Man of Steel

Superman's Epic Restart
by Reymundo Salao

The last Superman movie "Superman Returns" was, in so many ways, a failure. The problem was that it followed the formula of the old Christopher Reeve Superman movies; a formula that is already severely outdated.

When Christopher Nolan, director Zack Snyder, and writer David Goyer were assigned to work on a new Superman movie, they focused on rehashing the entire Superman franchise, identified the flaws, avoided the corniness of the previous movies, and never ignored the source material. [the rest of the article after the jump]

The New SUPERMAN & the leading lady yet to be announced

Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that Henry Cavill will play Clark Kent/Superman in the Zack Snyder-directed Superman movie:

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Henry Cavill has won the coveted role of Superman, the iconic superhero.

The film will be directed by Zack Snyder, who stated, “In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honored to be a part of his return to the big screen. I also join Warner Bros., Legendary and the producers in saying how excited we are about the casting of Henry. He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield.”

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film. The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

Targeted for release in December 2012, the new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

So how about the Female Lead?
Alice Eve, Diane Kruger and Rosamund Pike have emerged as the three actresses being considered for the unknown character, says the trade.
Variety is reporting that these three actresses are in contention for the role - though it's not Lois Lane.

Not Lois Lane? Latino Review's insider information states that Lois Lane will still be in the movie but perhaps a smaller role? They're probably saving her up for a sequel. Since this Snyder-directed movie is under the watch of Chris Nolan, it's possible that they're having the same route with Nolan's Batman Begins, where they created the character Rachel Dawes, a character made only for this movie version, to play off the main hero's character development in the origin movie. But Latino Review says that the three actresses cited were auditioning for the role of Ursa, who Superman fans will remember from the 1980 sequel Superman II as General Zod's second-in-command. Snyder has mostly denied that General Zod would appear in his movie although that may have changed since he was last asked, and the choice of a European actress would follow in line with her casting in the earlier sequel in which she was played by British actress Sarah Douglas. I personally think that's borderline ridiculous, but hey, if Nolan is involved there's that assurance that it wont be all that bad.

Filming is expected to start this summer for a December, 2012 release.

Zack Snyder is directing SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL

Zack Snyder has been chosen to direct  the new installment of Superman for Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures. Snyder was on a short list of directors, as was recently revealed, who met with the studio as well as producers Chris Nolan and Emma Thomas. Other choices at the time included helmers Tony Scott, Matt Reeves, Jonathan Liebesman, and Duncan Jones. I think Snyder is a great choice. He is the visionary director who directed the films 300, Watchmen, Legend of the Guardians, and the upcoming Sucker Punch. Deadline revealed back on February 9 that the DC Comics stalwart Superman became a priority project when Nolan agreed to godfather it. He and David S. Goyer hatched the story and Goyer wrote the script. The new Superman's producers also include  Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder while co-financer Legendary Pictures' Thomas Tull will serve as executive producer.

Superman is one of those superheroes/superhero stories that require somebody who can really make it, not only one with a great storyline, but one hell of an action-packed movie. In my personal opinion, all the previous Superman movies failed because they diminish the action aspect and give too much weight on the love story aspect. And with the last Superman movie that completely diminishes the action aspect to almost zero content (all because its director wanted to pay homage to the old Superman movies), the franchise sealed its doom and was immediately set for a major overhaul (yet again). With Snyder on the helm, David Goyer on the pen, and Chris Nolan as its godfather; this certainly now looks immensely promising. 

source: Deadline New York

Goyer to scribe Superman's Return in "Man of Steel"

Latino Review reported that David Goyer was hired to write the newest Superman movie. This movie is not a restart nor a reboot, nor is it a continuation of Superman Returns. This new project entitled MAN OF STEEL assumes audiences already know about Lois, Clark, Jimmy and Perry; that the Daily Planet is struggling due to the internet; and that it sets up a huge Kryptonian mythology. The report adds that MAN OF STEEL takes the movies back to the John Byrne incarnation (John Byrne is one of the most notable writers in the comicbook genre and the one who is said to have helped build the reputation of the Superman series throughout the 80s till the present). And in addition, Goyer's story involves Luthor and Brainiac.

This is definitely good news because (as far as I am concerned) this gives chance to having a Superman story done right. Goyer's writing has always seemed to be flawless when it comes to translating a comicbook fiction character to the silver screen (just dont look to his directorial works because that is a completely different matter), he has successfully been one of the significant factors in the superhero movie revolution, having written the screenplay for Blade (which ushered in the big boom of the superhero genre), and had made the Batman fictional character greatness in film history.

This news finally extinguishes all rumors that Routh and Singer are coming back to continue the hanging story in "Superman Returns" That movie, in my opinion, was not only a borefest but also had a bad story which was merely a lame homage to the Superman movies of the 1980s.