One of the most anticipated pieces of news for 2011 is who will be donning the cape and boots for Zack Snyder's upcoming Superman reboot. Casting rumors and speculation have been swarming for months, but determining the right actor to portray the man of steel is just one step in the process. At first glance, the Superman reboot has a lot going for it: a talented successful director in Zach Snyder, Christopher Nolan producing, and Jonathan Nolan and David Goyer writing. But even with all this talent, I still think that the new Superman has an uphill battle ahead of it, particularly in pleasing not only the very critical comic book fans but general audiences alike.
The last time we saw Superman on screen was 2006's Superman Returns ; now I just want to put it out there that I don't think Superman Returns is a bad as it's been made out to be... extremely disappointing, yes, but not the travesty fandom has built it up to be. Superman Returns was disappointing because it was the wrong Superman movie at the wrong time; for years fans had been teased with news of a Superman movie stuck in development hell, the story evolved from an adaptation of the famous Death of Superman storyline to just a simple retelling of his origins, and talent like Tim Burton, Kevin Smith, Nicholas Cage, McG, and J.J. Abrams had all been attached at one point. Finally Bryan Singer, hot off his massive success with the X-Men movies, signed on to direct. When I heard this news I was pumped because I was a huge fan of what Singer did with the X-films and was certain he would bring the same magic to the new Superman film.
When you watch Superman Returns you feel like you're watching a lost sequel to the original Richard Donner film, the characterizations are the same, the music the same, the plot the same, and even some of the dialogue is the same, but sadly this was not how to introduce a new generation to the man of steel. I'm a big fan of the original Donner Superman movie and still insist it's one of the best and most influential comic book movies ever (Watch Superman and then watch Batman Begins and you'll see a direct link in story structure) but we have all seen those movies and were hoping for something new, not a carbon copy.Superman Returns would have been much more successful if it came out in the 80's, but not in a time when Warner Brothers wanted to start a new franchise with new fans. It's clear that Singer made Superman Returns his love letter to the Donner movies but in the end it came off as boring and derivative.
I think that Warner Brothers is taking a step in the right direction with getting Zach Snyder to direct because he has shown that each of his movies can be unique and exciting and he will most likely give us a take on Supes that we haven't seen before. Many more pieces still need to fall in place though for this reboot to succeed, and here are just a few things I think it needs to do in order to succeed where the last Superman movie failed.
1. The Casting
Brandon Routh definitely had the look to be Superman, in fact he looked like a clone of Christoper Reeve. Now I don't know if it was Routh's idea to basically impersonate Reeve for two hours or if it was Bryan Singer (I'm thinking both) but with whoever is cast as Supes, they're going to have to bring something new. Say what you will about some of the actor's who played Batman, but each and every one of them was different from the previous actor, and we need the same with Superman. Whoever plays Superman also needs to be built, he has to be imposing. Brandon Routh just looked very unimpressive when in the Superman costume and I think whoever fills the role now needs to strike an imposing figure when wearing the tights. Now I'm not saying he should be beefed up like a WWE wrestler, but just think of how Hugh Jackman looked in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Supes has to look like a tough customer from the get go so bad guys think twice before messing with him and we need to buy him being able to lift a car over his head.
2. Characterization
Leading up to Superman Returns I was extremely excited, but my fellow geek friends not so much. When I asked my friends why they didn't want to see the new Superman movie they remarked that Superman was "too goody two-shoes" and said they liked Batman better because he was "bad-ass". Now I'm not saying that Superman has to start growling one liners but I do think he needs to be played with more of an edge. Think of Captain America, Cap believes in his ideals and backs them up with action, but isn't afraid to go break the rules when needed. Superman needs to be played up as more action and less talk, instead of saying he fights for truth, justice, and the American Way, show it. Superman was portrayed like this in the animated series and I think that a no nonsense, man of action Superman is what is needed so people stop thinking of him as a goody two shoes and as more of a bad ass.
3. The Villain
I love me some Lex Luthor, but we've seen Lex Luthor vs. Superman too many times already. Luthor can still be in the film, but I think a new Superman movie needs a villain that can actually trade blows with Supes (and not General Zod, we've all seen him). By adding a super powered villain, it gives the film a chance to give us thrilling fight scenes but also a chance to see Superman as the bad-ass he is. Another common complaint about Superman is that he's too overpowered and you never doubt that he'll win, and I think an easy way to solve this problem is throwing in a villain that is a physical match for Supes. Metallo is perfect for a first movie villain; you can have him as a lackey for Luthor, then Luthor sees Superman in action and gets jealous, wanting that power for himself. After experimenting, Luthor takes his one time henchman and makes him Metallo, a being just as strong as Superman and is powered by the one thing that can kill Superman: Kryptonite. Not only will this give us some sweet fight scenes to watch, but it could accomplish something rare: make us think that Superman could lose.
There you have it, three things I think that the reboot needs in order to be a success. There are many more things that go into making a movie good but I think these are the most important issues to solve first. Zack Snyder has a chance to give us a Superman movie we've never seen before and I certainly hope he delivers because I think we fans deserve a good Superman movie after years of waiting and hoping. I'm sure that as the year goes on we'll get more and more news about this project and I can't wait to see what develops, though first we must find our man of steel...