-
Tuesday, November 17
Director James McTeigue's new movie, Ninja Assassin, opens this month, but during a recent interview with MTV, Superman was one of the topics of the conversation.
McTeigue first teased his interest in the Superman franchise back in August, when he said that he would "do a complete reboot" if he were to take the helm. McTeigue reiterated this sentiment in recent comments to MTV, but said that the studio doesn't know what they want to do with the franchise.
It's in a weird place at the moment. 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.
I think it's ripe for a retooling. I would love to — if it happened, I would at least start a conversation about it.
Next up for McTeigue will be The Raven, a fictionalized account of the last days of writer Edgar Allen Poe.
Posted 11/17/2009 by BrentJS
Related: James McTeigue | Superman Returns | Ninja Assassin
-
Tuesday, October 27
Looks like J.J. Abrams won't return to direct Mission: Impossible 4, which is currently being scripted. "I'm producing with Tom [Cruise]," Abrams told MTV. "My guess is, given other things, that I will not be directing the movie."
Ironically, the entire M:I 4 project came together out of Cruise's desire to reunite with Abrams.
Tom asked if I'd be interested in working with him again. I didn't have a sense of what the story would be, but very quickly this idea came to mind, and Tom reacted to it in a way that got me excited, and then we got [Alias writers] André [Nemec] and Josh [Appelbaum] to come onboard, and they began developing the idea with us.
I don't want to give anything away yet, but I will say that it's a story that will feel consistent with the world that has been created. It's not a reboot kind of thing.
So what are the "other things" that would make Abrams unavailable to direct M:I 4? Besides Star Trek 2, Abrams wouldn't mind working on a Superman movie. Abrams wrote an infamous Superman script back in 2002, when fanboy-hater Brett Ratner was set to direct, but his script was never used and the Superman Returns debacle was made instead. Abrams told MTV that returning to Superman would "be a blast."
Writing that script was a long process. 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.
No one has talked to me about it. Obviously I'm sure Warner Brothers has a plan for what they want to do.
So far, Warners' "plan" has been to have "no current plans" to make a Superman movie.
Posted 10/27/2009 by Ryan
Related: Tom Cruise | J.J. Abrams | Superman Returns | Mission: Impossible 4 | Josh Appelbaum | Andre Nemec
-
Friday, September 25
While the newly formed DC Entertainment may have no current plans for a Superman movie, a recent fan poll conducted by MTV revealed that fans think DC ought to make a Superman movie their top priority by a wide margin. Apparently, fanboys want to wash the bitter taste of the disappointing Superman Returns from their cinematic palette.
But even if DC could rush another Superman into theaters, where would it start? Warner Bros. President Jeff Robinov would like a "darker" reboot of the franchise, but with the recent court ruling granting the rights for Superman's origins to the families of Superman's creators, the early part of the Man of Steel's life is off limits. However, if DC don't start development on a Superman movie by 2011, the families can sue again for lost revenue.
DC could always turn to Mark Millar, creator of Wanted and the upcoming Kick-Ass, who more than a year ago pitched an eight-hour trilogy of Superman movies to be released one year apart à la Lord of the Rings.
There's also an unorthodox script from J.J. Abrams that set half the movie on Krypton where a civil war had broken out, which he might prefer to use pieces of in his sequel to Star Trek.
Our money's on Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn who said he would like to reinvent Superman. Considering the legal ramifications involved in rebooting Superman, "reinventing" may bring what the fans are hoping for.
Posted 9/25/2009 by Ryan
Related: Superman Returns | Matthew Vaughn | Kick-Ass | Mark Millar
-
Tuesday, September 22
Yes, it's true. Prior to Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, there was indeed a planned version of the rebooted Superman franchise in which director Tim Burton would remake the man of steel in his quirky style — and Nicolas Cage would portray the hero. The surprising thing is that it got past costuming stage, as is evidenced by this leaked video that recently appeared online.
All reports say that this video is legit, and by the looks of it, comic book movie fans dodged a speeding bullet.
Posted 9/22/2009 by Jim
Related: Nicolas Cage | Tim Burton | Superman | Superman Returns
-
Tuesday, September 15
It's been a pretty rocky year for the "Last Son of Krypton" and it doesn't appear that things will smooth out any time soon. In the wake of Superman Returns' dismal box office take ($200 million domestically from a production budget of $270 million), Warner Bros. has spent much of 2009 in court battling the families of Superman's original creators over rights to the character, not to mention letting Brandon Routh's contract expire, casting doubt into the possibility of a sequel.
It appears that there were still plans to make another Superman movie as recently as August, with Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov hinting that the franchise would receive a "darker" reboot along the lines of Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight. Now, however, it appears that the Superman franchise is grounded. The head of the newly formed DC Entertainment division, Diane Nelson, told MTV:
We actually don't have any current plans for Superman.
We've obviously done a lot of great things behind the property in our history, and it's a key part of the family, but we don't have current plans behind Superman.
Posted 9/15/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Brandon Routh | Superman Returns
-
Monday, August 31
Director Matthew Vaughn is a huge comic book fan, as his upcoming Kick-Ass adaptation hopes to prove. However, Vaughn has left more superhero movies than he's made, having abandoned both Thor and X-Men: The Last Stand.
But that doesn't mean that Vaughn isn't ready for more. Vaughn told MTV about two projects he's hoping to direct:
I grew up watching superhero films, so I want to make superhero films. I was desperate to do Iron Man about 8 years ago, and everyone was like, "Iron Man, no one will go watch that." Cut to now, and it's a huge hit. [I'd] love to do The Avengers. And Superman ... I think it would be great to reinvent Superman.
Of course, Jon Favreau directed Iron Man, and he's also been discussed as the potential director for The Avengers. In fact, Favreau feels that The Avengers might keep the Iron Man series from falling into predictability:
...The Avengers might be the thing that helps rescue us from the inevitable sequel slump that you get into, because you're throwing everything on its ear. It might be a failed experiment or it might be something wonderful, but it allows you to add complexity in an organic way where you're culminating with something bigger, as opposed to trying to play out and not repeat the same story over and over again.
Vaughn might have a better chance at the next Superman, though James McTeigue has been strongly rumored to be directing the project.
Posted 8/31/2009 by Ryan
Related: Jon Favreau | X-Men: The Last Stand | Superman Returns | Iron Man | Superman: The Man of Steel | Thor | Iron Man 2 | The Avengers | Matthew Vaughn | Kick-Ass
-
Wednesday, August 26
Director James McTeigue won't say whether he'll direct the next Superman movie, but that hasn't stopped him from telling how he thinks the franchise should continue post-Superman Returns:
I think that the culture has sort of changed a little bit around Superman now as well. If you're going to do something with Superman, I think people would probably like something a little darker. I know that sounds like a bit of a cliche. You just to need to take it and...retool it, I guess. Like make it something that appeals to audiences now a little more.
Does McTeigue mean a Superman movie should be made that doesn't turn off fans? He may be onto something.
McTeigue certainly talks like he would like to direct Superman. He's not even put off by the recent court ruling that gave the family of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel exclusive rights to Superman's origin story.
I think it's good that they just had a court case where, basically, if you make another Superman movie, you can't touch Superman growing up — that's part of the story that you can't touch any more. That wouldn't be a bad thing. I think everybody's a bit sick of seeing the origin story.
Of course, some could argue that the death of Superman's parents and his exile to earth is one of the darker aspects of the straight-laced hero's life. Perhaps McTeigue could elaborate on what darker aspects he would explore. That is, if he would just admit he's directing the next Superman.
Posted 8/26/2009 by Ryan
Related: James McTeigue | Superman Returns | Jerry Siegel | Superman: The Man of Steel
-
Friday, August 7
Last week, IESB reported that Warner Bros. had closed the door on Bryan Singer's involvement with Superman and were looking to reboot the franchise, possibly with James McTeigue as director and Andy and Larry Wachowski producing.
Warner was supposedly hoping for a more action-oriented director, which McTeigue may prove to be with his upcoming Ninja Assassin. However, when SlashFilm asked McTeigue about the possibility of directing Superman, his answer was decidely vague:
You know ... I ... I would say. .. I'll keep you guessing, actually. It's good not to dispel every rumor, right?
McTeigue's answer was surprising considering he was the one to announce Warner's interest in having the Wachowskis take over the Superman franchise in February. At the time, McTeigue thought the Wachowskis may be too busy should their pet project Plastic Man get off the ground, though McTeigue says the movie, at this point, is dead:
Obviously, Larry and Andy, did a script for Plastic Man back in the day. I'll be very surprised if that movie gets made. We haven't ever really talked about it. But I know it's still a Joel [Silver] property or a Warner property...
After directing V For Vendetta, McTeigue has been no stranger to comic book adaptation speculation. At one point he was in talks to direct X-Men Origins: Magneto, though he dismissed those rumors:
[Magneto] was just one of those rumors that started out and I don't know where it came from or how it came up. I think that David Goyer would be surprised about that actually.
I mean, you know, it's not a bad idea.
So no Plastic Man, Magneto's "not a bad idea," and maybe to Superman? McTeigue could potentially have a full slate is any of these rumors become substantiated. Until then, fanboys will have to wait on Ninja Assassin's November 25 release to see if McTeigue's got the goods.
Posted 8/7/2009 by Ryan
Related: Andy Wachowski | James McTeigue | Joel Silver | Larry Wachowski | Superman Returns | Plastic Man | Superman: The Man of Steel | Ninja Assassin | X-Men Origins: Magneto | David Goyer
-
Thursday, August 6
MTV spoke with Brandon Routh at San Diego Comic-Con and the Superman Returns star revealed that he's not only a big gamer, but specifically excited about the upcoming World of Warcraft adaptation:
I know they just announced that Sam Raimi is gonna be directing so that's very cool. And, again, my friends over at Legendary [who also produced Superman Returns] are working on that so, you know, I'm looking forward to what's gonna happen with that.
Routh was obviously looking to express his interest in working on the movie and Raimi (he was even wearing a Warcraft t-shirt), but when pressed Routh remained a little coy:
You know, you might get a little action, a little sword-fighting. That'd be a lot of fun.
Raimi won't start work on Warcraft until after he's finished Spider-Man 4, which means Routh will have some time to further market himself.
Posted 8/6/2009 by Ryan
Related: Sam Raimi | Superman Returns
-
Wednesday, July 15
Warner Bros. has been noticeably cautious on making another Superman after Superman Returns' lackluster box office performance, focusing instead on its recently cast Green Lantern while they wait for Christopher Nolan to decide if he wants to make another Batman movie. Yet speculation over a sequel has persisted, and considering Warner's lineup of "tentpole" movies set for release in 2011, the lack of a Superman movie seems unusual.
The development of a sequel to Superman Returns has not been very promising, with director Bryan Singer unlikely to return and Brandon Routh's contract to play Superman expiring. Warner Bros. President Alan Horn has testified that no Superman movie is currently in development, not even a script has been written. That's about to change.
In a recent legal battle between heirs of Superman creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel and current right holders DC Comics and Warner Bros., the judge ruled that while Warner Bros. owes no damages to the families, they must begin development of a Superman movie by 2011 or the families can sue again.
While fans will undoubtedly be excited for another Superman, Warner Bros. can't be too pleased. Perhaps it will push them to make the unorthodox Superman script J.J. Abrams wrote.
Posted 7/15/2009 by Ryan
Related: Brandon Routh | Superman Returns