Zeonprime
IreneIf I were (making) Superman
June 4th 2009 02:25
I recently had an interesting conversation with my friend D.W. about Superman movies and where the studio went wrong with the last four (the first, directed by Richard Donner, is nearly perfect). It was argued that Superman has little opportunity to go against any real super-powered villains in his movie career. I of course corrected this misconception and mentioned the three Kyptonians from Superman II and the Luthor clone from Superman IV. The conversation eventually led to Bryan Singer’s attempt to honour the world that Donner created in the poorly-received Superman Returns. While I do not agree with many of the choices Singer made in the movie, I understood why he made them and accept the film for what it is.
Recently rumors surfaced that with the success of The Dark Knight the studio in its finite wisdom (no, that is NOT a typo) has indicated that its wants to make Superman darker for the next film. You can just guess what the fan response was to that little tidbit of news. As my conversation with my friend progressed we were able to lay out exactly what we would like to see in a new Superman movie without destroying what has already been established in the movie continuity of the last 30 years, borrowing ideas and concepts from both Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League (both by Bruce Timm), along with the current DC universe stories.
Here is the idea that D.W. and I had:
Luthor has once again escaped prosecution; now funded by the inheritance he received in Superman Returns he goes 'legitimate', starting Luthor Corp. Luthor has also been in secret talks with an alien named Darkseid (via some stolen gadget from S.T.A.R. Labs), in order to secure his position on Earth after an successful invasion by Darkseid.
Superman flies around and stops inexplicable volcanic eruptions around the globe. Darkseid’s army invades via 'boom tubes'. Superman fights the various armies with one of Darkseid's super-strong generals at the head of each, beating them back in various locales, but fighting a losing battle. Metropolis is left largely untouched by the invasion--thus minimizing the need for Lois Lane to eat up half the movie with a pointless plotline and subjecting her to the role of actually being a reporter--until a huge alien ship booms in over Metropolis and begins to wreak havoc with the city. This then sparks a return scene of Luthor being all pissed for the double cross.
Superman speeds back to protect his adopted city from destruction, only to find his way blocked by Darkseid. Fighting ensues and since the bulk of Metropolis is already trashed, we see Superman really let loose in only a way seen once on screen (as shown in an episode of Justice League). With the defeat of Darkseid and the departure of his military forces, the movie ends with Superman working with humanity to rebuiild. Luthor Corp is there to help in the humanitarian effort (and maybe buy out some poor landowners who have lost everything) which leads us to the modern incarnation of Luthor and his corporation instead of a caricature of the master villain depicted for the last 30 years.
Yet another friend, named McW, adds, "Here’s my title for the next Superman movie: The Death of Superman AKA Doomsday. Makes $250 million for the overall run, cost $150 million to make. I go home and sleep on a big pile of money with lots of pretty girls
"
It would be better to see Supes in a fight that is close but eventually victorious, and use the subplots to establish the modern version of Superman. Also, have you seen the animated Superman: Doomsday movie? While interesting, it's missing something by only having Superman in it. Warner needs to use other Justice League members to fully realize the death of Superman. I also can only think of three or four directors that could pull off a Superman movie of that magnitude effectively. Maybe Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, or in a pinch Chris Nolan or Darren Aronosfky.
The establishment of corporate Luthor and his holdings in Metropolis would be a major requirement for a Doomsday movie, plus the fight with Darkseid would actually emphasize how strong Doomsday is to “kill” Supes. Also it would introduce the necessary S.T.A.R. Labs, and there could be hints of Cadmus in the end of the Darkseid movie because the government would see exactly how strong Superman is. This would lay all the necessary groundwork for the movie without messing up the continuity.
I'd prefer to not do a Doomsday movie yet, but instead do a Wrath of Khan/Search for Spock treatment, i.e., do the Death of Superman and then follow up the *ahem* return of Superman.
Voila! We have just handed Warner Bros. a new Superman trilogy for the studio to make a billion dollars from the willing pockets of geeks.
Recently rumors surfaced that with the success of The Dark Knight the studio in its finite wisdom (no, that is NOT a typo) has indicated that its wants to make Superman darker for the next film. You can just guess what the fan response was to that little tidbit of news. As my conversation with my friend progressed we were able to lay out exactly what we would like to see in a new Superman movie without destroying what has already been established in the movie continuity of the last 30 years, borrowing ideas and concepts from both Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League (both by Bruce Timm), along with the current DC universe stories.
Superman vs. Darkseid (art by Bruce Timm)
Here is the idea that D.W. and I had:
Luthor has once again escaped prosecution; now funded by the inheritance he received in Superman Returns he goes 'legitimate', starting Luthor Corp. Luthor has also been in secret talks with an alien named Darkseid (via some stolen gadget from S.T.A.R. Labs), in order to secure his position on Earth after an successful invasion by Darkseid.
Superman flies around and stops inexplicable volcanic eruptions around the globe. Darkseid’s army invades via 'boom tubes'. Superman fights the various armies with one of Darkseid's super-strong generals at the head of each, beating them back in various locales, but fighting a losing battle. Metropolis is left largely untouched by the invasion--thus minimizing the need for Lois Lane to eat up half the movie with a pointless plotline and subjecting her to the role of actually being a reporter--until a huge alien ship booms in over Metropolis and begins to wreak havoc with the city. This then sparks a return scene of Luthor being all pissed for the double cross.
Superman speeds back to protect his adopted city from destruction, only to find his way blocked by Darkseid. Fighting ensues and since the bulk of Metropolis is already trashed, we see Superman really let loose in only a way seen once on screen (as shown in an episode of Justice League). With the defeat of Darkseid and the departure of his military forces, the movie ends with Superman working with humanity to rebuiild. Luthor Corp is there to help in the humanitarian effort (and maybe buy out some poor landowners who have lost everything) which leads us to the modern incarnation of Luthor and his corporation instead of a caricature of the master villain depicted for the last 30 years.
Yet another friend, named McW, adds, "Here’s my title for the next Superman movie: The Death of Superman AKA Doomsday. Makes $250 million for the overall run, cost $150 million to make. I go home and sleep on a big pile of money with lots of pretty girls
"It would be better to see Supes in a fight that is close but eventually victorious, and use the subplots to establish the modern version of Superman. Also, have you seen the animated Superman: Doomsday movie? While interesting, it's missing something by only having Superman in it. Warner needs to use other Justice League members to fully realize the death of Superman. I also can only think of three or four directors that could pull off a Superman movie of that magnitude effectively. Maybe Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, or in a pinch Chris Nolan or Darren Aronosfky.
The establishment of corporate Luthor and his holdings in Metropolis would be a major requirement for a Doomsday movie, plus the fight with Darkseid would actually emphasize how strong Doomsday is to “kill” Supes. Also it would introduce the necessary S.T.A.R. Labs, and there could be hints of Cadmus in the end of the Darkseid movie because the government would see exactly how strong Superman is. This would lay all the necessary groundwork for the movie without messing up the continuity.
I'd prefer to not do a Doomsday movie yet, but instead do a Wrath of Khan/Search for Spock treatment, i.e., do the Death of Superman and then follow up the *ahem* return of Superman.
Voila! We have just handed Warner Bros. a new Superman trilogy for the studio to make a billion dollars from the willing pockets of geeks.
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