‘Superman & Batman’ movie will follow ‘Man of Steel’

[Nerys Myk]

Cranston is great actor, but Luthor at least in this version needs to be closer to Clark's age so they it could have weight to their rivalry. They have to be equal in age, which is why Corey Stoll is the best choice for this part IMO.

Why do they "have to be" anything? There's no single correct way to approach Superman or Lex Luthor. Sure, if you want to do the particular version of the story where they were childhood friends in Smallville, then it makes sense for them to be close in age -- though it's worth noting that Smallville's Lex was portrayed as about 7 years older than Clark. But there have been a number of successful versions of Superman in which Lex has already been an older, established businessman (or supercriminal, in earlier versions) at the time Clark begins his career as Superman -- for instance, the post-Crisis comics continuity and Superman: The Animated Series.

Besides, we've already seen a Lexcorp logo on some trucks in Man of Steel, which seems to confirm that they are indeed going that route. So casting an older actor as Lex is necessary to be consistent with what they've already done (unless they wanted to copy Smallville and use Lionel Luthor, which is unlikely).

I like the idea of Luthor and Superman being opposites in many ways.

Luthor: Older, rich, amoral and a "thinker".

Superman: Young, humble origins, moral and more physical.

 

[The Old Mixer]

FWIW, considering that Clark didn't get around to being Superman until the age of 33, Lex could be about the same age and an established corporate mogul.

 

[Aldo]

Hopefully Snyder can maintain that same style on his own, and won't feel tempted to return to his old ways. I'd hate to have another situation like the TF movies, where the first one was full of that great Spielberg style and magic (and had a story you could follow), and the sequels were nothing but a couple of typical, mindless Michael Bay action-fests.

Your reasoning is sound. However I would argue that Snyder is a better director than Bay, then again I am a tad biased because I really love Snyder's directorial style.

 

[Dr.H]

Why do they "have to be" anything? There's no single correct way to approach Superman or Lex Luthor. Sure, if you want to do the particular version of the story where they were childhood friends in Smallville, then it makes sense for them to be close in age -- though it's worth noting that Smallville's Lex was portrayed as about 7 years older than Clark. But there have been a number of successful versions of Superman in which Lex has already been an older, established businessman (or supercriminal, in earlier versions) at the time Clark begins his career as Superman -- for instance, the post-Crisis comics continuity and Superman: The Animated Series.

Eh, I think it would just feel right. I kinda like the idea of the arch-rival being your equal, equal in age. I dunno, it would just feel right for this version. Cranston is just way too old--- he's nearly 60.

Besides, we've already seen a Lexcorp logo on some trucks in Man of Steel, which seems to confirm that they are indeed going that route. So casting an older actor as Lex is necessary to be consistent with what they've already done (unless they wanted to copy Smallville and use Lionel Luthor, which is unlikely).

I've always felt Luthor in the animated series was around the same age as Superman(though a wee bit older). I imagined him as being this child genius who built himself rapidly into this corporate businessman. However, the Bryne's esque portrayal of Luthor in that series seems to says otherwise. Eh, if we are going with an older Luthor then why not Stringer Bell? Oh! I mean Idris Elba.

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

Besides, we've already seen a Lexcorp logo on some trucks in Man of Steel, which seems to confirm that they are indeed going that route. So casting an older actor as Lex is necessary to be consistent with what they've already done (unless they wanted to copy Smallville and use Lionel Luthor, which is unlikely).

I considered the Lionel Luthor idea as well but also found it unlikely since the name is Lexcorp and not Luthorcorp. The Luthors don't seem like the kind of people who would build a massive corporation and then name it for their beloved offspring.

 

[Samurai8472]

"Just sign the contract so they can stop calling me, Ben "

 

[Christopher]

Looking at that photo makes me wonder when stubble became not only fashionable, but virtually obligatory for men.

 

[marksound]

Since they're recasting Batman it's a good bet that they won't use anything from Smallville or any other incarnation of Batman that we've seen.

Funny though, since they've cast Ben Affleck there's a Batman actor who has worked with him before. Kevin Porter played Jennifer Garner's bodyguard in Daredevil.

This turned up on Bat in the Sun's Facebook ...

I decided to take it a step further ...

 

[Dream]

Looking at that photo makes me wonder when stubble became not only fashionable, but virtually obligatory for men.

Some men are just lazy bastards.

 

[Christopher]

Since they're recasting Batman it's a good bet that they won't use anything from Smallville or any other incarnation of Batman that we've seen.

Smallville was an incarnation of Batman?

And many characters created for adaptations of comics -- from Jimmy Olsen and Perry White to Harley Quinn and Livewire to X-23 and Agent Coulson -- have been adopted by the comics and by other adaptations. Chloe Sullivan from Smallville has been added to the DCAU at least briefly. So there's no reason a Superman movie couldn't use a version of Lionel Luthor if they wanted. They won't be here, but there's no reason they couldn't.

 

[Dr.H]

Speaking about Olsen, where the hell was he in Man of Steel?

There was rumors(which was later disproved) that his gender was changed, so he became Jenny.

...So I take it he doesn't exist in the Man of Steel universe?

 

[Snaploud]

http://www.dorkly.com/comic/53694/the-ben-affleck-conundrum

 

[marksound]

Since they're recasting Batman it's a good bet that they won't use anything from Smallville or any other incarnation of Batman that we've seen.

Smallville was an incarnation of Batman?

And many characters created for adaptations of comics -- from Jimmy Olsen and Perry White to Harley Quinn and Livewire to X-23 and Agent Coulson -- have been adopted by the comics and by other adaptations. Chloe Sullivan from Smallville has been added to the DCAU at least briefly. So there's no reason a Superman movie couldn't use a version of Lionel Luthor if they wanted. They won't be here, but there's no reason they couldn't.

Dude, you knew what I meant. No need to be like that.

Here's the correction: "it's a good bet that they won't use any plot elements from Smallville or any incarnation of Batman that we've seen."

Not all of us write for a living.

Looking at that photo makes me wonder when stubble became not only fashionable, but virtually obligatory for men.

No idea, maybe it was the 80s, or 90s, or 2000s?

 

[AvBaur]

Speaking about Olsen, where the hell was he in Man of Steel?

There was rumors(which was later disproved) that his gender was changed, so he became Jenny.

...So I take it he doesn't exist in the Man of Steel universe?

Well, there was the "Jenny" character, but there are some doubts as to whether she was actually supposed to be a female Jimmy Olsen: http://www.themarysue.com/jimmy-olsen-jenny-jurwich/

 

[marksound]

I didn't miss Jimmy in MOS. Was there an Olsen character in the movie? I didn't see a place for him. If he doesn't fit into the story, he's an incidental character.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Speaking about Olsen, where the hell was he in Man of Steel?

There was rumors(which was later disproved) that his gender was changed, so he became Jenny.

...So I take it he doesn't exist in the Man of Steel universe?

Or he hasn't shown up yet.

 

[Gaith]

<comic snip>
http://www.dorkly.com/comic/53694/the-ben-affleck-conundrum

Affleck was no less but certainly not more than adequate in his (racebending) performance as Mendez, and if we're honest, his beard went a long way toward dignifying him. Pretty sure the only one calling his acting "fantastic" was his mother.

 

[Nerys Myk]

<comic snip>
http://www.dorkly.com/comic/53694/the-ben-affleck-conundrum

Affleck was no less but certainly not more than adequate in his (racebending) performance as Mendez, and if we're honest, his beard went a long way toward dignifying him. Pretty sure the only one calling his acting "fantastic" was his mother.

Race bending? Mendez is Irish, Italian, French and Mexican

 

[Snaploud]

<comic snip>
http://www.dorkly.com/comic/53694/the-ben-affleck-conundrum

Affleck was no less but certainly not more than adequate in his (racebending) performance as Mendez, and if we're honest, his beard went a long way toward dignifying him. Pretty sure the only one calling his acting "fantastic" was his mother.

I actually still haven't seen Argo. I keep meaning to get around to it.

The comic just seemed funny to me (given the praise I've heard about that movie).

 

[davejames]

Affleck was no less but certainly not more than adequate in his (racebending) performance as Mendez, and if we're honest, his beard went a long way toward dignifying him. Pretty sure the only one calling his acting "fantastic" was his mother.

Kinda have to agree... but he's still a much more interesting actor than he used to be, at least. Which should be enough for this movie.