The last time J.J. Abrams had the Man of Steel on his mind, things didn't exactly work out as planned, but given his resilient career in television and film since 2002, the creator is in a better position than ever to make a hypothetical return to the property. However, despite the support of high-profile fans such as filmmaker Kevin Smith and many in the fan community, at this point, nothing is officially moving forward with Abrams' version of Superman.
"No one has talked to me about it," Abrams told MTV News. "Obviously I’m sure Warner Brothers has a plan for what they want to do."
"Writing that script was a long process," he explained. "It was a very passionate character for me. As a kid growing up it meant a lot to me. It would be wonderful and fun to see that brought back. I don’t know what Warners is thinking or what their plan is. It would be a blast." Read more...
When Kevin Smith dropped by Splash Page HQ to talk about his new book "Shootin' The Sh*t With Kevin Smith: The Best Of The SModcast," our conversation covered a wide range of topics. From things his wife won't let him talk about to the new character he created for "Batman: The Widening Gyre" (and even his reaction to Disney buying Marvel), Smith offered up some frank thoughts on every topic I threw his way—and even a few that came up on the spot.
Case in point: Our conversation about the "Mad Men" television series (he's a big fan, I haven't seen an episode yet—but intend to) and actor Jon Hamm, who stars in the series. Regular readers know Hamm's name has a habit of popping up whenever we discuss casting comic book characters (most recently, Captain America, Green Lantern and "Fear Agent" Heath Huston), but Smith offered up an even more interesting role for the "Mad Men" actor—two roles, in fact.
"That dude could play Batman and Superman," said Smith. "That's the weird thing. You look at him and he's got a f---ing Superman look, but he's got a Batman thing going on, too." Read more...
Way back in the '90s, Michael Keaton was Bruce Wayne, comic books came with a dozen variant covers and Nicolas Cage was the actor tagged to bring another DC icon, Superman, back to the big screen. And now we have a peek at what the "Ghost Rider" actor might have looked like as the Man of Steel.
Or do we?
A photo that recently popped up on TimBurton.jp purports to be a leaked image from Cage's screen test for the role of Superman, complete with spandex costume and long, "Death of Superman"-era hair. They've also posted a video that features some of the concept art created for the film, which was set to be directed by Tim Burton and feature a story initially conceived by Kevin Smith. Read more...
Last week, we posted several comments from "Wanted" and "Kick-Ass" co-creator Mark Millar about the likelihood of seeing his epic, much-discussed "Superman" screenplay arrive on the big screen. Over the weekend, Millar hinted on his message boards that he believed some of the quotes were fabricated, and indicated that details surrounding the project were not presented accurately.
"I don't think I said they couldn't afford me now," wrote Millar. "If I did I was joking because writing Superman would be a massive payday so if I said that I was obviously laughing at the time. It's possible though as I like being glib."
In the interest of presenting all the facts and letting readers judge for themselves, we've posted video from the portion of the interview in question (conducted during this year's Comic-Con in San Diego). Read more...
In the wake of Warner Brothers restructuring DC's role in the company movie plans, we asked readers last week to vote on the superhero project they think the newly formed DC Entertainment should make its first priority.
While the winner of the poll should surprise no one (hint: he's faster than a speeding bullet), the runners-up might offer the most interesting take on how fans feel about DC's potential movie projects. It's also worth noting that the top vote-getter, Superman, isn't exactly at the top of DC's to-do list right now—so one of the other options might not be out of the realm of possibility.
Read on for the full breakdown of votes, as well as some opinions from readers about which characters they'd bring to the big screen first if they were calling the shots. Read more...
On Friday, I spoke with the new head of DC Entertainment, Diane Nelson, who offered up some thoughts on how the recent changes in and around Warner Brothers will affect Superman, Batman and the rest of DC's stable of characters in comics, movies and various other media.
However, one particular portion of the interview seemed to merit its own post. While discussing some of the specific projects on the horizon for DC ("Ryan Reynolds can be anything he wants to be," said Nelson of the "Green Lantern" star's ability to play both Hal Jordan and the Marvel character Deadpool in upcoming films), the conversation eventually turned to one of the company's most iconic characters: Superman.
"We actually don't have any current plans for Superman," said Nelson when asked if the new environment (and the recent legal decision regarding the character) made a "Superman" movie more or less likely in the near future. Read more...
[UPDATE: Video from this interview and a response to concerns raised by Mark Millar about the quotes have now been posted. -RM]
Now that Warner Bros. has a mandate to produce a new Superman film by 2011, speculation goes in several directions anticipating what form Kal-El will take. "Kick-Ass" and "Wanted" creator Mark Millar notably pitched an epic take on the Last Son of Krypton, which subsequently received little interest from WB.
However, even though he still harbors a deep love for the Man of Steel, Millar now says he expects his trilogy-long Superman tale to remain in stasis despite WB's renewed mission.
"I don't think they could afford me now," Millar told MTV News. "I'll stick with Marvel." Read more...
Now that the heroes of the DC Universe might receive some extra attention thanks to the newly developed DC Entertainment, could some of the company's highly-anticipated, yet unproduced superhero films finally see some movement?
DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson recently told Comic Book Resources about her desire to prioritize several DC properties including "Superman," "Wonder Woman," "Justice League" and more.
But a production company can only churn out so many movies in a given time—so where should they look first? Read more...
"Kick-Ass" director Matthew Vaughn already has one comic book movie in the works, and his name's been dropped in connection with a potential adaptation of "American Jesus," as well as being attached to "Thor" well before Kenneth Branagh joined the project.
So, since it's pretty safe to say Vaughn knows his comics fare, we had to ask him whether there's a dream project out there that he's dying to bring from comics to the big screen—other than "Kick-Ass," of course.
"[I'd] love to do 'The Avengers,'" Vaughn told MTV News. "And Superman... I think it would be great to reinvent Superman." Read more...
When news of a "Superman" reboot first hit the internet, the word tossed in connection to the project was "darker," a tone that one would more readily attribute to Batman rather than the comparatively sunnier Man of Steel himself. But "Ninja Assassin" director James McTeigue, who is the subject of some interesting rumors about helming a "Superman" movie, told MTV News that a new film centering on the Last Son of Krypton should go down a darker route than its Bryan Singer-directed predecessor.
"I think that the culture has sort of changed a little bit around Superman," McTeigue suggested regarding a "Superman Returns" follow-up. "If you're going to do something with Superman, I think people would probably like something a little darker." Read more...
