Aside from the immensely successful Batman movies, there hasn’t been a truly successful film adaptation of any of DC Comics superheroes in over two decades, and as pictures based on Marvel’s superheroes seem to be going from massive hit to massive hit (kicking off with Spider-Man, we’ve had the X-Men series, the Iron Man films, and upcoming movies based on The Avengers, Nick Fury, Captain America, and Thor, as well as several others in the pipeline), Warner Bros. are planning to cash in on their DC rights by once again rebooting the Superman franchise.
The definitive Superman movie; revolving around the super-fast, flying, bullet-stopping, orphan from outer-space, also known as both the Man of Steel, and the mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, who’s an all round goodie-two-shoes, and only vulnerable to a green space rock known as Kryptonite; was released way back in 1978, featured Christopher Reeve (Rear Window) in the title role, brilliant special effects, and was the original big-budget superhero film; meaning that all sequels and adaptations so far have failed to top it; something that Warner are hoping to change by putting the next Superman film in the capable hands of Christopher Nolan.
Christopher Nolan’s well known for being not only the creator of one of this summer’s biggest hits; Inception; but for successfully rebooting, and updating the Batman franchise, and making it what it is today, so it’s no real surprise that Warner should once again hire him to oversee the production of their next Superman flick; a film that is now swimming in rumours of predicated directors.
Several directors have already been named as possible candidates; including Duncan Jones (Moon), Tony Scott (Unstoppable), and Matt Reeves (Cloverfield); but the latest, and most credible name (due to the source of the current rumour) to be thrown into the mix, is that of Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler); who’s currently basking in the success of his latest (predicted to be Oscar winning) film, Black Swan.
But while not confirmed as yet, Aronofsky would certainly make an interesting choice, as he’s already shown that he can make moody and effective features, and even toyed with the idea of adapting Frank Miller’s seminal graphic novel ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ into a Batman movie (which ironically became Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, and gave Nolan the power over the new Superman reboot).
The script’s being written by David S. Goyer (who’s comic-book adaptations include both Blade, and the current Batman movies, as well as the terrible Nick Fury TV movie), titled The Man of Steel, and is apparently a totally new way of approaching the story; as it’s not an origin picture, and will bring the film up-to-date with the Daily Planet (the newspaper that Clark works for) struggling to survive against the internet, when the film is released in the 2012 Christmas season.
