Superman Returns Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When Warner Bros announced it was rebooting the Superman franchise, we all held our breath a little bit waiting to see what Gigantic News would come next. Of course, nothing happened. Last week, Omelete talked to Brandon Routh on the Scott Pilgrim set, who revealed that his Superman contract had expired, and that he had no idea when or if he would return to the character. (Pause for a moment and realize how much it has to suck to get the part of Superman, and have it go utterly sour.) That news suggested one of two things: that Warner Bros would let the franchise expire too, or that they were planning on picking out a new Man of Steel.

Now, Warner Bros and DC Comics have won a favorable ruling in the suit filed by Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson, the heirs of Superman co-creator Jerome Siegel. If you're curious about the lawsuit in its entirety, ThinkMcFlyThink has a pdf of it, but the part that concerns Superman fans is this: Warner Bros president Alan Horn testified that he'd like to make another movie, but that the project wasn't currently in development at the studio. There isn't even a script being written. The earliest another Superman film could hit theaters would be 2012.

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Now that J.J. Abrams has reinvented, and especially, reinvigorated Star Trek for an all new generation of fake-pointy-eared fans, it would be unfair to let the filmmaker simply take time off to garden or crochet, much less celebrate the film's projected $72 million opening weekend. Especially since there are just so many other franchises and film series that deserve – or perhaps more accurately – need his golden touch. As such, we've thoughtfully assembled a short list of franchises that Abrams could and should take over, tackle, and reboot. And while we tailored our selections to suit the filmmaker's writing and directing strengths, we encourage you to leave your comments and suggestions which films and franchises you think might be better suited to Abrams' cinematic style.

In no particular order:

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?

Mark Millar is becoming a real Hollywood insider these days, a Frank Miller in training. He dropped quite an intriguing bombshell to Scotland's Daily Record -- claiming that there's a Superman movie revamp on the way. While some of his claims could be dismissed as wishful thinking by a man who merely wants to fulfill his Kryptonian dreams, he's certainly talking it out with someone. Says Millar, "I've been planning this my entire life. I've got my director and producer set up, and it'll be 2011. This is how far ahead you have to think. The Superman brand is toxic after that last movie lost 200 million, but in 2011 we're hoping to restart it. Sadly I can't say who the director is, but we may make it official by Christmas. But fingers crossed it could work out, that would be my lifetime's dream."

Now, this flies directly in the face of Bryan Singer confirming he was attached to the sequel. But there's been a peculiar lack of progress with it. He's obviously busy with Valkyrie, but when you look at how quickly the Iron Man and Spider-Man franchises are moving, well, someone's not moving faster than a speeding bullet anymore. Could Warner Bros really be open to rebooting the franchise? The parallels between Ang Lee's Hulk and Bryan Singer's Superman Returns are striking, and I can honestly see the studio choosing a similarly clean slate. But they would be ditching a pretty expensive investment in Returns, and creating quite a controversy in the process.
Far more people loved Superman Returns than Hulk, and Singer commands a lot of geek cred.

There was a report in the Hamilton College student newspaper about a recent visit paid to the school by Thomas Tull (a Hamilton alumnus), chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures, the successful production company responsible for respectable hits like Batman Begins, deplorable indulgences like 10,000 BC, and middle-of-the-road successes like Superman Returns. The article surveys numerous issues from Tull's visit, most of which pertain to his professional history. Near the end, however, it's noted that Tull "hopes to invoke more of the image of 'an angry god'" with the next Superman film. Subtitled Man of Steel, it's a sequel that's been in the works for quite some time.

Wonders Slashfilm: "Maybe Man of Steel will have a Superman who begins to make irrational emotion-based decisions, throwing cars around out of anger, which will paint him as an Angry God in The Daily Planet?" Maybe, but that's a big deduction for what appears to be a throwaway statement. Whether or not Tull even has specific details about the content of the next Superman film isn't clear, but his emphasis on the character's strength, rather than his pathos, sounds like a response to criticisms of the last movie. Many audiences found it light on action and heavy on a lot of needless other things. Superman Returns was hardly a flop, grossing over $200 million in the U.S. alone, but it could have done much bigger business if it sacrificed some of the contemplative drama for a little more speed.

Rumors have been flying today that Bryan Singer is indeed working on the sequel to Superman Returns. Well, it is not just rumor -- Singer himself confirmed it to Empire. "Yes, I'm just getting back with writers after the strike. We're just in the development phase. I'm starting to develop a sequel . . .with the intention of directing it." He lashes out at claims that first film was a flop, pointing out that it made $400 million.

If you're thinking "It wasn't a flop financially, Singer, it was a flop because no one liked it," well, he addresses that too. He promises the next one will up the stakes. "The first one was a romantic film and a nostalgic film. I'll be the first person to own up to that without making any apologies for it. I knew it was going to be that from the outset. And now that the characters are established, there's really an opportunity to up the threat levels . . .Clearly there'll be a body count. From frame one, it will be unrelenting terror! All those teenage girls who found the movie and mooned over James Marsden or Brandon [Routh]? Well, I'm going to wake them up!"

My problem is that I didn't find it nostalgic or romantic, I just found it rather dull. I stopped believing a man could fly, and wondered instead why James Marsden was always losing his girls to men of steel and adamantium. All the pieces were there for a fantastic reboot, a film that could reintroduce Superman to a new audience, but it simply fell flat. I do believe Singer has it in him -- and he does tend to be better with superhero sequels than his originals. So I will forgive and forget, and happily await the next installment.

Last week, a minuscule comment from Anne Thompson led to Latino Review bursting out with a scoop they claimed was true -- that Warner Bros. would not be inviting Brandon Routh back to star in the next solo Superman flick, currently titled The Man of Steel. In her article, Thompson claimed that Bryan Singer would most likely not direct the film since he was too busy working on other projects, and that the next time we see the Superman character he would be part of the much-hyped Justice League of America.

Cue AICN flying in to the rescue. According to the site, a "very high-ranking mole who is absolutely in a position to know what's happening with this film" said that whole Brandon Routh rumor was "absolutely false." That as of right now, Warner Bros. still wants Routh to return to the role, if and when another solo flick gets up and running. AICN tells us this is based on conversations as recent as a few weeks ago. One thing that's not mentioned, however, is whether Singer would return as director. Valkyrie is all but wrapped, and The Mayor of Castro Street shouldn't take that long to piece together. So if they plan to shoot this Superman film in, say, 2009 (for a summer 2010 release), then I don't see a problem with Singer making that schedule. Then again, perhaps the studio would rather someone else come in and take the reigns.

Me? I don't care ... so long as Routh wears less make-up and bulks up a little more. I want the manly man version of Supes this time, not the teenage girl version. You?

Can such a large project as the Superman sequel unravel in a single day? Certainly seems that way, doesn't it? First there was the Anne Thompson blog post which made the rounds earlier in the day (see our post on it here), in which she speculated -- and it seems a given that she wouldn't make such a speculation unless she had some info to back it up -- that Bryan Singer was likely to throw off the long-in-doubt sequel to the mediocre-performing Superman Returns in favor of concentrating on his other upcoming projects. I personally don't see the logic in this, since Valkyrie is already in the can and the Harvey Milk film will be a small thing that need not trample on a huge payday like the Supes sequel. However, Thompson also made a sideways reference to what may be the real issue -- Warner Bros.' increasingly obvious intention of using the upcoming Justice League of America as a way of rebooting said underperfoming Superman film by tossing Brandon Routh.

Now comes Latino Review, exploding a story that they claim to have been sitting on "for weeks and weeks" out of deference to sources at DC Comics. "Kelvin knew about Brandon not being the new Superman for weeks and weeks now, but made a promise to the DC people that he wouldn't break the story. Variety has now confirmed what we've secretly known for a while and Brandon Routh will be replaced in the stand-alone sequel by whomever is cast as Superman in the upcoming Justice League of America movie." Funny, since Variety doesn't say that at all -- this is clearly LR's attempt at a 'whoops, I thought it was safe to leak that info since Variety reported.' Anyway, if LR's source is legit the move on Warner and DC's part does make sense -- Routh didn't connect with audiences, for whatever reason, and in the age of instant reboots there are no second chances.

Call it another victim of the Superman curse. Wal-Mart has closed down its movie download service, which had only begun back in February. The retail giant had been slow to start selling movie downloads, finally offering Superman Returns in November 2006 -- part of a strange deal in which you had to first buy the actual DVD from a Wal-Mart store -- then completely opening up shop early last year in an obvious attempt to directly compete with iTunes, selling TV episodes for 4 cents less than Apple's store (it also sold older movie titles at a cheaper price). It had long been speculated that Wal-Mart was even behind iTunes' struggle to make deals with Hollywood studios; supposedly Wal-Mart was fearful that downloads would hurt its massive share of the DVD market and so pressured Hollywood to stay away from Apple or suffer the consequence: Wal-Mart would stop ordering so many of a studio's DVDs if it signed on to iTunes. Of course, it didn't appear that Wal-Mart was about to begin boycotting Disney movies, so that rumor/assumption/conspiracy was likely untrue, or at least a bad bluff.

Now, with Fox and Disney movies soon available for rental on iTunes and more studios likely to come soon, it is clear that Wal-Mart failed in its competitive bid for a share of the download market. The retailer also had problems competing with Netflix in the rental-by-mail service race a few years back, eventually folding into its competition. However, this time around the problem is less to do with Wal-Mart caving in or acknowledging defeat. The primary reason for the download shop's closing is that Hewlett-Packard was supplying the software for the online store and that company made the decision to terminate the service, citing disappointing performance as the cause. Wal-Mart could still continue with movie downloads through another software deal, though this giant pothole in business would hardly make the relocation an easy task.

He's faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and yet the folks in charge are moving slower than a snail when it comes to casting the Man of Steel in Justice League of America. Additionally, it may take years before we get another solo Supes flick after Superman Returns writers Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty were tossed aside while the studio sought out some new blood. Here are two updates on both fronts:

The other day we told you how someone wrote in to Dark Horizons claiming to have information on the casting of Superman in the Justice League movie. According to the scooper, Brit actor Rupert Evans had landed the part. Not so fast says IESB, who spent hours upon hours trying to get a hold of someone who represents Evans. Eventually they did, and were told the rumor is indeed false. Exact quote: "We don't know where that rumor started, there's no truth to the rumor at all." When asked if Evans had even auditioned, they replied, "No, not at all." Yay, another ridiculous rumor spreads like wildfire and then gets squashed -- how fun! No other casting tidbits to report at this time, sorry.

About that long-delayed follow-up to Superman Returns. I suggested a long time ago that this project was being delayed and delayed for a reason, and all you readers did was yell at me -- bow down to Bryan Singer -- and call me all sorts of devilish names. Well, look where we are now: the original writers were yanked off the film, and Warners is looking for some new writers to most likely reboot the franchise, a la The Incredible Hulk. I like to call these "movie do-overs." The first candidate to pop up was writer Mark Millar (Wanted), who went after this project with full force. Unfortunately, because he had done some work for Marvel (and is still under contract with them), he cannot cross over to work on a DC property. So there goes that. Will Warners seduce Kurtzman and Orci into taking on Superman? They'll probably try, but as it stands right now, we've got nada ... and I'd expect Singer to be off the project too. Back to the drawing board ... and how about this time we scratch Brandon Routh and bring in Channing Tatum. He'd make a much better Superman; whaddya think?