Superman
Returns... Again!
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Christopher
Nolan now will keep an eye on Superman.
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We have
joy in Smallville today, because Superman finally has someone
at bat to oversee a film revival. And if anyone knows about
being at bat, it's Batman Begins genius Christopher
Nolan.
Nikki
Finke reports that the newly reorganized DC Entertainment
has asked Nolan to serve as a "godfather" to a
new Superman movie, one which would ignore all that has
come before onscreen. Since Nolan already successfully rebooted
one franchise with Batman, this one seems like a no-brainer.
It's
unlikely, however, that Nolan will direct, as Finke's article
also mentions that at long last he has begun work on the
third Batman film with his brother Jonah and David S. Goyer.
Right
now the film is being referenced as Superman 3.0,
though no doubt that will change. In the wake of Batman
Begins, Warner Brothers chief Jeff Robinov had claimed
that they would look at ways to bring Superman back as a
darker, edgier character. The studio has backtracked on
that a bit, claiming he merely meant more sophisticated.
Any
reader of the comics can understand that. On film, Superman
has always been a bit more simplified, and efforts to "humanize"
him (and make him more of an acting challenge -- ahem) resulted
in Superman III and IV, as well as the
bullet dodged with Tim Burton and Nicolas Cage back in 1997.
However,
in comics writers have somehow been able to make Superman
interesting without making him dark and edgy. If someone
could perhaps capture the purity of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's
Superman For All Seasons, for instance, that could
be amazing.
Of course,
the challenge, too, is creating an onscreen Superman that
will fit with the other DC adaptations. Thus it makes sense
to bring in Goyer to try to align Superman with what's going
on with Batman. This also now explains why a Clark Kent
cameo got dropped from Green Lantern's script,
as Warner Brothers wants to make sure that each character
gets a proper set-up onscreen.
Where
does this leave the DC Braintrust of Marv Wolfman, Grant
Morrison and Geoff Johns? All three are currently shepherding
projects, and let's face it, they do have to sleep sometime
while working on The Flash, Doom Patrol, We3 and
who knows what else while still being active and vital comics
creators.
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Not so
fast, Mr. Routh...
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So the
clock ticks. According to Finke, Warner Brothers has to
get a Superman movie in active development by 2011, or the
rights revert to the estate of Jerry Siegel, co-creator
of Superman. In 2013, half the ownership goes to the heirs
of Joe Shuster, and then Warner Brothers (and DC) cannot
proceed with anything Superman without licensing it from
those estates. (That doesn't include members of the Superman
Family, or, if I understand correctly, the famous "S"
logo, as that did not actually appear in Action Comics
#1, the source of the estates' ownership claims. Notice
what's happening in the comics...)
This
starts a whole new game for us, too. We'll assume -- safely
-- that Brandon Routh, star of Superman Returns,
will not be returning. So who would make a good Superman
for 2011? Take Tom Welling off the table. That ain't happening,
though
it's also safe to assume the memory of Smallville
will be around for a while.
Who
would Christopher Nolan think of to wear the cape? He's
a master at off-beat but brilliant casting choices, as witnessed
by Heath Ledger becoming the definitive screen Joker. Write
in and let us know what you think.
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