general zod Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Before you start throwing out the names of actors who would be perfect as General Zod in a Superman Returns sequel, you may want to wait and see if the studio actually makes the thing. According to a story in Variety, Warner Bros., having taken a hit at the box office with Superman Returns, is still trying to decide whether the Man of Steel is worth another sequel. (I know, it's sick to think a film can make almost $200 million and still lose money, right? That's Hollywood for ya.)

Though Bryan Singer felt confident there would be another Supes adventure when he recently spoke at Comic-Con, the dude is not officially signed to direct one. Word on the street is Warner Bros. wants to do a sequel, seeing as they've invested a whole lot in the character, but some feel all that time and money were spent on a character that's simply not as popular as, say, the darker, more complicated Batman and Spider-Man.

Personally, my biggest problem with Superman Returns was that I just didn't believe in the character. Of course, you're immediately comparing Brandon Routh to Christopher Reeve, but I truly attempted to go in with an open mind, as I've done with every single Batman flick. Fact is, Routh didn't convince me. He didn't show me a super man. Instead, all I saw was a soap-opera actor with way too much make-up on. You know things are bad when Superman is just about to kick some major ass and you can't help but think, "Damn, why does he have so much blush on?"

Whether you want it or not, director Bryan Singer is confirmed to be working on a Superman Returns sequel (which I've gone ahead and titled Superman Returns With Less Make-Up ... Hopefully). Ever since Singer suggested we may be seeing an "alien villain" in that follow-up, folks have been passing around a rumor about General Zod returning to exact revenge upon the Man of Steel.

Well, according to Star Pulse, a tipster told The Daily Express that Singer does indeed plan on using General Zod as his main villain in the sequel. Not only that but, apparently, he's looking to throw Jude Law into the role. (Originally, Terence Stamp played a wicked General Zod in Superman 2.) Says the tipster, "Some say they should use an unknown but the director Bryan Singer is looking at Jude. The similarities between him and Stamp are clear."

Now, you may remember Jude Law turned down the role of Superman when it was offered to him two years ago for fear it would typecast him forever. It's also the same reason he would never step into the shoes of James Bond. However, this is a completely different scenari,o as Law would probably only have to come on for one film. Personally, I like the choice, though I expect a slew of other names to hit the streets before anything is official. What say you?

[via The Movie Blog]

When Bryan Singer announced he'd be resurrecting the Superman movie franchise, more or less everyone presumed this meant a new life for the series. Sequels were discussed almost before the cameras started rolling on the original film. However, the high budget flick hasn't performed quite as well as everyone expected, and the word from the studio now says Returns needs to break the $200 million mark (presumably in domestic box office sales) to warrant a sequel. Even then, his budget will be drastically cut down. Returns is chugging away domestically -- technically it is outpacing the performance of Batman Begins -- and so a $200 million mark is entirely within the realm of probability. Should it hit, you can bet on Singer and company jumping at the chance to put together a sequel, if for no other reason than to prove they weren't a death knell for the franchise.

So, what would be the plot of such a sequel? Well nobody really knows, of course, but rumors have started flying due to a t-shirt. Yes, a t-shirt. At a UK premiere for Returns, director Bryan Singer invited his writing partners onto the stage with him. One of them was wearing a shirt which proudly declared "Kneel Before Zod." So of course this means a sequel would be the return of Zod, right? Very tenuous details to base a rumor on, but that's why they call them rumors, right? And Zod would be cool.