Writing from his own forums, Mark Millar had the following to say.
Okay, as you know I was very excited about the opportunity that WB were looking for a new writer on this project. Superman is the be all and end all for me (he's why I started reading and why I started typing). It's funny how quickly news spread because one little post on my message board here ended up literally all over the comic book and movie sites inside about twelve hours and the response from fellow Superman fans was incredibly positive. Thanks again for that.
Anyway, my agent is a big beast at CAA and can set up meetings with anyone. I'm always amazed by this because, like all comic guys, I do this job in a converted attic at home on a rainy rock some miles from mainland Europe and about as far from Hollywood as you can get. But my agent got my call around 4pm my time on Tuesday and within hours we were talking on the phone to some very nice exec at Warner Bros who said that several producers and director friends had already been in touch to push me for the gig because they knew how passionate I was about this project. And for about fifteen minutes things were looking very sweet. I had a massive three-picture epic in mind, cribbed from notes I've been putting together for the last five years for a Superman comic-book revamp and the people I spoke to absolutely loved it. Everyone said this was very, very exciting, but...
Well, sadly, I'm a Marvel guy and we were surprised to find out that WB couldn't hire me for a DC property. They were incredibly nice and superbly apologetic about it, but when they discussed the matter seriously DC explained just how associated I am with Marvel Comics at the moment and it's against company policy to hire the competition. It's absolutely nothing personal. I spoke to some friends at DC and they explained this has happened with a couple of big Marvel writers in the last couple of years and I absolutely respect that. It's a business after all and to have a guy writing Fantastic Four, 1985, Kick-Ass and another super-big project for Steve McNiven this year which would be mentioned in every article about a Superman movie is not only an insult to their own writers, but makes bad business sense. I have nothing but respect for the DC high-ups and, though obviously disappointed, can absolutely appreciate their position. They're the custodians of these properties and they obviously know what they're doing.
So no Millar-penned Superman movie at this stage, I'm afraid. That situation may change, of course. As a Warner chum said to me last night, the last Superman movie had a number of starts and stops and who knows what will happen over the next couple of years, especially after my Marvel contract expires. In the meantime, I'm keeping my 200 pages of notes and sketches on a slow boil, just in case. As for the next movie, I wish whoever does land this gig nothing but the best of luck. I wanted to bring my vision to the screen out of nothing but pure love and hope to be as thrilled as everyone else. They're talking to a couple of guys with a better screen-writing track record and, like the rest of you, I'll keep my fingers crossed that this sequel to Bryan's first picture all works out great.
Thanks again for all the support and backing for my involvement in this project. It stunned me that the WB people had seen this and it absolutely factored in how quickly all those doors opened for me.
Cheers!
MM
A real shame, but not totally surprising once you place his Marvel alliance in to the picture.