OK so this is not official, but a lot of pictures and information have been revealed about Zack Snyder's new Man of Steel film that is currently in production.
So I thought to myself why not try to piece together what information we already know, couple with leaked set pictures and try and piece together exactly how our new Superman film is going to play out.
What is listed below is my interpretation and thoughts on this info put together with what I know of Superman's history. This is purely my take on it...whether I am right or wrong is not of importance I just thought it would be a fun thing to do. (I apologize for this being so long winded but there was a lot I wanted to discuss)
Superman: Man of Steel - Synopsis:
The film will start out on Krypton with the characters of Jor-El, Lara, Zod and his cronies fighting in a Kryptonian war of some sort.
This will give the viewer a chance to see the once strong friendship that Jor-El and Zod had before Zod’s eventual betrayal. It will also give the viewer a chance to see Jor-El in action showing that he is not just a scientist but also a great warrior of Krypton. (cause how else would a scientist be able to have a fight with a general)
Once Zod has begun his coup I believe it will play out that the Kryptonian council wish Jor-El to help bring Zod down due to his once close relationship with Zod believing he is the only one who can get close to him, this would lead to the confrontation & fight we have heard Russell Crowe talk about. With Jor-El bringing Zod to justice this will help set the stage for Zod swearing revenge against the house of El and his imprisonment and exile into the phantom zone.
Once this part of the plot has been completed I believe we will then forward on to the destruction of Krypton and baby Kal-El’s historical escape to earth. I believe that having the above plot devices play out before the destruction of Krypton will help set the stage for the epic fight scenes between Superman and Zod that we have all seen many pictures of from filming, it will also help viewers relate with the Kryptonian characters like Jor-El and Lara, showing their true nobility and sacrifice setting the stage for their tragic demise. (The ins and outs of Krypton’s destruction are still clearly up for debate, but I would like to see its destruction brought about by Brainiac, nicely setting him up as a villain for a possible sequel and also a nicely placed alliance with a certain bald business man)
What will happen next will probably be a spectacular SFX sequence of Krypton’s destruction and baby Kal-El’s journey to earth, where he eventually will be found by Papa and Mama Kent on the outskirts of Smallville in the usual meteorite nearly hitting their truck crash scene.
Not much has been revealed about Clark’s time in Smallville yet but I believe we can expect to see different scenes depicting Clark growing up, his powers slowly developing and Jonathan and Martha’s attempts to deal with these new found abilities. This will eventually lead to Clark being on the cusp of adulthood and not knowing really where he fits into the world.
During this time while Clark is looking to find an existence we will see Jonathan sadly pass away, at this point Clark will then decide to travel the world in hopes of discovering himself, where he came from and how to fully finally control his awesome power.
What we will see next is likely to be Clark traveling the globe, making saves where he can, finding a love for journalism and slowly finding a purpose. At the end of this journey; which has taken many years (hence the bearded Clark we have all seen recently) he decides to travel back to Smallville to see his mother Martha. During his travels many reports will have been made around the globe that have all gotten back to a certain intrepid reporter who has decided to investigate further. These reports will eventually all lead back to Smallville which will spur Lois to travel their in search of further clues. (Hence the pictures of Lois at a gas station in Smallville)
At this time Clark will have already returned to visit Martha and have a conversation where she will reveal how, where and when the Kent’s found Clark in a field after his crash landing on Earth. Martha will reveal to Clark his crashed Kryptonian ship that they have been hiding in their barn. This I believe is when the tornado will hit Smallville causing untold destruction spurring Clark to make the save (this is where the recent shirtless, bearded, torn pants Clark pictures helping the coast guard will come into play as clearly Clark is helping with the evacuation).
While Clark is zipping round town saving everyone he can and putting a stop to the Tornado Lois will catch a glimpse of Clark (probably from a distance) using his powers and making the save. Clark being all bearded up and scruffy will help obscure his identity. This siting of Clark by Lois will be the start of her obsession with this unknown savior.
After all of this has happened Clark still unsure about where he fits into the world goes off to create his Fortress of Solitude and learn more about his Kryptonian heritage. Eventually emerging from his fortress in his Superman suit that he created there using Kryptonian technology.
During his travels Clark had found a taste for journalism and decides this is where he would be best placed; right in the middle of global news, if he is going to be helping people and generally saving the day. He travels to Metropolis (the city of tomorrow) to find a job as an investigative reporter (insert pictures of Clark on a bike riding down the streets of Metropolis)
I am not going to elaborate too much on what comes next as anyone of us with a decent understanding of Superman’s history can fill in the blanks here. (Clark gets his job at the daily planet, dons the glasses, meets Lois etc etc etc)
Now unless I missed something somewhere down the line, no one has been cast as Lex Luthor yet and I believe that is because predominantly he is only going to be seen in the shadows (ala. Professor Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes) reference's made to Lexcorp and his presence felt but never seen. This will work well as Lex has been done to death in previous Superman films (as we all know) and requires a break. With Zod and his minions as the main villains, the origin and everything else being put into the film have Lex would simply over crowd the story.
During this stage of the story is when we will see Zod's eventual escape from the Phantom Zone, I believe this will likely be Clarks doing as he now has access to advanced Kryptonian tech in his fortress. After discovering records of Zod’s exile to the zone, Clark will release Zod and his followers either out of a longing to be with other Kryptonian’s or conversing with Zod in the zone and being tricked into setting them free by Zod himself. I feel that the first option of Zod’s escape will help better set the stage for Superman and Zod’s confrontation as Clark will likely feel betrayed his fellow Kryptonian’s, have an overwhelming sense of guilt for setting them loose on the people of earth and an unquenchable thirst to set things right.
Zod clearly still set on his path of revenge will likely try and destroy all Clark holds dear eventually leading him to Smallville to destroy his home town and kill Martha. (Insert pictures leaked of confrontation between Zod’s forces and Superman on the streets of Smallville)
What will happen next is likely be a slobber knocker of a fight between Superman, Zod and all others involved ala typical Zack Snyder fight sequences (maybe also insert US military into this too), ending in Zod’s defeat and banishment back to the Phantom Zone. (Maybe Superman won’t be able to defeat Zod and his minions, instead opting to trick them and banish them back to the phantom zone, this I believe will make for a much more interesting ending and show the cunning intellect we have all seen Superman use in the comics)
Clark/Superman finally accepts his place as a hero to the people of earth and hopefully we get a nice little fly by (not in the same style as the Richard Donner films but in a new, less cheesy form) queue the music, the movie ends…
At this point either during or a post credits scene of Brainiac locking on to earth and beginning to travel there will nicely setup the sequel...
As I have previously stated this is just my interpretation of known information. I have purposely left not elaborated too much on where the military characters we know are present fit in as I can't quite work out how or when they are going to fit exactly.
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed trying to piece it together and writing it.
Please feel free to leave your comments below :)