After recently reporting that Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) was one of the top names in line to direct the new Superman movie, news has now officially broken that the job has been given to another director who’s relationship with Warner bros. is already established, and who seems to have an unending amount of enthusiasm for the project; Zack Snyder.
Snyder; the director of both 300, and Watchmen; confirmed that whilst he is now officially attached to the picture, he didn’t have to put on much of a show to get the gig (which also had Moon’s Duncan Jones, Unstoppable’s Tony Scott, Cloverfield’s Matt Reeves, and at one point Daredevil’s Ben Affleck, in the running), but simply expressed how close he felt to the character, and the fact that he feels “the character deserves to be loved.”
The new adaptation is being steered by superhero guru Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight), who came up with the story alongside David S. Goyer (a man well known for his writing talents and comic-book adaptations; after writing Blade, and working with Nolan on the current Batman movies); before Goyer wrote the script; which is reported to be a completely new take on the classic tale, as it’s not an origin story, and aims to bring the plot thoroughly up-to-date.
It assumes that everyone is already familiar with the story of Superman; who’s an outer-space orphan that lands on our planet as a baby, and grows up with numerous powers (including flight, incredible speed, strength, and hearing), which he eventually uses to try and stamp out crime in the vast city of Metropolis, whilst maintaining a guise as a mild-mannered reporter working for a newspaper called The Daily Planet; a story that Zack Snyder is more than keen to approach, as he claims that Superman is “the king of all superheroes.”
There’s no word yet on who will play the illustrious role that was made famous by Christopher Reeve (and still hasn’t been topped in 32 years), or exactly how “David and Chris have given great insight into how to make him feel modern”, but rumours have started to spread of a connection to the Richard Donner films; namely that the famous villain General Zod (a powerful fugitive from Supe’s home planet) will make an appearance, and actually give Mr Kent a real fight.
The Man of Steel (which will be the title of the new film) doesn’t have an official start date as of yet, although Zack has confirmed that “things are moving quickly” and that dates can be confirmed once a few script details have been ironed out; leaving plenty of time for Snyder to work in his trademark slow-motion visual flair, and get the film in theaters by Christmas 2012 (which is precisely when the studio are hoping to unleash The Man of Steel).
