Filmstalker: Superman reboot confirmed

Since Superman Returns was released, a sequel has been a long time coming. Not much has been heard, other than the odd bit of news. Now Warner Bros say they plan to start again with Superman.

It sure has taken them a while to decide. They also plan to go down the Marvel route, and release individual films for DC superheroes.

Not long ago we heard that Warner Bros were planning some changes in how they dealt with DC comic book heroes. With the success of The Dark Knight, Warner and DC seem to changing their tact slightly. The first to get the new treatment may well be Superman.

Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov, spoke to The Wall Street Journal, through Coming Soon. He seems to be the man behind Warners new approach, including the last two Batman films. He says a Batman vs Superman film is off for the minute, and hints that we will be seeing a reboot for Superman.

Superman didn't quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to. 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. But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all.

Robinov is keen to keep the darker tone of The Dark Knight in the new films, that includes a new Superman film.

We're going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it.

Does that mean Bryan Singer is off the sequel? Could they be talking about one of these pitches? Robinov has plans to release individual films for characters before going down the road of a Justice League film, which makes sense. Looks like Warner Bros. are taking a steer from Marvel, establishing film versions of single characters before bringing them together. More details of their plans will be out in the next month, and a third Batman film is part of the plan.

Let's hope they manage to make as good a job of them as The Dark Knight. Marvel might have some heavy competition. Looking forward to a rebooted Superman? Would a Batman vs Superman film interest you?

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If Singer is off Superman 2. I hope he goes back to Logans Run.

Posted by: N | August 25, 2008 1:49 AM

I'm with you N, in fact I think it might be better for him to do Logan's Run rather than another Superman anyway.

Posted by: Richard Brunton | August 25, 2008 11:12 AM

But how can Superman be a dark film? It's completely different from Batman and you can't expect to replicate The Dark Knight's success simply by making Superman 'darker'.

Posted by: CinemaMad | August 25, 2008 3:27 PM

It is slightly worrying if they try and copy and paste the darker feel of Batman onto other characters. Like you say not all suit it, and Superman is one of those. Maybe they are getting carried away with the success of The Dark Knight.

Posted by: Louise | August 25, 2008 9:06 PM

I feel quite sad by this news, mainly because I really like Superman Returns. Singer should of rebooted Superman back in 2006 anyway. It's very difficult to try and get people to go see a 'sequal' to a 20 odd year old film, which has none of the orginal actors in it.

If I had my way I would do a prequel to Returns and introduce the charcter(s) that way, adding more action and whatever is needed for the film to succeed. Superman Returns is a great film in my eyes, although not perfect, but a film that has a heart and I think it will be one of those gems people will talk about in years to come.

Posted by: Billy | August 26, 2008 8:07 AM

One possible strategy to satisfy everyone is to create a crossover in a different setting. Since all of the previous settings were on earth, a new setting would make it look like a reboot. The new setting could be deep space wherein superman tries to look for the planet Krypton but instead ends up in another planet with either braniac or darkseid and a revived general zod. They should include more action and many fight scenes with alien troopers and different military starships. In the end, he finally sees the remnants of the planet Krypton and makes his way back to earth. In this way, it could still pass as a prequel of superman returns. If this film becomes successful, they could now make sequels to superman returns. One sequel could be about superman's death from the battle with doomsday. And in the end of this movie they could show the reign or rise of the supermen featuring steal, the cyborg, the eradicator, and superboy. Superboy could be superman's son from superman returns, instead of a clone from star labs. This is where they could show the supermen as angry god versions of the original. I also think that Brandon Rought should still play superman's role.

Posted by: Sithiel | September 7, 2008 12:13 PM