After the massive success of The Dark Knight, some people started to think "Hmm... dark superhero movies are the way to go." I've heard talk about trying to revamp Superman and do a dark, gritty take on the character. NO! Just no. A dark movie works for Batman, because that's who the character is. You can't just take a concept that applies for one character and then hope it works for a completely different character. One of the reasons Christopher Nolan's Batman movies are so great is that they're true to the spirit of Batman. You can show those movies to a non-fan to give them a better understanding of Batman and his world. Along with the story, acting, effects, etc., the way to make the ultimate Superman movie is to make something that people can watch and say without a doubt "This is Superman." I realize that a lot of people see Superman as old-fashioned and outdated, but you can't just change who the character is. You have to change the way you present the character so that people see him in a new light and understand him better than they have before. On the road to Superman Returns, there were people who wanted to drastically change Superman. Most of these ideas were terrible. You can read about them here.
Here's an excerpt from one of them:
"Kevin Smith pitched to Jon Peters his story outline in August 1996, in which Peters gave him permission to write a screenplay. However, Peters presented Smith with three rules, such as wanting Superman to wear an all-black suit,[8] feeling the more traditional suit was 'too faggy'; not wanting to see Superman fly,[8] saying that Superman would 'look like an overgrown Boy Scout.'[7] (In order to deal with this, Smith wrote Superman flying as 'a red-and-blue blur in flight, creating a sonic boom every time he flew.'[11]); and have Superman fight a giant spider in the third act. Smith accepted the terms, realizing that he was being hired to execute a pre-ordained idea.[8]
Peters and Warner Bros. forced Smith to write a scene involving Brainiac fighting polar bears at the Fortress of Solitude, and Peters wanted Brainiac to give Lex Luthor a space dog, stating 'Chewie's cuddly, man. You could make a toy out of him, so you've got to give me a dog.'[10] Smith claims this was because of the recent re-release of the original Star Wars trilogy, and claims that Peters wanted Brainiac's robot assistant L-Ron to be voiced by Dwight Ewell, calling him, 'a gay R2-D2 with attitude.'"
People like this Peters guy have no respect for the character and shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the production of a Superman movie. If there is one thing you have to give Bryan Singer credit for, it's that he respected Superman and kept his film faithful to the character. I've heard people say that they want to see Superman as more of a bad-ass. Part of the appeal of the character is that he's (for lack of a better term) a good-ass! His kindness and integrity should be evident in any portrayal. When people go to see this movie, they should feel like the Superman they're seeing is the Superman they've always known.
Main Point: Respect and uphold the integrity of the character.
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