It's kind of cute to see DC Comics and Warner Bros. getting all excited about making superhero movies again now that The Dark Knight has been established as the greatest, most important film in the history of mankind. This comes after a decade of almost every DC-based movie being a failure while most of what has come from rival camp Marvel Comics has been successful. Now the tables have turned -- or they have for one movie, anyway -- and DC is emboldened. The next step? Find a way to ruin Superman again!

Word came last week that DC and Warners will reboot the Superman franchise, similar to the way Marvel rebooted the Incredible Hulk. (And gee, look how great that turned out! This summer's The Incredible Hulk did just as well at the box office as 2003's supposedly disastrous Hulk did.) Warner honcho Jeff Robinov said they plan to "reintroduce" the character -- but reboot, reintroduce, whatever you call it, are they forgetting that that's what 2006's Superman Returns was? How many times do they think they can redo this character before audiences just give up altogether?

Plenty of questions remain. A reboot probably means an entirely new cast, and possibly a new director. Word on the street before last week's announcement was that Bryan Singer could stay on board if he was willing to go in the new direction, but that's not very helpful right now, since no one knows what the new direction is yet.

So much for Warner Bros really taking their time deciding what to do with the Man of Steel! Group President Jeff Robinov confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that they plan on rebooting the franchise, a'la The Incredible Hulk. "Superman [Returns] didn't quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to," says 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. But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all."

The plan is to release four comic book movies in the next three years -- including a third Batman (no word on whether Nolan is returning), a new Superman, and two other unnamed DC characters. Robinov also confirmed that Warner Bros plans to adopt the Marvel route of a single film for each character, and then building on those origin films to create crossover stories, rather than just jumping into the deep end of the Justice League pool. The only worrying part about Warner Bros new plan is that they are still drunk on The Dark Knight, and want their superhero films to follow that mold. Robinov feels that "exploring the evil side to characters" is the way to approach all the DC characters. "We're going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it." Including Superman.

As most of you noted in the comments, and as anyone distantly familiar with the character knows, a gritty approach is really not the one to take with Superman. He's the good old boy, an American icon, the complete opposite of Batman. He's also, arguably, one of the easiest characters to make into a family friendly comic book film. Superman is ideal for kids because he lacks the moral gray areas Batman revels in -- or should. I'm glad they're rebooting, but I'm wary of the dark direction they plan on taking.

[via SuperheroHype.com and thanks to Eli Gutierrez]

Tom Cruise has decided it's his turn to get in on the comic book action -- and he's teaming up with Sam Raimi to do it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the duo is setting up the DC/Wildstorm comic series Sleeper at Warner Bros. At this point, Raimi is only producing, but Cruise is hoping to star.

Penned by Ed Brubaker, Sleeper was a 12-issue series set in the Wildstorm universe, which means it steers clear of all those heroic crossovers. (It actually involves a villain created by Alan Moore, though, which should be a terrific selling point.) It centers on Holden Carver, a man who was fused with an alien artifact that makes him impervious to pain, and allows him to pass that torment onto whoever he touches. Being a sensitive sort, Carver wants to get rid of his powers -- but tough luck, he's working undercover in the Tao criminal organization. There's a Departed-like twist that leaves Carver stranded within the organization -- but he falls in love with one member, Miss Misery, while befriending another, the cuddly Genocide Jones. All the while he's torn between the work he's doing, his powers, and his relationships with unsavory people.

Sleeper has been embroiled in complicated rights issues, having been set up at several different studios over the years. Warner Bros, post-Watchmen lawsuit, is being extra careful to make everything black and white this time -- and Cruise's interest has already spurred the detangling process. (Which is kind of funny, if you remember the rumors that he was in the running to play Oxymandias -- and Adrian's fascination with how Alexander the Great undid a complicated knot. Wheels within wheels!)

I know there's some Sleeper fans out there -- it's one of those quiet, but well received books that never get enough attention. How do you feel about Cruise playing the lead?

As our Erik Davis reported over the weekend, Warner Bros and DC Comics are in the midst of rehashing their strategy, opting for the slow and steady route. But there's one franchise that has his "reinvention" movie, as it were: Superman. Word is, Warner Bros is utterly torn as to what to do with him.

Variety's Anne Thompson reports that the studio is really taking their time in deciding what to do, and how Bryan Singer will play into it. At this point, despite all the rumors and excited quotes from Singer, no one is working on a Superman script.

Surprisingly, they're with the majority of fans on this one, and feel that the movie didn't revive the character the way they wanted, or the way they know it can be done. (You really have changed things, Christopher Nolan.) Thompson was told that the studio is making the Man of Steel a top priority -- and if Singer is willing "to go in the right direction," they'll keep him, if not, he's off the property. One executive freely admitted that "it might be better to start from scratch."

Remember, Mark Millar and a "big name action director" who had connections at Warner Bros were readying themselves to make a Superman pitch. Millar claimed the world would know by December. Given that such sharks are circling, I won't be surprised if Warners does start from scratch. I'm as perplexed as anyone as to where Singer can go from Superman Returns. For a healthy franchise, they're going to have to reboot, and leave Returns in that misty category of a Donner long delayed sequel.

What do you think? Reboot or continue Singer's storyline?

Isn't that the most exciting headline? My mind is whirling with images of Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash showing up to some remote mountain location and saying "Where's my movie?!"

Unfortunately, the goings-on at the summit are a lot less glamorous, but if you're a DC fan they might be nearly as exciting. According to Variety, Warner Bros and DC are busy charting a course for their superhero franchises, trying to decide which hero or what franchise to kick into high gear. While Marvel Studios is announcing origins and crossovers left and right, Warners is still holding onto their DC characters, and finding themselves unable to take the big screen plunge. Even the two they've shoved out the door are about to languish -- Christopher Nolan hasn't committed to a third Batman film, and Superman is wondering why he ever bothered returning. (Though the rumors swirling around the Man of Steel this week suggest he may be a big part of Warners' new strategy.)

They have been in a similar predicament before. Five years ago, Warners was getting ready to hire someone just to oversee their DC movies, aware they could lose an entire generation of young geeks if they didn't get going. And while they did manage Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Watchmen, it's just not enough. While there's no real indication of what their strategy will be, expect the studio to start buckling down and decide what to do with the Justice League.

So, Cinematical readers, which DC property are you hoping they'll concentrate on first? As you can probably guess, I favor Wonder Woman. I think it would be a huge statement for them to concentrate on such an iconic female superhero when no one else has. But based on the persistent comments that pepper my inbox, I'm betting that it's a close call between her and the Green Lantern. Sound off, my friends.

Joel Silver thinks he will, and he would probably know. Silver gave a long interview with Moriarty over at AICN, where the long and torturous road of Sgt. Rock was brought up. And the answer was surprisingly optimistic: "I'm going to make that. I'm going to make that very soon. With Guy Ritchie, I think." When pressed for more details, Silver would only reply with, "I hope so."

First, does anyone else think it's crazy that DC Comics would deliver a movie about a humble soldier on-screen faster than the Green Lantern or Wonder Woman? When I think of must-see DC properties, Sgt. Rock doesn't come to mind -- but that might just be me.

And if you're unfamiliar with Sgt. Rock, Wikipedia has his long and glorious WWII history. The short answer is that he is the WW2 soldier to end all soldiers, having fought in every campaign there was. Depending on who you talk to, he either died in the war or lived on to perform covert operations for the United States.

If I asked you to name a half-dozen Marvel characters besides Spider-Man, Wolverine, and The Hulk, you'd probably have no problem. But if I asked you to rattle off six DC Comics superheroes besides Superman and Batman, your response might sound a little like this: "Well, The Flash, of course. And Wonder Woman. Oh, Aquaman! Um ... Green Arrow and Green Lantern, I suppose..." and then I'd rudely interrupt you with mentions of Hawkman and Martian Manhunter before you started shaking your head in either confusion or disbelief in my nerdiness. (I can never tell which is which.)

I know all about the Justice League movie problems and the inability to get Wonder Woman flying, but really: After seeing how well-received Iron Man was -- and after hearing about Marvel's plans regarding The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers -- I'm starting to feel a little bad for DC Comics' movie division. But here's the thing: As a character of popular culture, Iron Man (born 1963) is not exactly a Spider-Man or even close to a Superman -- and still Marvel and Paramount were able to bang a really excellent blockbuster out of the guy. (And let's not forget that a relatively obscure Marvel character called Blade pretty much kick-started this comic-flick renaissance.) Does anyone doubt that a character like The Flash could have similar results? Given the right cast and crew, I'm thinking The Flash could be one hell of a fun flick. So let's get moving already!

Last Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that the estate of Jerome Siegel was entitled to claim a share of the United States copyright to all things Superman. Siegel created the character with his partner Joseph Shuster in the 1930's before selling the copyright to Detective Comics (which later became DC Comics, now owned by Time Warner) for a whopping $130. Siegel has been fighting to reclaim a portion of the copyright basically ever since, though all he ever won was a $30,000 annuity that stopped in 1999. Now, 11 years after his death, it looks like he's been vindicated, pending an appeal by Time Warner. You can find more details in this New York Times article.

No one seems sure about what specific implications this will have, and I'm no expert on copyright law, but everyone seems to agree on two things: 1) Time Warner may owe the Siegel estate a lot of money from use of the character since 1999, and 2) this may have thrown at least a temporary wrench into Warner's plans for a follow-up to Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. Ordinarily, news that legal squabbling is holding up production on a favorite franchise would lead to a lot of cursing from fans who are shocked -- shocked! -- that money and greed would stand in the way of filmmaking. But this time it's a "little guy" who's causing all the trouble, not a faceless corporation, and it seems churlish to complain.

My prediction: Time Warner will pay the Siegels off. There's too much money in Superman for something like this to halt the assembly line for very long.

Unfortunately, David S. Goyer doesn't have a lot to tell us about any of the many projects he's working on, but most of us will no doubt settle for even the tiniest updates. So, just as I was, you'll probably be satisfied with the little interview he gave to Wizard magazine, in which he was asked about the hottest things he's got in the pipeline. First up is Magneto, the X-Men spin-off/prequel that he scripted and will soon be directing. All he could say is that he's been scouting locations and right now it looks like he'll be primarily filming in Europe and Argentina. He also hinted that he's going to have to budget wisely to get the thing in for a cheap enough price (meaning he wrote some expensive-to-do scenes or Fox doesn't see good reason to spend too much on this one).

Of further interest to comic geeks, Goyer shared that his script for Super Max (aka the Green Lantern Arrow prison movie*) features a number of obscure, "third-tier" super villains, including Icicle from the comic JSA. He says that he gave DC a list of villains he wanted to use and then the comic publisher weeded out the ones it didn't want appearing in the movie. Speaking of DC, Goyer also told Wizard that he's returning to comic books soon with his JSA writing partner Geoff Johns. All he could reveal is that it takes place following the upcoming Final Crisis series.

Goyer isn't all comics, though. He shared with Wizard his inspiration and basic idea for The Invisible Man, which he sees as sort of a sequel to H.G. Wells' novel, and mentioned that he also played loose with the young adult books that Jumper is based upon. The most exciting thing he had to say, at least for Heroes fans, is that he's really interested in scripting an episode of Heroes: Origins. I don't know how he has the time to tackle all of these things right now -- all I can think of is that his real name must be Jamie Madrox -- but I'll just have to patiently await each one in due time.

[ Thanks to ComingSoon.net for the tip. ]

*You know, I think if I had actually been a DC fan, I still would have confused the two Green characters. Apologies to the fans and readers.