Bryan Singer Out - Wachowski's Offered Superman Franchise?

Bryan Singer Out - Wachowski's Offered Superman Franchise?

In an interesting turn of events, AICN is reporting that Bryan Singer is done with Superman and the Wachowski Brothers of the Matrix (and Speed Racer) are taking a whack at the franchise.

News
By ComicBookMovie - Feb 12, 2009 09:02 AM EST
Filed Under: Superman
Source: AICN

The dub-brothers were set to work on Plastic Man, but Warner Bros. has put that project on hold, and this could allow for the brothers to work on Superman. If they do take the project, it is felt that it would be three-part re-imagining of Superman.

Aintitcool.com goes onto say…

"The Wachowski's are currently reviewing their options as its like being asked to take the final play in a Superbowl final. [McTeigue] says if they do agree, he will likely either succumb to providing second unit support on the movie or will champion the directorship of Plastic Man. The very thought of the brothers making a Superman movie is unbelievable as they have grown up in the world of comic books and they would be ideal for the project."

As for Bryan Singer, he'll take the helm of a Logan's Run remake.

Here's more commentary from CBM contributor jman...

Hmm, I'm not sure about this proposed move, it is proposed because nothing has been signed by anybody including the Wachowski bro's, to helm a reboot of the beloved Superman franchise. WB has only approached The Wachowski Bro's, they have not sealed the deal. I'm not sure if I want the creators of The Matrix to take this one on. The first Matrix was groundbreaking. Its the only movie out of the trilogy that I own. The last two were a let down, it almost seemed they got carried away with special effects and let the character development fall through the cracks. If this rumor becomes truth then here's to throwing the Superman franchise up to chance and hoping that the Wachowski Bro's don't run a muck over it.

One thing is confirmed that Bryan Singer wants nothing to do with a reboot. If WB plans to reboot the franchise it is reported that Bryan Singer will go on with his earlier plans of Directing Logan's Run with producer Joel Silver. Well you know what they say misery needs company and after the two of these yahoos screwed up there last failed attempts at movie franchises (Superman Returns, Speedracer) they are now deciding to take a crack at Logan's Run, hopefully they are successful so that keeps them away from currant or upcoming Comic to movie film adaptions. Haven't these two guys ever heard the advice "Stay with what your good at"???? Bryan Singer should have stayed on for X3 and by doing so, if he didn't screw it up, would be held in high regard. Joel Silver should keep making realistic movies about burned out cops. Now to Joel's defense he made some great movies but were he trailed off was when he took on Speed Racer. Horrible movie.

The next problem we encounter when we look at the above news is: If not the Wachowski Brothers then who?

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MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 2/12/2009, 9:23 AM
NO [frick]ING REBOOT!..if Singer got a crack at a sequel to SR he would knock it out of the park im tellin ya. If i have to sit through Supermans [frick]ing origin story one more time im going to vomit
TheDevilsRightHandMan
TheDevilsRightHandMan - 2/12/2009, 9:28 AM
It'd be interesting to see what the Wachowski bros do with Superman. I think they should do it.
Shaman
Shaman - 2/12/2009, 9:29 AM
Well all i can say is V for Vendetta!!! They totally have the talent to take on either Superman or even Batman's franchise. Hell, even both LOL. Their so called talent for "screenwriting" might lack but it has nothing to do with their monumental talent for "directing". And they might not "reboot" it per say, just ignoring SR would be fine. I agree, NO MORE ORIGINS!!!

Here's an article to debate Batman's direction, should Nolan not be on board:

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/MySecretIdentityPick/news/?a=6240
ThunderCougarFalconBird
ThunderCougarFalconBird - 2/12/2009, 9:36 AM
Not sure at all. It could go either way with these guys. Matrix was awesome, the sequels were good action films with a completely over the top scipt and too much of a "head up their own arses" feel.

They clawed it back with "V" I personally loved that movie, they nearly lost it when she went to take off the mask but he pushed her back, thank god!

Speedracer? I've made my feelings on this quite clear before. The ONLY good thing about this film is that I didn't waste my time going to see it! The trailer was enough for me.

The point is, if they keep the script at arms length and restrain themselves we could have an awesome trilogy.

sidenote: if there's a death seen (hope there is) don't drag it on like Carrie Ann Moss! Nearly fell asleep in the cinema on that scene!
JamesH
JamesH - 2/12/2009, 9:43 AM
If they were responsible for Neo's flight scenes in Matrix then hot damn, give em Superman coz all the flight scenes in Superman Returns were sooooo lame!
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 2/12/2009, 9:44 AM
They dont do drama so well...i loved the first Matrix but your right howlett04, the sequels dissapeared up the watchowskis arses. I went to see speed racer as part of a double showing with iron man..i didnt even pay for it and i wanted to leave..before iron man started! But V for vendetta was great,,even if they did ignore huge parts of the Graphic Novel.
MisterNiceGuy
MisterNiceGuy - 2/12/2009, 9:50 AM
i think the superman franchise is a dead stick..but thats just me.
cable82
cable82 - 2/12/2009, 10:10 AM
What are you talking about?! Superman Returns flight scenes were just as good if not better than Neo's Matrix flying scenes. Superman's flying scenes were probably the most enjoyable part of Superman. Would have made it even cooler if they had Superman fighting in the air.
Shaman
Shaman - 2/12/2009, 10:15 AM
Yeah the plane scene is pretty much what "saved" the movie in my book. Still, they would be a breath of fresh air. BUT NO MORE ORIGINS!!!
adamant877
adamant877 - 2/12/2009, 10:17 AM
I think having Singer involved in the next movie would have been a huge mistake! I'm glad that Warner Bro's finally mad a WISE decision for once!
I mean, let's face it, Singer did absolutely NOTHING original with Superman! He cast an incredibly talented actor to play the role of Lex Luthor, but then turned around and hired a Christopher Reeve look-a-like, and ultimately killed the film by making a cookie-cutter version of Donner's work!
(Oh yeah, and impregnating Lois Lane with an alien baby... I wish I could forget that one too.)
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 2/12/2009, 10:19 AM
YEAH!!! Can ignore SR if want and get DOOMSDAY in it ffs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DEATH OF SUPERMAN = BIG BOX OFFICE!!! But i still want ROOTH!!! ; )
loganoneil
loganoneil - 2/12/2009, 10:19 AM
I say 'mixed emotions' - while I LOVED 'V for Vendetta', the Wachowskis as far as I'm concered don't know when to quit! Did we REALLY need to see 'Matrix II & III'? 'Jesus Christ' Neo?! WTF! They 'won', but nothing really changed?!!! C'mon people, I understand 'suspension of disbelief', but II & III were WAY beyond that! And 'Speed Racer', while funny (at times, but only if you were ever really into the original anime and got the jokes) doesn't help their cause either...
adamant877
adamant877 - 2/12/2009, 10:20 AM
I'm excited at the possibility of seeing a different take on the character, and I hope the Wachowski's do him justice, if they do decide to move forward!
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 2/12/2009, 10:24 AM
BIG EPIC 3 hour movie which leads into a sequel with ROOTH also as CYBORG SUPES, DEAN CAIN as ERADICATOR,, an hell, Smallville as SUPERBOY!!! ; ) MATRIX was Awesome so a DEATH of ,, and a Rebirth movie would be mind blowing!!!
loganoneil
loganoneil - 2/12/2009, 10:26 AM
Sorry people, if the WB goes with a new director (which it looks like they probably will), you can pretty much bet that Routh will be out. Any new guy will want to distance himself (or herself - who knows?) from previous works in favor of their 'vision' and will want to wash the slate clean. Which also means rorchach, you'd better bring a vomit bag 'cause they're probably going to want to rehash the origin story (again).
HR
HR - 2/12/2009, 10:29 AM
good move in taking singer out
Now hopefully the superman franchise can
finally get off of the floor.
adamant877
adamant877 - 2/12/2009, 10:35 AM
To parahprase my comment on a different thread:

"I have the same feelings toward Superman that I do for Batman. Put the right person behind the helm, let them stake their claim on the property and give the best interpretation of the character that they can, and if they do a good enough job and make the story as compelling and entertaining as possible, sold."

And as for the origin... If you don't know who Superman is, or his origin story, you've probably been living on Kandor for the last 50 years!
SGA
SGA - 2/12/2009, 11:28 AM
I think the Wachowskis should do it.

I'm sure the origins story will still be there much to our disdain, but hopefully it won't take more than 10 minutes at the MOST. cuz like adamant877 said, you should know where superman came from by now.

As for the dramatic acting...hopefully the Wachowskis can get the actors good enough to pull it off. Cuz, as much as I loved their movies, they're not too good at the drama, they seem to put only enough to lead up to the action sequences...which was the best thing about speed racer...VERY lacking in story, but fun to watch the race scenes...that's about it for me and that movie.

I'm sure that if they did Superman, they'd get amazing actors (they're going to have to) who will KNOW what they're doing, unlike Routh, who was basically an unknown.

that's my take on this.
SoulAllFlush
SoulAllFlush - 2/12/2009, 11:47 AM
I agree completely with Rorschach01's first post.

Superman is still the biggest comic book character ever, they have to do another film. Hopefully not another one from the beginning though.
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 2/12/2009, 11:47 AM
I like Supes alot, but Torque is almost right, Superman has been beat to the ground over the last 70 years. Probably because he hasn't really changed at all since 1938 except in Smallville. The whole property needs the reboot of reboots. Since they're surly making another flick, all I can hope for is no Singer and no Lex Luthor. How could they have even thought that Luthor would be a good villain after movies like X-Men and Spiderman? One thing we haven't seen yet is Superman with a good supervillain. Take your pick, Doomsday, Braniac, Darkseid, they would all do great.

As far as the Wachowski's, they're 50/50 to me. The first Matrix and V were awesome, Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions were horrible. Though I think they would've been better if it was a planned trilogy. The Matrix story wrapped up at the end of the first flick, the rest were kinda "tacked on". And, Speed Racer was mindnumbing, but I think they at least got the action right in all of their movies. That's something Supes has always been lacking. A Supes trilogy with the could honestly go either way, but it will at least be original.

P.S. I REALLY think its time to change Superman's costume. The undies on the outside is kinda lame now. It worked great for Bats. What u guys think...?
loganoneil
loganoneil - 2/12/2009, 11:52 AM
Here's a scary thought if the brothers Wachowski do helm the next Superman film - Keanu Reeves as Clark Kent/Superman! Shudder the thought of such 'memorable' lines as, "Whoa, like I can fly... and stuff - dude!" - delivered in that signature monotone style that only Keanu can deliver (he, and maybe an elm tree...)
thwip
thwip - 2/12/2009, 12:02 PM
i don't understand you people.

both speed racer and superman returns were unbelievably cool. no, they were not oscar-worthy, but frankly neither was dark knight. heath ledger gave a performance for the ages. there's no denying that. but three of my favorite performances of the summer were RDJ in iron man and john goodman and susan sarandon in speed racer.

speed racer had the best action sequences that i've seen since the battle of pelennor fields in return of the king. and superman returns made me fall in love with (and appreciate) a character that i'd always just ignored. plus, kevin spacey's one of the absolute best actors alive today.

...and for the record, singer has made some bad choices before, no doubt. but i still think X3 was better than X2.
thwip
thwip - 2/12/2009, 12:09 PM
oh, and @ moondoggyx...

i totally agree that we need a bigger, better villain for supes to face and do battle with, but you do kinda have to have lex in the background. he's the same kind of archetype that marvel uses with kingpin. great, great character, lots of weight (literally and figuratively), but just not that good for a fight sequence.

i do not, however, think that a change of costume would work or be appropriate. superman's the ultimate romantic character not because of who he is, but what he represents, and the costume (booties, undies, cape, and all the other little fixin's) is an inseparable part of that. you can't do to supes what you do to bats, and vise versa.
Spock
Spock - 2/12/2009, 12:12 PM
Well personally I don't want to see a reboot of Superman, there are already to many! Just ignore this new one or try to extend the story line going up to JLA if possible.
NoobMike
NoobMike - 2/12/2009, 12:13 PM
mmm, I always pictured the Wachowskys to be more interested in bringing the underground to the mainstream (they did the first big budget anime adaptation, did V for Vendetta, brought philosophy to the table with Matrix), Superman is mainstream enough so I seriously think this could be a false rumor. If it is indeed true, it will undeniably be visually appealing (no Wachowsky brothers movie so far has looked bad) but storywise... it will probably be the same superman movie we have seen many times before, and probably acted either by Keanu Reeves or Emile Hirsch.
RaxusPrime
RaxusPrime - 2/12/2009, 12:19 PM
As long as the keep Brandon Routh and the Superman costume they designed for Superman Returns b/c that costume was excellent.
loganoneil
loganoneil - 2/12/2009, 12:28 PM
Thwip - uh, you do realize that X-Men 3 was directed by Brett Ratner and not Bryan Singer (he was too busy doing 'Superman Returns' at the time...)? So, I guess you just punched a hole in your own arguement...

LaffaTaffa - please don't take this the wrong way but... "Are you high?!" Routh I can take or leave (leaning toward leave), but the 'new-and-improved' suit has got to go! I can understand wanting to take (a little) liberty with an established idea (the fabric selection was interesting and the 3-D emblem thingie was cool... way too small, but cool), but the Big Blue Schoolboy's colors are 'RED', 'YELLOW' and 'BLUE' (hence the nickname "Big BLUE Schoolboy"), not 'Burgandy', Copper' and 'Sapphire'. And what the HELL was up with the neck/cape-line? He looked like he was constantly choking in the damn thing!
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 2/12/2009, 12:37 PM
Thwip i agree with you on Superman Returns, i dont care what anyone says, that was a damn good movie..obviously lacking on the action front..but Singer was starting slow and building character..something alot of people here dont seem to care about once theres more explosions! Thats whi i would love him to make another movie and amp the shit out of it. Look how much better X2 was than X1.
But as for Speed Racer i cant agree, thay movie was the opposite of cool for me! Maybe had i been a fan of the cartoon i would have enjoyed it more, who knows.
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 2/12/2009, 12:47 PM
I agree that If Singer mad another Supes flick, it would be a lot better than the first. But, that doesn't change that the first one sucked...
MilestoneRulze
MilestoneRulze - 2/12/2009, 12:58 PM
They didn't even direct V! Why does everyone think that?

And as for this, let's just hope it can measure up to Speed Racer!
NubaX
NubaX - 2/12/2009, 12:58 PM
SUPERMAN is suppose to be about ACTION...not DRAMA!

If you want Drama watch Gran Torino or Something.
We can't keep having these Weak and Feeble, Punkified So-Called Supermen.

Neo was Way More Manly then the rest of the ToothPicks that has Played Superman.

We are SICK of It.

Thats why people Always liked BATMAN BETTER!

Superman doesn't have to be DARK like Batman. We just want a Powerful, Action Packed, SuperMan. And get him some VILLANS to actually FIGHT. Even if we Bring back Lex, he wasn't always just going at it with Superman. They had times of Peace between them and/or Lex has just Hired Villans.

I just want Superman to be done Right for ONCE!

I Always thought the Wachowski bros' would be Great on this Movie with how they did Neo (whether you liked all or just One of the Movies)

They could've and Could do SuperMan sum Justice.

I mean, ALL of the Superman Movies that came out in the Past we're GARBAGE except for the first couple with Reeves and even He wasn't really the Ideal Superman thats from the comics.

Get somebody with sum MUSCLE to play SuperMan and get him some good VILLIANS.

Brainiac, Darkside, The Master of Games, ect. Somebody he can actually Go TOE TO TOE with.

Thats what we want from SuperMan.

We Don't want DIARIES OF SUPERMAN!

We've had that already.

We want SUPERMAN!

I WANT SUPERMAN!

THE REAL SUPERMAN!
loganoneil
loganoneil - 2/12/2009, 1:09 PM
NubaX - beg to differ with you ole chum, but Superman has to have the PROPER BALANCE between drama AND action. Too much drama and you wind up with 'Steel Magnolias' in an unitard. Too much action and you wind up with 'Punisher: War Zone'!

You're right - Superman should not be dark, but Metropolis should be REALISTIC (gritty). And while I agree that they could have picked a beefier Kal-El, you need to bite your tongue on the Neo comment - Keanu Reeves is one of the four Horsemen of Apocalypse when it comes to acting (read my previous post)!!!!!
ElBeaster
ElBeaster - 2/12/2009, 1:12 PM
V for Vendetta was great because of the director and Hugo Weaving's portrayal of V. The Wachowski Brothers didn't direct it. All they did was take an amazing story and dumb it down. The comic had my favorite scene of any comic book ever(the part where he's talking to the statue(genius))! They took it out of the movie and redid almost everything! The movie was amazing, but it wasn't because of them and the comic was waaay better.
gibbyblaylock
gibbyblaylock - 2/12/2009, 1:16 PM
SPEED RACER was half-way decent, not great. But Speed racer is a very VERY lame character to begin with.
If the Wachowski's were able to make a moderately good movie out of a boring, one dimensional character like Speed Racer, They should be able to make a badass movie out of Superman, the original superhero and one of the greatest pop culture icons ever imagined!

Fingers crossed.

p.s. BIZZARO! BIZZARO! BIZZARO! BIZZARO! BIZZARO!
SGA
SGA - 2/12/2009, 1:26 PM
NubaX, this is about your comment on a beefier Supes. Back in the 70s, it wasn't so much about the muscle, it was about being at least a little big. Look at George Reeve's superman, he wasn't buff, he was just bulky. We as a society have been transforming our image of the "perfect" superhero look since they began. Where it was once a big, broad guy in a tight suit, it is now leather (in some cases) clad, 'roid-raging, lunatics.

It's jut the way it is, get over it. Christopher Reeves had the perfect build for Superman when his first movie was made.

Now, I'm guessing someone the size of the dudes in 300 would suffice for Superman.

or at least someone who can act...he doesn't necessarily have to be huge, just a bit bigger, but with incredible acting ability, making us BELIEVE that he really is that damn amazing.
SGA
SGA - 2/12/2009, 1:27 PM
(and yes i know George Reeve wasn't superman in the 70s, i was trying to make a point)
TheDurkinKnight
TheDurkinKnight - 2/12/2009, 1:41 PM
Good grief guys!! I thought the first Matrix movie was great (though some of the dialogue was ridiculous) and though I didn't like V for Vendetta I can see how some people would. I don't think they actually directed that one though, and from what I READ (I ADMIT I could be wrong), they changed the material into a vague criticism of Bush instead of being about a straight up anarchist...now Matrix II and III sucked BADLY and had some of the worst scripts I have ever heard of..."Trinity, I can't let you die, I love you too damn much," they weren't worth the celluloid they were made on. I heard Speed Racer was phenomenally bad. Why give this movie to them instead of just waiting on a director who isn't hit or miss and doing it right?!
loganoneil
loganoneil - 2/12/2009, 1:51 PM
...three words Durkin - "Brand-Name Recognition"!
TheSoulEater
TheSoulEater - 2/12/2009, 1:52 PM
OF all the people to do a reboot, WHY THEM? WHY THE WACHOSKI FLIPPING BROTHERS?? WHY?!?!?!?!
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 2/12/2009, 1:57 PM
DOOMSDAY = BIG BUCKS!!!!!!!!!!
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