordan's universe. Wonder Woman would be darker simply by having her fight truly demonic enemies. To me, all "darker" means is villains would really be scary (but more sympathetic rather than mustache-twirling ciphers), and the heroes' incredible feats and the dangers they face would tax them in more ways than just the physical. They'd risk (and conquer) being mentally, morally and emotionally compromised by events just as you or I would be if we were to slide into a pair of tights and go up against killers and monsters. They'd be more human and less demi-god. Darker just means less camp and a closer approximation to reality.

I actually enjoyed Superman Returns. I enjoyed it so much I watched it five times in the theater (dragging different people with me each time). But what it gave me most was a sense of closure on the Donner universe - something I didn't realize I was missing over the 25 or so years since I'd seen the original in the theater. Now that that I got that, I'm interested in seeing a new take on Superman.

 

[davejames]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

^ The Animated Series is a great template to start from. they really did an outstanding job of mis-mashing some of the more iconic aspects of Superman lore... every character felt right, Lois personality, Perry's good-natured-yet-gruff, Lex Luthor the corporate tycoon, the "superman" of metropolis before Superman showed up

I agree the characters all felt right, but the storytelling always felt way too generic and kiddy-fied to me.

Hopefully the next movie will have a lot more complexity than STAS, and be more than just two hours of Superman punching someone through buildings.

 

[Samurai8472]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

I agree the characters all felt right, but the storytelling always felt way too bland and generic to me.

Hopefully the next movie will have a little more complexity than that, and be more than just two hours of Superman punching someone through buildings.

I loved the part in the "last son of Krypton part 3" where Superman used too much strength and ripped off a piece of the plane

"great clark!"

Also that superman wasn't too powerful. High Caliber bullets hurt and he couldn't breath in space.

 

[Cmndr J Crichton]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

What about a trilogy, like they're doing with the Nolan-Bat films?

Superman: The Last Son of Krypton: Focuses on Clark/Kal-El's Rise as Superboy, ala, Batman Begins. Lex Luthor is the primary villain as a mad scientist at first, then becoming a corperate villain. Sort of meshing Classic Lex with now. He's aressted at the end, and that's the last we see of him. So we think...

Superman: The Man of Steel - Clark is now Superman full time. The one we all know and love. He's enaged to Lois Lane, and is defending Metropolis from criminals. Braniac arrives to cause trouble, Superman needs help with the one and only Lex Luthor. He's only there to serve as a Hannible Lecter type exsposition, as he helps Supes defeat Braniac. In the end, Lex somehow manipulates Braniac to break him out of jail, and escapes. Ends with Superman flying off to capture them.

Superman: The Man of Tomorrow - Superman returns (no pun intended) with Lex, seemingly good friends again. In actuality, it's a ruse created by an alien known as Darksied, who captured the real Superman, and held him in another dimension, War World. Gaining the trust of Darkseid's son Kalebak, Superman escapes War World. He engaged in an epic battle with Darkseid and Braniac that spans the universe. Endng in a personal battle with Kalebak and Darkseid, making Kalebak the leader of War World. Braniac and Darkseid are banished to the Phantom Zone, while Lex hides behind his lawyers. Superman continues the fight for justice, as he returns to Earth. Lois and Clark are married at the end of the movie.

 

[Samurai8472]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

I could see Lex Luthors company foreshadowed in the origin part of Superman.

Clark comes home to find that Ben Hubbards property has been bought out by Lex Corp and will become a mini mall or research facility.

 

[Frontier]

Finally!

This all sounds utterly fantastic.

I'm indifferent on keeping or ditching Singer. But I believe the rest of the cast and concepts of 'Returns' will be dropped. Which I think is for the best.

The death of the 'Justice League' film - thank god! It was my greatest worry for DC's film future.

Adopting more of the realism and darkness of Batman? Golden.

This all sounds great. I'm thrilled.

 

[Bad Bishop]

Re: Superman: The Reboot --- Its offcial

I actually enjoyed Superman Returns. I enjoyed it so much I watched it five times in the theater (dragging different people with me each time). But what it gave me most was a sense of closure on the Donner universe - something I didn't realize I was missing over the 25 or so years since I'd seen the original in the theater. Now that that I got that, I'm interested in seeing a new take on Superman.

That's fair. Do you think the studio has to replace Routh in order to accomplish their goals for Superman?

 

[Galactus]

There should be a moratorium on Lex Luthor, he should not show up in another Superman movie for the next 25 years minimum.