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.