Whenever a new film comes out that I'm a fan of I always end up over-analyzing the littlest details and jumping to my own conclusions, positive or negative. Naturally, that brings about some things I get very excited about and some things I'm equally anxious about in a bad way.
The fourth installment of this series is, naturally the next installment of the Superman story to come to film: MAN OF STEEL...
5 THINGS I'M WORRIED ABOUT
1. No Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen, or Kryptonite
No Superman film is complete without these things, in my mind. That's like seeing a Spider-Man film without "with great power comes great responsibility" (cough*Amazing*cough) or if the next Batman film doesn't have Alfred in it. I'll be really disappointed if we don't get a cameo from Lex Luthor or something of the sort, as the other two I'm more willing to depart with for one movie.
NOTE: People seem to be getting confused about this. I'm NOT saying that I wish Lex Luthor was the main villain, or half the film would be dedicated to Jimmy Olsen or anything of the sort. I'm just talking about having some kind of a reference. As I pointed out in the comments, the use of mentioning Norman Osborn in Amazing Spider-Man is an example of what I think would suffice for these characters and Kryptonite.
2. Zod again?
This is the SIXTH Superman movie, and we still don't have Brainiac, Doomsday, Parasite, or hell even one of the easiest ones to translate into film: Metallo! Come on! Enough of the same things. Is the next film going to be about Luthor trying to secure real estate again? If the next film doesn't have someone new, it's going to really irk me. With all of these characters that are out there, there's so much potential not being utilized. Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy reused some of the same (Two-Face, Joker, Catwoman, Bane), but also gave us some different ones as well (Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, Scarecrow, Falcone, Zsasz), so I'd like to see more of Superman's rogues gallery.
3. Birth Controversy
I'm not shaking in my boots about this, but if the rumors are true that the film deals with this concept of a natural birth versus a test tube kid, it might be a little awkward. For the record, I have no problems one way or another, and this isn't an issue of politics. Rather, it's the people that are going to hate this movie BECAUSE of their personal feelings that I'm worried about. The last thing I feel like dealing with in the future is a bunch of people arguing that the film sucked because they were offended due to their religious choices. People already go nuts when you draw allusions between Superman and Jesus, imagine what might happen if you combine that with pro/anti abortion people and such...yikes.
4. Ersatz Replacement Characters
One thing I've always been critical of with comic book movies is that they typically create new characters for no particular reason as opposed to using a character from the comics. Did we really need "Dr. Ratha" in Amazing Spider-Man instead of someone like Smythe? How come so many members of the GCPD in the Dark Knight films aren't people like Bullock, Montoya, etc?
In similar fashion, this film seems like it has a big military presence in it. So if that's the case, why am I not seeing General Sam Lane listed anywhere? General Swanwick? Colonel Nathan Hardy? It just seems like a waste to me.
5. Amy Adams as Lois Lane
This is my BIG one. I'm completely not on board with this casting choice and I haven't been since the beginning. People complain about casting Laurence Fishburne as Perry White due to his race, which I'm ok with - but I don't understand why WB couldn't have spent $10 on a bottle of hair dye to give us a Lois Lane that doesn't have red hair. It's something that's bothered me with the James Bond series as well since Daniel Craig has been on board. Nitpicking? Maybe. But I don't think Amy Adams is attractive enough, nor young enough for this role as well. Could they have done worse? Sure. But that's no justification when they could SO easily done SO much better.
5 THINGS I'M EXCITED ABOUT
1. Action Sequences!
It's about time! Superman gives you the chance to do things in a film that no other film can do. All we've really ever seen in live action is flight, for the most part. I'm tired of Superman picking up airplanes and putting out fires and nothing else and it looks like we're finally going to get some legitimate punches in this movie.
2. Superman: First Contact
The approach of this film as a "first contact with aliens" storyline has me incredibly intrigued. It's a very different way to tackle the film and I have a feeling it'll make the connection between the audience and the Last Son of Krypton that much better in the end.
3. Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent
Just as much as I was disappointed in the casting of Amy Adams, I was ecstatic about Costner joining as Jonathan Kent. Unless something really, really odd happens in the translation that I haven't seen yet, I think this could quite possibly be one of the best casting jobs in comic book films similar to Patrick Stewart as Professor X and Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark.
4. Justice League References
The more, the better in my mind. I'd love to see something that references Bruce Wayne being missing (off training), a map that shows Central/Keystone City, a reference to the Green Lantern Corps on Krypton, anything like that.
5. A Superman Resurgence for a New Era
Superman Returns didn't do it, but I think this one just might. I was never the biggest Superman fan as a kid because I grew up after the Donner films had already become outdated. Hopefully, this film can bring children into the world of comics and show them just how important Superman is to the world of pop culture.
So what are some things that you're worried and/or excited about for Man of Steel?
NOTE: I will be posting a review on my website
Fanboys Anonymous as soon as I can after I see the film, for those interested.
Also, if you'd like to WRITE for Fanboys Anonymous, I'm looking to expand the roster of contributors, so shoot me a message and let me know!