It’s over.
It’s dead.
Goodbye, Brian Singer’s Superman, and good riddance. The best riddance, in fact.
There’s going to be another Superman movie.
And it’s going to be a reboot.
Which is awesome news for me, because I think that Superman Returns is not just the worst Superman movie ever, but one of the worst films of ANY kind ever.
You can review my review here.
Here’s the article bearing the good news:
The Wall Street Journal: Warner Bets on Fewer, Bigger Movies
First relevant passage:
“‘Superman’ didn’t quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to,” says Mr. 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,” he adds. “But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all.”
(Mr. Rubinov is Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov.)
Second relevant passage:
The studio is set to announce its plans for future DC movies in the next month. For now, though, it is focused on releasing four comic-book films in the next three years, including a third Batman film, a new film reintroducing Superman, and two movies focusing on other DC Comics characters. Movies featuring Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman are all in active development.
Life is very, very good.
I do, however, feel bad for poor Brandon Routh, who went above and beyond the call of duty to deliver the best Superman he possibly could given the film’s despicable script and pathetic story.
Brandon recalled all the best elements of Christopher Reeve’s Superman while giving it his own spin.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to be heroic when your direction is like this:
“Okay, Brandon, in this scene, you’re trying to seduce Lois on the roof of the Daily Planet because you ran away from Earth for five years without telling anybody, to find the planet that you knew was gone anyway, and you didn’t just buy a telescope, and you didn’t tell Lois goodbye because you thought it would be too hard to say goodbye, which was selfish because look what it did to Lois, but that doesn’t matter to you, and you know she’s engaged, and that she has a kid who’s exactly old enough to be yours from before you left, and it is your kid, but you don’t care about that, and you don’t care about the good man she’s engaged to who thinks the kid is his, because she’s a lying whore who’s allowed him to believe that, and you just want to get into her sexy, sexy pants, and don’t exert yourself too much in this scene because later we have to film the part where you’re a creepy weirdo who talks to the kid while he’s sleeping, and … ACTION!”
See what I mean?
Brandon, you were an awesome Superman and you did the best you could given the circumstances. Thank you for the hard work you did.
It’s time to cast Jim Caviezel as Superman.
Superman should be a man, not a teenager. If you want to see a young, inexperienced Superman, that’s what Smallville is for.
I want to see a Superman movie where SuperMAN is doing SuperMAN things.
Get Carla Gugino as Lois Lane, Clive Owen as General Zod, Carrie Anne Moss as Ursa, and Michael Clarke Duncan as Non, and then have Geoff Johns write a new take on his Superman: Last Son story that just came out in a lovely hardcover edition.
Or whatever.
As long as it’s a good story.
The real trick is going to be making a movie that’s infinitely better than Returns, rather than just crapping out another one that’s just as bad in a different kind of way.
They need to find writers and a director who will respect and understand Superman as deeply, as completely and as capably as Christopher Nolan respects and understands Batman.
Bring it on.
Mmm Clive Owen. :D
Im all for Jim Caviezel as Superman!!!!!! Bring it on! Its about time a man capable of playing Chris Reeve was put in the role! Sorry Brandon but it just didnt cut it!!!
1. WB nees to take a hint from the Nolan Batman movies and Marvel’s success in making their own movies and the butt out of DC’s movie affairs. They literally have an army of people at their disposal to make great movies….. sigh….
2. With Batman on the run, it would be a great way to have at very least a Bruce Wayne cameo in a Superman movie. I think something like World’s Finest might be too much at once, they should ease into it like Marvel is doing.
3. Green Lantern has the best story for an epic trilogy: Emerald Dawn, Emerald Twilight, and Rebirth. The “path of the hero” story that made Star Wars such great story is all there.
Oh god, that was such an awful Superman movie.
Which is funny, because Kevin and I saw it after my sister-in-law’s awful wedding.
She has already gotten a divorce and now Brian Singer is no longer attached to Superman.
COINCIDENCE?!?!
I think not.
I think the review was pretty much spot-on. I thought Routh did pretty good with what he had to work with. When they do the reboot, do you want to see origins again or just pick it up when Superman arrives in Metropolis? What did you think of Kevin Spacey’s Luthor?
Stephanie: Clive is The Man. I’d love to see him play a really cool, cruel villain.
Schnellart: Glad to see someone else on the Caviezel bandwagon. He’s awesome. I do feel sorry for Brandon Routh because, like I said, it’s hard for anyone to make Superman seem heroic with that kind of story that involved those kinds of actions. It’s a shame on so many levels. I’m glad they’re looking to fix it. I just wish Mr. Routh didn’t have to be a casualty of that. He honored the role, and I think that’s really important and admirable.
Boggs: Always good to see you here, sir. I’d love to see some little threads connecting the films, and I agree that Warner Bros. should let some of DC’s big guns take a crack at the films. Geoff Johns should be writing a Superman movie. And I’m really curious to see how this Green Lantern thing shakes down.
Bree: Bree! Bree! Bree! I’m sorry to hear about the divorce, but if it was indeed connected to Brian Singer getting booted from Superman, well, who do I thank? :) Your comments always brighten my day. I miss you guys a lot.
bc3263827: If I did a Superman movie today, I’d just pick up where he’s already in Metropolis and he’s already active as Superman. Everybody knows the legend. Planet explodes, surviving child is raised by a kindly farm couple, he works at The Daily Planet, he loves Lois Lane. I’d go as far as having Clark and Lois already married like they’ve been for years in the comics. Make it grownup and mature. There are ways to make a years-old marriage fun and exciting and fresh. Lots of the comic book writers make it work. I’d love to see that dynamic on screen between two actors with firecracker chemistry. I liked Spacey as Luthor, but again, I’d rather have seen him playing Luthor in a movie that wasn’t … that movie. I have lots of issues with Smallville, but for my money, Michael Rosenbaum is the Luthor to beat.
Big thanks to everyone for your replies!