It's been a while since the last announcement that simultaneously rocked the comics and movie worlds. "Spider-Man 4" getting canceled was a real downer, so it's nice that this time around the big news involves a project moving forward.
As we told you earlier today, Warner Brothers has reportedly put "The Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan in charge of the "Superman" movie franchise, with plans for yet another relaunch of the Man of Steel's big-screen adventures. While there's been no official confirmation or response to MTV's calls for comment thus far, the report doesn't seem completely out of line given Nolan's success with the Batman franchise.
So, with that in mind, here are some of the biggest questions surrounding Nolan's potential involvement — and the information that might lead us to some answers. Read more...
"The Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan is making room for another superhero franchise — none other than the Man of Steel himself, Superman.
A report from Deadline Hollywood states that Warner Bros. has tasked Nolan with a "godfather" role in shepherding a "Superman" relaunch following the poorly received "Superman Returns." The site also reiterated its report from yesterday that Nolan is currently working on the third "Batman" screenplay with David Goyer and brother Jonah Nolan.
According to the report, Nolan isn't likely to direct the new "Superman" film, which won't be a followup to "Superman Returns." Curiously, the report mentions that "Returns" collaborators Brandon Routh and Bryan Singer aren't officially off the relaunch yet. Read more...
On Friday, we were first to bring you the news that "Sherlock Holmes" actor Mark Strong was in talks to play Sinestro in the "Green Lantern" movie. Along with that exclusive scoop, director Martin Campbell also gave MTV News a list of characters from Green Lantern's universe that would be appearing in the film.
And while we were on the subject, we had to ask about another high-profile DC character rumored to make a cameo.
"No, that won't happen," Campbell told MTV News when asked about the chances of Superman (or possibly Clark Kent) appearing in "Green Lantern" in some form. Read more...
Superhero fan films are one thing, but Bollywood films based on comics... Well, they're usually an entirely different kind of awesome.
Take, for example, 1988's "Dariya Dil." In one sequence posted on YouTube, stars Govinda and Kimi Katkar suit up as Superman and Spider-Woman, respectively, for a song-and-dance number. Along with showing off their slick moves while flying through the air, the pair also take a break to toss some bad guys around — right before they kick off the next dance number, that is.
Now that is the sort of Marvel/DC crossover we probably won't see in the comics any time soon. Read more...
"Green Lantern" and "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds isn't the only guy pulling double duty with some of comics most popular characters these days. Next year, "Green Lantern" movie (and former "FlashForward" television series) co-writer Marc Guggenheim will jump into the driver's seat on DC's "Action Comics" series and script the adventures of the Man of Steel himself, Superman.
With DC already announcing that its next big event will kick off in 2010 with the title "War of the Supermen," it looks to be a big year for Kal-El. I caught up with Guggenheim to get more details on his upcoming debut as the regular writer on one of the industry's longest-running series, and what he has planned for one of the world's most popular superheroes.
Read more...
The "Superman" franchise is currently in the midst of a lengthy legal battle between DC Comics/Warner Bros. and the heirs of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Recently, the Siegel and Shuster estates were awarded the rights to certain aspects of the "Superman" origin story — namely, anything and everything relating to Kal-El's Kryptonian origins.
DC Entertainment's loss of Clark's alien roots has led to some understandable fan skepticism about whether a new "Superman" movie could work without at least a passing reference to the lead character's home planet, particularly considering the long-rumored plan of a complete "Superman" reboot.
But the recent announcement of "Superman: Earth One" — the first in a series of original, out-of-continuity graphic novels written by J. Michael Straczynski — could offer a glance at exactly how the Man of Steel might fly on the screen without the Krypton component. Read more...
"Superman Returns" raised a lot of questions about what kind of sequel might follow the 2006 film and who would come back, as well as whether Warner Brothers would simply start from scratch with the next film about the Man of Steel. "Ninja Assassin" director James McTeigue was once rumored to replace Bryan Singer, but DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson recently said the company doesn't "have any current plans for Superman."
Well, Kevin Spacey doesn't have any Superman plans either, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't return to the role of Lex Luthor.
"If I ran Warner Brothers I could tell you definitively we’d be making that movie," Spacey told MTV News. "But I don’t, and they haven’t called me to tell me." Read more...
In August, James McTeigue told MTV News he would neither confirm nor deny rumors that he might direct the next "Superman" movie. What he was keen to do was delve into his vision for the next big-screen take on the Man of Steel: he wanted to start the franchise from scratch, avoid an origin story and make the whole thing super dark.
McTeigue had so much to say, it was hard to avoid the idea that he'd had some sort of contact with DC Comics or Warner Brothers about the project. Then last month, DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson told us the company doesn't "have any current plans for Superman." And when we spoke to McTeigue last Friday, it seemed he, too, no longer had concrete plans for the franchise.
"It's in a weird place at the moment," he told MTV News. "They're trying to work out what they're doing. Warner Brothers is trying to figure out their next move on it. There's some things you can do with the 'Superman' franchise, there's other things you can't do. So it hasn't gone anywhere." Read more...
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...
