Brandon Routh leaving Superman?

[Galactus]

At this point they should make a sequel. I mean it is better than letting it just die another 20 years. I just don't get why is it hard to make a Superman movie. I mean he is Superman. What's is there to get? I mean we should have 100's of Superman movies not a handful. Superman has plenty of villians to fight. I just don't get it. I mean Batman I absolutely don't get but people love him to death. I mean I obviously know nothing about making movies because every movie I think is crap, makes plenty of money and people love it. Every time I go into a Wal-Mart there is still a crowd of people watching Transformers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bad Bishop]

I thought that Routh as Clark Kent/Superman was a real asset to SR, so I think the studio should hang on to him. He's young enough to give WB two more films, at least.

WB can kill a couple of birds with one stone by producing a quasi-reboot of Superman starring Routh. The film should have a different look, i.e. changes in art and production design to make visually different from SR. A more futuristic-looking Metropolis wouldn't be a bad idea, considering that Metropolis has looked futuristic in many of the comic books, not to mention the animated series of the '90's. If the next Superman has it's own look, then it's easier to sell the idea that the new film is, in effect and purpose, a whole new beginning.

I've suggested all this before, and I know that some people just can't process the notion of a reboot starring previously employed actors from SR. Well, maybe it's better for Superman if Warner Bros and fans start thinking outside of the proverbial box.

 

[Galactus]

I don't think that they can't envision a reboot with the same actors, I think no one likes the same actors. It is kinda like a getting married to someone young divorcing them young, then seeing that they are a good person later, but you still don't want to marry them later.

 

[Biggshow]

Because we all pretty much know Superman's origins by now, I also think they should keep Routh and Spacey and have the next movie start with something that looks like one of the various DC Crises. Superman (and any other DC heroes the producers can get their hands on) saves the day but feels a little woozy. He turns around and there's a whole new looking Metropolis, Lois Lane, et al, and billionaire Lex Luthor is there for a photo op. Superman says, "Huh. Everything seems...different." Title sequence. New story begins.

 

[davejames]

Someone in Superherohype made this comment:

Posted by: senorashish on July 5, 2009 at 03:38:04

And the thing about it that really angers me is that Singer, the self-proclaimed “Superman Fan” did more harm to Superman than goon. In Summer 2005, he went to Comic-Con boasting about how he “knew” the Superman legend and was going to make a great Superman film. What we got was a shoddy product. Like a car or door-to-door salesman, Singer acted like a con-artist, pitching his product to us, gaining our trust, and then dumping a worthless piece of garbage in our laps. We were duped by this con-artist. He didn’t care for Superman, and chose to ignore any and all post-crisis comic books. The only exposure this con-artist had to Superman was to Donner’s outdated, and somewhat campy film.


I agree 100%.

Um, there are a ton of people like me who feel Donner's so-called "outdated" movie is one of the most iconic and faithful portrayals of the character there's ever been. If paying respect to that means ignoring all this "post-crisis" nonsense, then so be it. Just because I haven't continued to follow every storyline in every comic to the present day doesn't mean I'm not a true Superman fan.

It's only the Golden and Silver Age Superman that most people are familiar with anyway.

 

[Mr Light]

^^ I dunno, a lot of people were introduced to Superman through the 1990s cartoon. I know I was. And that was very post-Crisis.

 

[The_Emperor]

A reboot wouldn't necessarily have to go over the origin again in any detail.

Exactly. Reboot doesn't mean 30 minute origin story. Though I do think the origin should be covered, though it could EASILY be covered by a five minute montage during the opening credits. Nice and simple, and everyone in the audience would get the broad strokes of his origin.

The John Williams Superman theme is 4 minutes and 28 seconds. I bet you that, in that time, not only could we get all the necessary movie credits, but we can get a montage of scenes showing Superman's origin. 30-second or so clip of life on Krypton, and tremors affecting the planet. 30 more seconds of Jor-El and Lara saying goodbye to baby Kal-El and his rocket leaving Krypton as it explodes. Another minute of the rocket crashing in Kansas and being found by the Kents. Scenes of young Clark growing up in Smallville. Add in some scenes of his travelling around the world for a few years after graduating high school, and boom. Theme song ends, credits are over, and the movie proper begins. 4 minutes and 28 seconds.

As for making a reboot, I mean discarding all the prior Superman movies and starting over. Let's see Superman's first days in Metropolis, again. I want to see the movie effectively starting on day one of his arrival to Metropolis, becoming a writer for the Daily Planet, and his first days as Superman. That's the movie we should've gotten. Not with some some "vague continuity".

At this point they should make a sequel. I mean it is better than letting it just die another 20 years.

A sequel "just because" is a terrible idea. That's pretty much guaranteeing that the sequel is dreck. And if the sequel is dreck, then you're making sure that the franchise DOES die for 20 years. The last thing Superman needs is another movie rushed out "just because".

Besides, you don't need to wait 20 years to make a reboot. Just look at The Incredible Hulk. That only came out a few years after Ang Lee's crapfest and successfully rebooted the Hulk franchise. They can just as easily reboot Superman.

Um, there are a ton of people like me who feel Donner's so-called "outdated" movie is one of the most iconic and faithful portrayals of the character there's ever been.

Yeah, and there's a word for that. It's called being "wrong". :P Those movies had their good points, but they were also atrocious in other ways. Like Lex Luthor's portrayal. It was absolutely ridiculous, as was the whole "fly around the Earth really fast and make it spin backwards, thus travelling back in time". That was terrible. Superman II was much better, but it still had its weak points, like Superman and the Kryptonians displaying powers that they never should've had, like teleporting. Huh? Since when? And since when does Superman throw his S shield around and it turns into a giant plastic tarp?

 

[Admiral_Young]

Superman The Movie and it's sequel unfortunately had to deal with Superman's pre-crisis powers and origin and of course back then there was no Crisis yet so all of those things were totally normal. Seeing the movies now with our current Post-Crisis knowledge of his status it would be silly but it's still a iconic movie.

The discussion of the origin seems to come up in every Superman movie thread....anyways as mentioned it can be handled in a brief four or five minute montage. I like the idea of showing it during the opening credits using John Williams music in flashes. All Star Superman had a single page for his origin and it was awesome and you got the point. While it doesn't necessarily have to be in the movie I love the origin story and would like to see something of it.

 

[Aragorn]

And since when does Superman throw his S shield around and it turns into a giant plastic tarp?

Hey now, that power comes in great when Metropolis' baseball team has a rain delay!

 

[The_Emperor]

The discussion of the origin seems to come up in every Superman movie thread....anyways as mentioned it can be handled in a brief four or five minute montage. I like the idea of showing it during the opening credits using John Williams music in flashes. All Star Superman had a single page for his origin and it was awesome and you got the point. While it doesn't necessarily have to be in the movie I love the origin story and would like to see something of it.

Exactly. I understand not wanting to waste a whole lot of time on his origin story and agree, but you have to have it. Not having it would've been like Batman Begins without seeing the Wayne's getting murdered. Sure, everybody knows that Bruce Wayne became Batman because he saw his parents get murdered as a child, but that doesn't mean you should leave out his origin, because it's not a complete story without it. So you have to have the origin in there in some fashion. The benefit, though, is that most people do know it, so you can make it pretty quick, with a couple minutes of montage in the beginning, and people should get the basic gist of it. Add in a couple lines to Lois in an interview, and that should about cover it.

Let me point out, though, that just because most people know Superman's origin, that doesn't mean that everybody knows. While you don't have to dwell on it to much with Superman, you DO have to have something for those who have no clue about Krypton or anything else. And those people do exist. For evidence of that, I present you Jon Peters, the producer of Superman Returns, who was also attached to produce the prior Superman movies that never made it to film. According to Kevin Smith, he read Peters his Superman script, starting with the origin. Throughout the script, rather than saying Superman all the time, he decided to mix it up. Calling him the Man of Steel at one point, Clark, Kal-El, etc. So at one point of the reading, when the story's on Krypton, Peters jumps up and says "Wait a minute. Who da f*** is Kal-el?"

So yeah. If the guy who's supposed to be producing a Superman movie doesn't know something like that, then you can't expect everyone in the audience to know all the details. So you're going to have to have something. But as I pointed out, that doesn't mean you have to spend 30 minutes on it. Five minutes, or the length of the John Williams Superman theme, and a couple of lines thrown in the middle of the movie is MORE then enough time to get that origin across.

 

[Broccoli]

I wouldn't be opposed to a Superman movie that goes the route (in terms of "origin") like Batman '89.

Have Supes starting out in Metropolis, but we don't necessarily see his origin other than references to it or he can learn of Krypton (after he's operating as Superman) as the movie goes on (as opposed to having it all upfront like S:TM).

And since when does Superman throw his S shield around and it turns into a giant plastic tarp?

Hey now, that power comes in great when Metropolis' baseball team has a rain delay!

Back when Family Guy was good.

 

[Aragorn]

This just in -- Brandon Routh has replaced Tom Welling for the movie Cheaper By the Dozen 3. Welling declined to reprise his role when he found out the character will have to wear glasses for more than 45 seconds.

 

[DarKush]

I like how Superman's Smallville origin was handled in Birthright. It wasn't too much focus on it, it seemed, and then they did the world tour and got him off to Metropolis. But the idea of an opening scene montage, similar to the Watchmen, might be the best way to go. Superman's backstory, parts of it at least, are universally known, and Smallville has been retreading that territory going on nine years. I would perfer that they perhaps do a montage, start him in Metropolis, and get him into the suit as quick as possible.

 

[The_Emperor]

I like how Superman's Smallville origin was handled in Birthright. It wasn't too much focus on it, it seemed, and then they did the world tour and got him off to Metropolis. But the idea of an opening scene montage, similar to the Watchmen, might be the best way to go. Superman's backstory, parts of it at least, are universally known, and Smallville has been retreading that territory going on nine years. I would perfer that they perhaps do a montage, start him in Metropolis, and get him into the suit as quick as possible.

Exactly. Five minute or so montage, perhaps overlaid with the John Williams Superman theme (the ONLY thing that should be retained from the earlier Superman movies, as that's a classic soundtrack indelibly linked to Superman) as you play the credits, and once that's over, boom. Clark Kent sets foot into the Daily Planet for the first time after his hiring. A couple days after that, Superman takes flight for the first time, and we're off to the races.

 

[Stardate]

How can people call Superman a deadbeat dad if he didn't know that Lois was pregnant when he left to Krypton.

 

[Captain Craig]

Brandon Routh has now become the George Lazenby of the Superman series. He really was the only bright spot in casting.

With the exception of a small minority clinging to SR as "good" the majority of us have been seeing this coming. Routh's contract is yet again one more sign that WB has no intention of following up SR.

When no news was announced 1yr after the film its fans made excuses.
When Singer seemed off the project the films fans made excuses.
With Routh out due to contract stipulations will the films fans have more excuses?

I wouldn't own the film if someone hadn't gotten it for me and they probably got it for $5 out of the Wal-Mart bin(gag gift) full of movies no one really wants to own.


As someone pointed out 2013 is going to be Supermans 75th Anniversary. That just screams opportunity, unless WB takes cues from Paramount who did nothing for Treks 40th but I digress.

Rebooting doesn't mean lenghty origin sequence ala Donnor. We got a Batman origin rehash in Begins and I don't recall people being upset about that.

The biggest problem with Returns was that it wasn't fresh. It resurrected an outdated version of Superman on film that didn't play well and have the same gravitas for todays more jaded or just more clued in audiences.
Real estate Luthor? really?
Island full of Krytonite, your poison, yet you lift it into space? Sorry no amount of solar recharge allows for that.

Reboot it WB and do it right this time. Find your Favreau.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Rebooting doesn't mean lenghty origin sequence ala Donnor. We got a Batman origin rehash in Begins and I don't recall people being upset about that.

Batman's origin had never been told in any detail in a film, though, prior to Batman Begins.

 

[Captain Craig]

Rebooting doesn't mean lenghty origin sequence ala Donnor. We got a Batman origin rehash in Begins and I don't recall people being upset about that.

Batman's origin had never been told in any detail in a film, though, prior to Batman Begins.

In the '89 version we got the alley sequence, which is the main thing. The only thing Begins added was the part with Bruce as a boy falling into what would be the cave on the Wayne manor grounds.
Batmans origin couldn't be any easier. Besides, Begins would only make the origin the 1st retelling. The '89 Batman being the only other theatrical telling. Not like its really been worn out one way of the other.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

The '89 film showed the bare bones of it in flashback, but it didn't go into his training around the world, how he decided to become Batman, how he put all of the equipment together. Batman Begins was the first to go through all of that.

 

[Captain Craig]

^^^
I see. We were of two thoughts on what we meant by 'origin'. I was only referring to the boyhood material. You were going further out. Now that I know what your train of thought is then yes I can agree with what your saying.