Not sure how to respond to this. I love Nolan for all his films, but those movies all play to certain strengths he has as a director. It goes without saying that those themes/moods are not the same you would want with a Superman Movie (Get Spielberg or Howard on the phone!). The question now is can Nolan step outside his comfort zone with an equal degree of brilliance? I hope he can.

Also, I have to wonder if this will delay the next Batman film if his attention is divided.

Other than that, good news. Never hurts to have a lot of talent on the production team, I guess.

Nolan + Superman = FAIL

WB needs to wise up and put the Superman script into the hands of Morrison and Johns. Superman isn’t dark and gritty. A “serious” Superman movie is boring. It should be a celebration of superheroics, science fiction, fantasy, and creativity. It’s an opportunity for romance, adventure, and spectacle.

Superman Returns bombed because it was boring and limited Superman to a guy who flies, cries, and fights Lex Luthor.

Look, as long as Morrison is on the same overview/godfather duties, I could care less. When they said that he and Johns would be working with the films too, I really hope that Morrison would be attached to Superman, if not Batman.

Someone pay Geoff Johns whatever he wants to write a script.

I think there’s very much the potential for Nolan to do something with Superman that will blow everyone’s minds and conceptions of the character. Do you really just want to be spoon fed what you expect? What is it you really want from your entertainment anyway? Nolan’s a magician. Let him perform the trick before you start booing. The only real risk I can see is that the work will soar above a lot of the audience’s head, but I’m all for that. As a society we need to start rising up to meet levels instead of wallowing about waiting for things to drop on us in highly predictable ways. Lets not assume this is Dark Superman. Let’s hope this is an expression of Superman as unique and inventive as Batman Begins or The Prestige.

I just want a movie that showcases the “Super” and lets him deal with bad guys he can hit.

JJ Abrams. JJ Abrams JJ Abrams JJ Abrams.

Back a truck full of cash up to his house. Anything.

Can you imagine lens flare coming off of Superman’s heat vision?

How much worse can it be that Superman Returns?

The old super formula isn’t working ie…jokey or wimpy corn fed farmboy who cries for Lois.

Nolan might help bring in some decent actors that might want to work on Superman and directors might be interested in him.

Directing movies is not like writing comics either .Let’s get that straight. They can consult Johns or Morrison but ultimately money is involved here. Look at Johns writing for Samllville. Sorry. That does not cut it for what must be a huge film.

Let us see what Nolan can do after all he made Batman huge and stayed true to the comics..

I’m excited about this. I trust he’ll make the Luthor the arrogant crimelord that he’s supposed to be, and not the zany loser all the movies have made him out as.

good news

Very exciting news. I’m sure we won’t get another Superman movie with Lex trying to make money off mass destruction of property, or trying to kill Superman by drowning him with kryptonite, only to be saved by Lex’s gal pal. Am I talking about Superman I or the latest turd? Can’t really tell, but that’s my point. Let’s get someone with an original idea. Leave Lex out of this movie, bring on a Braniac and a physical enemy, and get the ball rolling towards a JLA movie.

Nolan is a great director but I was hoping that WB would give the movie to Zack Snyder. Oh well, still a great movie it will be. In Nolan I trust

How about a JMS script, we haven’t seen his Superman yet but his Supreme Power definately showed what could be done. Not to mention he already has Hollywood cred. My vote would be JMS on script or Geoff Johns Brainiac arc as far as story, both could feed the ‘darker’ version but keep the characters as is.

I think Nolan is smart enough to know that he can not give Superman the same treatment he gave Batman in Begins and the Dark Knight.

The idea is not to make Superman “darker” but to make the world around him a little darker. Put him up against a real, physical, threat and not just Luthor for the millionth time. Put all that strength to good use, instead of just lifting heavy things into space ala Superman Returns.

He is not directing, he is just the “Godfather” of the project. This could be the best Superman movie yet.

Well…I have mixed emotions and I agree with many that have posted prior to me – Superman is not a “dark” character. Never has been and I doubt could ever be. He’s the “boyscout”…so I have NO clue as to why Hollyweird wants to make this character “dark”? Make his villians dark – and GOD please leave Lex outta the mix. Damn! He’s been pimped more than I can think and he’s not a “challenge” to him – least physically wise. When someone sees a movie that has a main character that can fly, break stuff and all the other things that Superman can do…heaven knows we do NOT want to see a “romance” story. If that’s what WB thinks we want – they’re crazy! Its a superhero move for God’s sake. We want to see Superman do some crazy stuff (within the special effects budget permits). A “love story” is not the way to treat this character. I agree – Geoff Johns probably could write a descent script…not that I was overwhelmed with his JSA espisode on Smallville last Friday. But he understands the character and I think there would be a good balance of effects and story. I agree…Braniac SHOULD be the next villian or someone else…but heavens no…NOT LEX LUTHER!! NOT LEX LUTHER!! So, I guess we’ll see and keep our fingers crossed…

Not to get ahead of myself, but has *anyone* at Warners confirmed this yet?

I agree with no Lex Luther – no anyone with kryptonite for that matter. As soon as you add to kryptonite to a superman story, he’s not superman anymore.
While I enjoyed his Batman movies I still think Burton had a better vision of how to adapt the comic. Nolan totally removed
Gotham from the equation in the Dark Knight (it was just Chicago with a different name – encountering Batman in dark gothic alleys would be a hell of a lot scarier than seeing him jogging across a well lit city street) and his attempts to make Batman more realistic make it hard to imagine him existing in a world of super beings (and where’s the fun in that).
Either way, could they make at least one superhero movie where the hero isn’t trying to quit crime fighting so he can be with some girl, getting real bored of that plot.

Batman IS dark. Superman IS light. If Nolan gets this, the movie will be fine. Ddidit64 had it right: villains should be as dark as midnight in a coal mine, providing the Big Blue Boy Scout a chance to truly be super.
By the way, I think Superman Returns was entertaining, but the Lois/Son of Superman/Stalker angle was painful and needs to be forgotten, much as the first run of Batman movies and Superman III and IV were forgotten.
And, I’m just checking here, is there anyone on the planet that would buy a ticket to a Superman movie who DOESN’T already know the origin story? Jump right into the plot, for gawdssake!

*I meant the more the movies include Lex the francise will suffer from Popeye syndrome

I wish there’s an edit button

By Penguin, I meant in the Dark Knight sequel not Superman obviously.

I welcome Nolan to Superman, he might actually help make the film appeal to non-comic book fans. Which people here have forgotten are the minority.

I had always felt that whoever engineered the ‘son of Superman’ plot was totally unfamiliar with who Superman/Clark is. Clark was raised by the epitome of plain ol’ American folk. Just as the murder of the Waynes fueled Bruce’s vendetta against criminals, the Kents instilled into Clark a passion to help and protect people. If you ever grew up in a small neighborhood, you understand what I mean. Clark is the guy down the street who’ll gladly help you move the washer around the house.

If I followed the time table correctly in Superman Returns, it implied that Superman was physically intimate with Lois, then left on his In Search of Krypton voyage without telling her. Additionally, Lois must have married Jerry almost immediately after Superman ‘disappeared.’

First of all, Clark would not be intimate with Lois before marriage. He is a gentleman, and yes, a boy scout. Ma and Pa Kent would have hit the ceiling.

Superman would not leave on an extended trip without telling Lois anything. He truly loves Lois, and would not treat her so callously.

Lois would not dive into an marriage so quickly, in just a matter of months. She loves Superman, and I think she would have waited quite a while before giving up on him.

I can understand the dramatic effect of showing Clark’s human struggles, but it just didn’t ‘feel’ like him in the movie.

Additionally, his superfeats were downplayed. The air rescue at the beginning was superb, but everything fell flat afterwards. I thought of the scene in X-Men in which Magneto moves the Golden Gate Bridge. The shots of him ‘working’ were interspersed with shots of the entire bridge moving, which indicated a real sense of power.

Compare that to Superman lifting the ‘island’ toward the end. There was no sense of power. Why not have the camera circle the island, with familiar objects to establish the size, then zoom in and under to show Superman straining a bit? The island should have been wobbling. Even with Superman’s strength, I would think that it would be difficult to balance the island with only his two hands in contact with it.

Heroics! Yes! Hope! Yes! Triumph! Yes! And give him a villain that is truly a challenge for him, one that strength alone cannot overcome. Clark is very intelligent and creative.

I think you guys misunderstand what a “dark” Superman means. You can do a dark Superman story without making it Batman dark. Go ahead and ask any comic fan what were the best Superman stories it’s usually the darker ones like his death/return with Doomsday, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow, What’s So Funny About Truth Justice and the American Way, Kingdom Come, etc.

In fact, I’d encourage them to do a dark Superman story, since doing lighter stories don’t seem to work now for some reason.

I say give the new movie something that the last one didn’t have – a GOOD SCRIPT without the creepy, stalker boy overtones, a better villain, and dialogue that doesn’t sound like a sad parody of the Chris Reeve films.

Everyone seems to be in agreement that Superman and Batman should have a basis for contrast and conflict (possibly to set up for “World’s Finest”) Aside from the Dark/Light difference, I think that the origin story really is needed to highlight the other levels of differences between the two. Superman is an immigrant story whose sense of duty is out of gratitude for the midwest kindness and comfort he received. Batman was a privilidged native son who is driven to duty out of pain. The “realistic” “edgy” approach would be of little help in a story that is made to cause us to hold our breath in wonder and believe that almost anything is possible once you see a man who can fly.

Nolan + Superman = THRIVE

let me say that it is hard to find someone who is more of a fan of Superman than me. Having said that, this is what I think should happen with a good Superman movie: it need to have a sense of amazement, when you see Superman fly into the sunset you should be able to smile and shed tears at the same time. You also need to make dark circumstances, which does not mean a dark Superman. It means that the light that Superman is should shine over those dark circumstances. One should be able to feel the innocence there is in his love for humankind as well as a sense of absolute determination as he flies into action to save those lives he cherishes so much. And then you should feel that he is Clark Kent above all, doing what he can cause he can, and that sense of humanity should be felt when he is with Lois and/or Ma and Pa Kent.
Then take all that and have him face a Lex Luthor that does not act like a clown (not that the actor should mean naything cause good actors have played the part, but think how good John Malkovich would be as Lex Luthor) and then take him into higher grpunds of fantasy and have him face Darkseid at the end of a potential trilogy.

There’s only one Superman story worth telling and it involves the J.L.A. The one that should have been made instead of the last disaster.
The Death of Superman.
What you have now with the last movie is a continuity nightmare.
Another thought about a Superman related movie.
Frank Millers ‘Dark Night’ story where he and Sup’s square off for the finale.
Brilliant writing, exciting storyline…it had it all.
Why hasn’t it been adapted? On a personal choice for the elder Bruce Wayne…(fanboy wish)…Clint Eastwood! Think about it.
Compare that to the latest Superman movie and you will be forced to concede the truth.
Crap movies shouldn’t be made. Make something with a bang.
Make the ‘Dark Knight’ and the Death of Superman.

I am excited by this and have faith that Nolan will make this work. In my view, the way to make this work is to have Superman mix it up with someone who can physically hold their own against him. Does anyone remember the fights he had with Darkseid in the Justice League cartoons? My favorite was the final battle, where Superman says that he usually has to hold back, but he can let go against Darkseid. He hit Darkseid so hard you could see shockwaves. That’s what people want to see. Having Superman get into a fight won’t make him dark.
There are villains out there for him to fight. How about having him fight Metallo? Doomsday would be another good villain. All it takes are some screenwriters who aren’t lazy sonsofbitches. Singer must have been channeling his inner Joel Schumacher in Superman Returns. Schumacher obviously loved the campy 1960’s Batman and patterned his movies after the series. Singer loved Superman: The Motion Picture. He kept everything that makes the character boring. Clark Kent is wimp. Lois is chain smoker who treats Clark like crap. Lex Luthor has a real estate scheme. Lex has a dumb bunny moll who fakes an accident to trap Superman. He even had Supes rescuing a plane. They just made it a space shuttle.
Hopefully they will cast a decent Lois Lane. Kate Bosworth was a complete failure. Cast Erica Durance from Smallville or someone in that mold. Pretty, smart and a woman who looks like she eats more than once a week.
A good Superman movie can be made, they just have to look at all the things that went wrong from Superman III to Superman Returns and hire a director who isn’t living in 1978.

Just give it up already. Superman is finished as a big box office draw in the film medium as long as the character remains the poster-child for superheroes. Superheroes are such a part of our pop-culture that people need to see the genre stretched and combined with something else.

X-Men= Freaks/Fugitives
Batman= Crime Noir
Green Lantern= space odyssey
Iron Man= Industrial weapons production

Nolan rip and kill batman for me please don’t do it to superman as well

Sometimes I dare think that it would take Disney studios to do a Superman movie. Wait…don´t laugh…See, Disney has always been good at creating characters that make us laugh, cry and smile…they are good at handling such emotions…and they`ve always been great at creating villains. In fact, I`d say that Disney already made an animated Superman movie: Hercules.
Hercules is sent from a higher race to Earth, he`s raised by farmers, his origin is revealed by his own birth father at a temple (very much like Superman: The movie when Jor-El reveals his origins to Clark at the Fortress of Solitude) and then he has to learn to embrace his great power in order to become a hero.
Then you have Megara, who happens to be a strong willed woman who falls for the heart of the hero…that`s Lois Lane.
Hades is very much like Luthor, even to the point that we even get to see he`s really bald when they blow off the flame he has for hair over his head.
And then you have Philoctetes, who happen to be a grumpy old guy who smokes cigars…

The world that superman lives should be complex and gritty, not the character.
Give Grant Morrison a call he got Supes figured out

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