Word is spreading around the interwebs that Zack Snyder has been tapped to direct “Superman: The Man of Steel”, presumably on the strength of his batshit crazy 3D owl war movie. Christopher Nolan is producing, which seems like an even odder fit for this project.
Look, I know I’m in the minority for unreservedly loving what Bryan Singer did with “Superman Returns” — so far in the minority, in fact, that I couldn’t even get Brandon Routh to talk seriously about the experience during his “Scott Pilgrim” press visit earlier this summer — but there’s no question Singer understood the complex mixture of optimism, innocence and alienation that informs the character. Snyder gave “Watchmen” as good an adaptation as it was likely to get, but innocence just isn’t in his wheelhouse … to say nothing of complexity.
I guess it all comes down to the writer. Any chance Whedon has a free weekend before his “Avengers” movie starts shooting?
If there was optimism in Superman Returns, I didn’t see it. The movie was all alienation and self-pitying moping. Singer completely missed the old-fashioned, all-American “Gee Whiz!” enthusiasm of the character. Superman should never be sullen. It’s like Singer listened to that dumb Five for Fighting novelty song from a few years earlier far too many times, then lifted most of the plot directly from Donner’s first Superman movie, and decided to mash them together.
Superman Returns was a complete misfire on every level for me.