Superman Update. No News Is No News
By George 'El Guapo' Roush on August 19, 2008

Anne Thompson's blog has an update on a sequel to Superman Returns. The update is, there really is no update:
The debate continues to rage about what Warner Bros. should do with Superman. The last movie, Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, paid hommage to the Richard Donner Superman movies without completely updating the franchise the way Christopher Nolan did with Batman Begins.
Fans have been clamoring all over the web--and on this blog--for a complete reboot. And within the halls of Warner Bros. the same debate rages on. They too believe that the last movie didn't break the mold and wound up in some kind of middle limbo. Today I was told that it is a priority at the studio to find the right direction and if Bryan Singer is willing to do that, fine, but if he gets in the way, he may not stay on the project. There are no writers working on a Superman script now. The studio wants to figure it out. "It might be better to start from scratch," one exec admitted.
Remember that scene in Superman III when Superman was dark and evil and got drunk, flung peanuts at bottles in the bar, then flew to an auto junkyard and fought his other half, Clark Kent? Right now Warner Brothers is acting like the drunk Superman. Not sure what they're doing, or which way to go.
The public isn't sure either. Some liked Superman Returns, others hated it. Some like Routh, others hated him. The reason there's so much debate is because Superman has been around since our grandparents were growing up. He's an icon and certainly the most difficult superhero to do onscreen.
I don't know if they need to start from scratch though. I thought Routh was an excellent choice and you really can't go wrong with Bryan Singer as a director. Just get a good script, maybe tackle the Doomsday storyline or something. Long as it isn't Lex Luthor as the villain I think Superman still has a chance to fly one more time.
One thing is clear, Warner Brothers needs to figure it all out and get the Man of Steel going again.
What do you guys think? Comment below or e-mail this superfreak:
george@latinoreview.com
Comments
YAY!!!!!!! Thu Aug 21 at 17:19 EST
I think that they should have superman played by Obama and have someone fu*&ing in the assetts..like a gay pirate as the villian...Let superman suck on Jimmy's c"l"ock as he gives him the reach around that warner has given us..
Author: Demorgan | Permalink
DEATH OF SUPERMAN? Wed Aug 20 at 17:24 EST
BRANDON ROUTH WASN'T BAD AT ALL ,THE MOVIE HAD IT'S GOOD POINTS(MUSIC-REVISITED,PLANE SCENE,SUPERBOY STORYLINE.)BUT HAD ALOT OF SMELLY FARTS AS WELL(KATE BOSWORTH WAS WORSE THAN KATIE HOLMES!,LEX LUTHER WAS BLAH,AND PARKER POSEY WAS A TOTAL MESS!) SINGER DID PAY HUGE RESPECT TO THE 80'S VERSION BUT WE NEED SERIOUS UPDATING ON THE NEXT ONE! BACK TO KRYPTON AND PLUG SOME OTHER D.C. CHARACTERS AS WELL
Author: ALBERTO | Permalink
Casting Wed Aug 20 at 11:51 EST
I've always said this and I'll say it again... ERIC BANA AS SUPERMAN GOD DAMMIT !!
Author: Fontez | Permalink
Superman Begins Wed Aug 20 at 10:43 EST
WB should reboot the franchise ala "Batman". The problem with "Superman Returns" was a bad script, awful story and terrible casting. The dumb twat (Kate Bosworth) that played Lois Lane was awful, Spacey was plain (just collecting a paycheck) but, I do have to say the Routh wasn't that bad. The WB needs hit the delete button on Bryan Singer and reboot the franchise with another director that has that "Chris Nolan" Vision of "Batman". Take some chances on new or different directors (David Fincher, Zach Snyder, Ridley Scott). This could be the last chance Warner Brothers might have in recreating a successfull Superman movie series.
Author: Louie | Permalink
Superman Reboot Wed Aug 20 at 09:24 EST
Yeah, they need to reboot the franchise again since they screwed the character in Returns ... no choice. I liked Brandon Routh, but his performance wasn't memorable AT ALL (James Marsden had better acting scenes than Brandon ... yes, it's sad, but maybe it was the director), and if he is still part of this project, people will still associate the 1st film to the reboot ... not much of a reboot at that pt. Get rid of the kid plotline, get a feisty, charismatic, and sexy Lois with some personality and acting skills (not Kate Bosworth), stop with f-ing god comparisons, get a new Luthor (secondary villian) who is a brilliant (not comical) scientist/ruthless businessman/master strategist with aspirations to become the president of the United States (have him win at the end of the movie ... Luthor beats Superman with his mind and cunning, not with brawn), stop with the Donner-worship, give a nod to the John Williams theme (but add a entirely new, memorable/defining, and awesome theme ... they were able to do it with Batman), show the origin story again in a interesting and fresh manner (ala Batman Begins), use Brainiac as the main villian (see JL Unlimited for ideas) with Darkseid introduced/hinted at the end (ala Joker at the end of Batman Begins), include Legion of Superheros in the origin story, give a nod to General Zod and crew (cause they're awesome), show Krypton in all it's glory, add Mercy as luthor's right hand, give a nod to Nolan's Batman and other DC heroes like Wonder Woman (ala what Marvel is doing), show a super-advanced Fortress of Solitude (stop with the ice tech already ... it doesn't look advanced, beautiful, or interesting anymore), give a nod to Smallville (but don't worry about getting all the storylines to mesh), keep the morale core of Superman intact (it's a unique characteristic when compared to other heroes ... that's why he and Batman clashes so much), showoff the awesome strength and powers (plural) of Superman ... this should help with the wow factor, new director? I don't know ... maybe Singer can do it with a great story/script and some inspiration and desperation, nod to Supergirl (very minor story point ... think fleshed-out 3D world), have kickass action (think Superman 2, animated series, Transformers, Independence Day, etc. ... think big, my god ... it is a freakin Superman movie!), shoot it in IMAX (man, after DK, all movies should be shot in IMAX), push the limits of FX, and keep Lois and Clark apart romantically...always.No Doomsday please ... he is one of the most uninteresting characters ever created. What happens after Superman's death was more interesting. With such a rich history with the comics, animated series, movies, etc., there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON they cannot come up with a rich and interesting 3D world/storyline for Superman.
Author: yes | Permalink
it's their own fault... Wed Aug 20 at 00:50 EST
Superman Returns wasn't a horrible movie, it just wasn't a particularly good one. but coupled with huge expectations and an equally large budget, you can't blame moviegoers and fans alike for hating it. (ok, the poor casting and horrible dialouge didn't help, either.) it's a reflection of just how important the Superman legacy is. But if you really want to blame someone you needn't look any further than the WB execs. it's their own fault for approving the half-assed idea of making it a sequel to a movie that came out almost 30 years ago. it was honestly one of the dumbest things i've ever heard of in my life after reading the synopsis. i knew instantly it was going to be either mediocre or a bomb while polarizing everyone in the process. now they don't know what the hell to do because they're stuck with Singer and one more 'Superman Returns' could damage the franchise irreparably. i think they should retcon 'Returns' entirely. meaning drop Singer, Routh and that ridiculous story and do what they should have done from the start and completely remake Superman. and, for the love of god, at least TRY to let it stand on it's own like 'Batman Begins' was allowed to.
Author: carg0 | Permalink
CURSE OF REEVE! Tue Aug 19 at 21:55 EST
I truly fell asleep during Superman Returns. I don't need to get into how awful the hero was cast. I wonder if Mr. Reeve was insulted by such an awful, boring film. May he curse any sequels that may come into our future.
Author: Jonathan | Permalink
create a WB comics division Tue Aug 19 at 21:51 EST
The whole problem is that Warner is relying on one individual who acts as a liason between their comic division and their other entertainment divisions. What they need is someone who is more involved in the creative process of the source material. Why not set up Bruce Timm and everyone involved in creating the Batman and Justice League Unlimited animated series in a capacity similar to what Marvel is doing. Who else is more qualified in making comic stories more palatable to the masses. They did it successfully for a decade. They could be mining the past 20 years of stories to create entertaining and fantastic screen plays. Just let them loose on Green Lantern and they could make the Sinestro Corp/Darkest Night plot line that is presently being followed in the comics today work as a galactic terrorism/war scenario. It would be a spectacular story.
Author: reddog | Permalink
smatt584 Tue Aug 19 at 21:20 EST
Why the hell didn't WB pull the plug on Superman Returns when they were handed the script? Tho whole thing is just a forgettable, cliched piece of shit, albeit a pretty one thanks to Singer. You should not be bored watching a superhero movie. The whole Richard Donner template needs to be burned and filed away as the dated pulp-culture film iconography that it is. Do you see Nolan squeezing Prince songs into his Batman films? You are not Richard Donner, this is not the eighties, go back to the source material and find your own take on the character. Enough with the Goddamn Donner hero-worship. Screw the theme song, screw 3-d credits, and especially screw the supertoddler. Why in the unholy flying fuck did they screw up this franchise with something so overly used as the "introduce a kid in the sequel" plot trap. And now the same bullshit with Hellboy 2? Christ, what's with the talented directors fucking up successful franchises like this? My inexperienced advice is to kill the kid and, hell, why not Kill superman. Set up the Doomsday, world without a superman, multiple supermen, and return of superman in two or three movies and finally start to kick some serious ass. Other than that, I would love to offer up some friendly amateur tips as to how they can continue on after SR, but with all the crap that they've introduced into this movies, i don't see any way that they can do Superman justice other than rebooting the franchise with a serious bang. That's too bad too, because the casting was the only thing that i really liked about SR, but they did it with Marvel, maybe it will work for DC too. (perhaps they could get away with making his son superboy in the Multiple supermen plotline and maybe just tack it onto SR as a sequel with superboy's origin being the only other key character in the Superman universe being raped by the studio machine.)
Author: mathew schueller | Permalink
If done right, Luthor can be a great character. The problem is he's been done to death on Smallville and Kevin Spacey's take was severely lacking. I'd much rather see the demented but genius scientist rather than the corporate CEO Luthor. He can be a xenephobe, trying to continually warn mankind of the dangers this alien being poses, and always coming up with ways of framing him for catastrophes he himself creates. If they stick to the same old Hackman version, or do a Luthor Corp., thing, then forget it. We don't need Luthor Corp. Lets see Luthor as an American terrorist committing crimes against humanity in order to protect humanity from an alien. Sort of like the Lex on Superman All Star.
Author: garzo | Permalink
If they want a reboot, they're free to use my script: http://www.mediafire.com/?y10rgngwtmx
Author: Carl | Permalink
I'd really like to see Routh continue on in the role as well as Singer. I really want to see where the story goes from here but as someone below said it needs a bit more action with a good story. I want to see Superman be SUPERMAN. I don't want to see him sulking over things anymore. I look at the DC animated movies and Superman is a badass in it. What I absolutely 100% DO NOT want to see is a reboot. Nobody needs to see another origin story of Superman. We seen it over and over and everyone knows enough about it to not need to tell it again. A good example is kind of like in the Incredible Hulk movie they didn't go back and bother us with another origin, because basically everyone knows what's going on.
Author: The Man With No Name | Permalink
ttank Tue Aug 19 at 16:19 EST
How about Thor or the Flash?Superman has OD'd...Let the dead R.I.P.
Author: tank | Permalink
Just make the sequel Tue Aug 19 at 15:11 EST
I really liked Superman Returns, Brandon Routh as Superman and Bryan Singer as director. All the next movie needs a better script, more action (but still a great story), and different villians.
Author: WhiteEyes | Permalink
I did not care about Superman Returns! Tue Aug 19 at 15:02 EST
What happens is that everyone forgot what superman really represents and Bryan Singer was not able to make us care about Superman. I did not like the movie because it was not able to make me care. The writers and the director should be able to understand what Superman really stands about and make the movie in a way that people can understand and care about. Batman Begins/TDK director was able to do it. We cared about the caracters and we were able to understand what they were facing in lifes and why they act and changed the way they did.
Author: FORSAKEN | Permalink
Superman v. Batman Tue Aug 19 at 14:51 EST
You want a good Superman movie, how about SUPERMAN v. BATMAN, Nolan directs with maybe Singe as ASSOC DIECTOR, then you work into Justice League
Author: Supermanfan1 | Permalink
Bald Man Tue Aug 19 at 14:37 EST
If you want to have a bald man in another Superman movie leave out Lex Luthor and put in Nick Cage without his toupee. I personally think that Superman needs a good supervillain and not the same tired Luthor stuff.
Author: Seymour Clearly | Permalink
Superman can be saved Tue Aug 19 at 13:56 EST
Its urgent to take out Luthor!!! I don't want to see him again. Its necessary to bring some enemies from outer space...
Author: Alberto Davizón | Permalink
Isn't it obvious? Tue Aug 19 at 13:44 EST
SUPERMAN SUCKS. That's why they can't make a decent movie. It's not like he has compelling villains to go up against, and the best one (Luthor) has been beaten like a dead horse by professional dead horse beaters on dead horse beating day. Ok, Brainiac. Darkseid. WHO? The public don't know who those guys are, and they unfortunately can't make very good "real world" versions of them like Batman Begins/TDK did with Scarecrow, Ras and Joker. And they certainly can't come close to the brilliance that was Two Face. So forget this, just let it die.
Author: Fawst | Permalink