Mark Millar Pitches his "Godfather-Like" Superman Movie Trilogy

Mark Millar Pitches his "Godfather-Like" Superman Movie Trilogy

Comics writer and recent movie-maker (Wanted and Kick-Ass) Mark Millar fills us in on what he wants to do for the Superman movie franchise--An epic 3-film, 8-hour story which follows the entire life of Kal-El from his birth on Krypton a thousand years ago, till he is the last being left on Earth.

News
By ComicBookMovie - Oct 29, 2008 11:10 AM EST
Filed Under: Superman 6
Source: Empire

Here's a bit from Empire Magazine...

“It’s gonna be like Michael Corleone in the Godfather films, the entire story from beginning to end, you see where he starts, how he becomes who he becomes, and where that takes him. The Dark Knight showed you can take a comic book property and make a serious film, and I think the studios are ready to listen to bigger ideas now.”

“The problem with Superman Returns was like releasing Star Wars in ’77, The Empire Strikes Back in ’80 and then waiting 28 years to release Return of the Jedi, it wasn’t relevant. I understand what Bryan Singer was trying to do, to pay homage to Richard Donner’s original vision, but I think you should pay homage by doing something completely different.”

“I want to start on Krypton, a thousand years ago, and end with Superman alone on Planet Earth, the last being left on the planet, as the yellow sun turns red and starts to supernova, and he loses his powers."

The "Godfather" of superhero films? That's like making CBM fans an offer we can't refuse. Count me in.

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gibbyblaylock
gibbyblaylock - 10/29/2008, 11:41 AM
sounds good except for the part about Supes being the last living being left on earth. That's depressing. Reminds me of RED SON.
FrankGarret
FrankGarret - 10/29/2008, 11:53 AM
I generaly think of Mark Millar as an attention seeking whore.

Therefore it counts for something that he got someone like me very much intrigued.
Talontd
Talontd - 10/29/2008, 3:55 PM
Your half right, Superman ages to the equivalent of a human being of about 50. After that, his body has absorbed so much of the yellow sun that he just stops. I just hope in this series Mark Miller has doomsday kill Supes (and brings him back obviously)! That would be awesome. It would be cool too if the Joker kills Lois Lane, but I think that might be asking a little too much, and the kids would probably cry...lol.
schuellerdg
schuellerdg - 10/29/2008, 4:14 PM
According to the movies and show. Kal-el's ship left Krypton 1000 years ago to get to earth. How does that work into the aging theory?
TheDurkinKnight
TheDurkinKnight - 10/29/2008, 5:18 PM
Okay, Superman left Krypton thousands of years ago? I did not know that! On Smallville it was only about twenty something years ago. I also didn't know Millar was a commie!! The idea sounds great tho, cept for the ending, I mean, there has been given no end yet.
dxperry
dxperry - 10/29/2008, 9:44 PM
Im sorry but that sounds like the dumbest Superman idea i've every heard. I really dont understand why people think Superman Returns ruined the frachise to the point of restarting it. If you wanna fix it just do this: bring in a super villain such as Bizzaro, Darksied or Brainiac to kill Supermans kid and Lois's boyfriend. That way we can finally see Superman fight someone with the same strength he has. That gives you your darker movie without starting over. Do you really wanna watch a origin movie again especially one that starts on Krypton. PLEASE DONT MAKE SUPERMAN THE LAST PERSON ONE EARTH.
NERO
NERO - 10/29/2008, 11:08 PM
The leaving Krypton a thousand years ago can work:
From the Teacher’s Domain Website
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/phy03.sci.phys.fund.ertimetr/
Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. The theory states that time slows down for an object traveling near the speed of light in relation to a stationary observer, time in the moving reference frame passes more slowly than time in the stationary reference frame is a concept known as time dilation. This means that a clock in motion with respect to a stationary observer is perceived by the observer to run more slowly than a stationary clock. The closer the moving clock's velocity to the speed of light, the more its seconds appear to get stretched out. It's not the mechanics of the clock that get stretched out; it's that time itself gets dilated. Applying this to a biological clock, then, a person traveling on a rocket ship at great speed would age more slowly relative to an observer on Earth.
Though it seems far-fetched, time dilation is a real phenomenon, proven by experiment. In 1971, scientists tested Einstein's theory on time dilation using atomic clocks, which are capable of measuring time to the billionth of a second. One clock was set to record time on the ground, while another traveled around the world at 600 miles per hour on board a jet. Though both clocks showed the same time at the start of the experiment, the jet's on-board clock was behind by a few billionths of a second at the completion. Just as Einstein would have predicted, time had passed more slowly for the clock traveling at a fast speed. Projecting these results over a much greater speed -- like c, the speed of light -- the time difference would be much more exaggerated.
NERO
NERO - 10/29/2008, 11:14 PM
So if baby Kal-El was traveling at just below the speed of light and Krypton were about a thousand light years away depending on the mass of his ship, he may have only aged to a toddler within it. I'm still not sure I like the idea of Supes being the last man on Earth, and our sun doesn't have enough mass to supernova, it'll expand to a red giant, then collapse into a brown dwarf, it won't have enough expanded mass to completely collapse in on itself to detonate into a supernova.
NERO
NERO - 10/29/2008, 11:23 PM
And I don't know about Millar being a commie, but he is definitely a media whore at this point. I kind of agree with dxperry, the more ideas I hear about the reboot the more I favor just having Brainiac swoop in and kill Marsden and Super-Brat. I just hope they recast Lois, I wasn't feeling Bosworth at all in Returns, the rest of the cast I could deal with. If DC wants it darker, dead Superkid could pull that off without a reboot, or the need for yet another origin story for Supes...For the Love of God, we all know he is the last survivor of the doomed planet Krypton, yadda, yadda yadda...we got it already. Also, why kill the hero? Supes is like one of the Greek Gods, he may be eternal, but you don't have to show his death. Lame. Let's just get this thing on the road already.
PaPiTai
PaPiTai - 10/30/2008, 4:45 AM
Superman has so much potential; I can picture a thousand scenarios for the next movie, whether continuing with the super-brat or restarting. I just don't think we need to reintroduce the character. Who doesn’t know Superman’s story? I really think we need Braniac, someone who can match him physically and test him mentally, I mean, what a great movie... As for the last person on earth, that’s kind of harsh, I guess that only sends the message that Superman failed in his mission to protect earth… And I would think that after thousands of years absorbing the suns energy by the time it goes to supernova, Supes would have enough energy to last him a couple life times… I know everyone jumped in the Dark Knight wagon and wants a Joker like villain and I think Braniac could deliver.
running
running - 10/30/2008, 10:20 AM
I know I might be the minority here, but Mark's idea seems to me like a very good one... and I'm all for it. Mark Millar has shown me many times that he can write (civil war, red son, wanted..) and he can produce good movies

yes, I'm for Mark, even if he is commie
Crusader
Crusader - 10/30/2008, 3:17 PM
As long as they kill off Lex Luthor. He has been in every movie. They act like superman does not have other villins. Either doomsday or darkside.
TheDurkinKnight
TheDurkinKnight - 10/30/2008, 3:24 PM
I'm sorry but I think Superman Returns was HORRIFIC. There was:
-No Action
-Bad Acting
-Pointless characters (superkid)
-unoriginal ideas (Luthor is gonna destroy the world)
AND
-Superman was a stalker!!
dxperry
dxperry - 10/30/2008, 5:13 PM
Come on...Superman Returns wasnt that bad. I agree it wasnt great but it was a good way to reintroduce Superman without starting over. Plus Singer was planning on making another one and im sure he would make it ten times better. Its not like he's incapable of making a good Superman movie. Heck... X-men 1 and 2 were 2 two of the best comic book movies ever in my opinion. Im sure he's heard the complaints about not enough action and Superkid. They're both easily fixable without a reboot. For god sake all ya need is Bizzaro to hug the kid alittle two hard a snap his neck. There's your darker movie with a pissed off Superman fight with Bizzaro that would make that Neo/Smith fight in matrix 3 look Rated G. I really don't want a reboot cause you know Lex has to be the first villian Superman meets. Thats just how it goes, Lex is his oldest enemy in movies, comics, TV, radio ect. So...Warner Brothers please just let singer fix the movie franchise with some help from so smart fans and while your at it change Smallville's name to Metropolis and have Tom Welling and Erica Whatever give fans a Superman Tv series that doesn't stink. Hint..Hint (Lois and Clark)
Lostinnerspace
Lostinnerspace - 11/3/2008, 5:55 PM
Great comments all! Some people should really get over the Commie business already. I mean, what century are we in!? This is a great idea, but I think I have a better one. Why don't they make Superman a period piece? Set the story right where it was conceived during the time of Siegel and Schuster, post-depression America. That would take care of the pure-heart whitebread aspect. Show the wonder of a Man of Tomorrow against the backdrop of a disillusioned New Deal Metropolis. Also ramp up the Sci-Fi aspect and bring in Braniac, Luthor AND Bizarro! Braniac could serve as symbol for the decadence of the New coming Computer Age, Bizarro symbol of the Old Guard not willing to change for the better (pit him against Braniac at first), and Luthor as the cynical politician willing to use Modern Science to enslave Mankind through a "new" weapon - The Atom Bomb! All of this seen through the screen of optimism that is Superman, who struggles to keep his power from overwhelming the masses and ruling his ego. He eventually comes to reluctantly accept the bomb as a necessary evil, or as the ultimate manifestation of Mankind's weakness. Bizarro turns on Braniac and Luthor and joins Superman in the end!
SUPERMAN: MAN OF TOMORROW would be a great movie as a Sci-Fi period piece tackling issues that are still current today !
parascythe
parascythe - 11/5/2008, 1:14 AM
i wanted to see a superman movie with a character aging 35-45...someone more mature and emotional.
dxperry
dxperry - 11/6/2008, 8:24 PM
I would love to see the death of superman story as trilogy like grif wrote above. that was by far the best comic story ever told. They could have doomsday or cyborg superman kill the kid so they dont have to start over.
Lostinnerspace
Lostinnerspace - 11/10/2008, 2:24 AM
Death of Superman story arc would be great! A Combination of Superman aging leading up to Doomsday death, the Rise of the Supermen and Return.
Love your Spidey dance, parascythe.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 11/10/2008, 8:43 PM
i liked superman returns, why the hell would anyone want to reboot the franchise again, i agree there could have been more action and a new enemy is needed..so do that and make it darker if you have to..but i dont need to be going to the cinema to see the big blue bastard as a baby..AGAIN
TheSoulEater
TheSoulEater - 11/10/2008, 10:58 PM
But SUPES AIN'T IMMORTAL!

From begining to end I understand, but have the last one be cross over, not him being the last being!
Lostinnerspace
Lostinnerspace - 11/15/2008, 3:59 PM
The best part of Superman Returns were the scenes of introspection. The scenes when Superman would soar above the planet and we got to hear all of the voices of "quiet desperation" that he hears from the masses populating his adopted planet. The worst parts were A) the "speedo bathing suit"redesign on the costume, B) the portrayal of a "single mom" Lois, C)the lack of a villain worthy of Superman's physical power, D) Super-Son! and E) Super-Stalker! That was the worst. Supes eavesdropping on Lois and her new man? I still think Brandon Routh would make a better Superboy. Overall, I enjoyed B. Singer's rendition of Superman, but I wouldn't want to watch it again. If there is a reboot, I'm sure they would summarize the early years. I wouldn't mind more dramatization of the Krypton years. They would make a better movie exploring with some depth the "scientist ahead of his time - unacknowledged genius" theme for Jor-El. As for the Smallville years, they should emphasize the Father/Son relationship and misfit theme for young Clark. Whatever they do, we'll watch, but maybe not as often as they'd like us to.
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