David Goyer hired to write Man of Steel

[ultimatefan]

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[ultimatefan]

At least there's something in the works at long last. There are better choices. But there are definitely worse ones. Goyer is the safe choice, which may be what the franchise needs at this point, and at least the movie will be infused with comic lore. I'll get excited when I learn more about the project. Telling me it has no origin and Braniac and Luthor are involved tells me only that Goyer, so far, has the same ideas Kevin Smith and Tim Burton and...oh...everyone since then has had.

I do think that pretending that having Nolan mentor him will make Goyer deliver a good or great script is a little silly. I'm still not sold on Jonah Nolan, and find him kind of hit or miss, even after TDK. We'll see.

Seems in order to get this off the ground, they're skipping right over SUPERMAN BEGINS and going straight to THE DARK MAN OF STEEL. Interesting. Maybe we'll get some pseudo origin stuff in there somewhere.

Considering their track record working together, there´s nothing silly about it. Guaranteed, no, nothing in life is guaranteed, but silly, not by a long shot.

Kevin Smith wanted to redo the origin. Tim Burton never seemed interested in the John Byrne era, he even at one point wanted to put Supes in a black goth suit. There´s way too little information right now to make any actual comparison between Goyer´s ideas and previous projects.

And nobody said anything to the effect of Dark Man of nothing, they said they want to make it fun above all else, like dark and gritty or whatever, which indicates a different tone and style from TDK.

 

[The Guard]

Considering their track record working together, there´s nothing silly about it. Guaranteed, no, nothing in life is guaranteed, but silly, not by a long shot.

Yes there is. Working with Nolan didn't make Goyer's BATMAN BEGINS script all that great. It was basically the same thing he had originally written with a few more speeches and slightly less fantastical action sequences, but it actually got a little sillier in places as well.

Kevin Smith wanted to redo the origin.

He did? When? I don't remember too many origin elements in his script.

Tim Burton never seemed interested in the John Byrne era, he even at one point wanted to put Supes in a black goth suit. There´s way too little information right now to make any actual comparison between Goyer´s ideas and previous projects.

Almost everything Tim Burton and his various writers wanted to do was inspired by the DEATH OF SUPERMAN era of comics, save maybe for the actual designs. Guess where the groundwork for that arc was originally laid? Basically in the the Byrne era. Kevin Smith's Superman was about as close to the Byrne Superman as I've seen a professional screenwriter come.

You're right, though. There is way too little information to determine how this will work out. Which is why I think it's silly to assume it will be a great script just because of the people involved.

And nobody said anything to the effect of Dark Man of nothing, they said they want to make it fun.

The Dark Man of Steel thing is a joke. Ten bucks though that they're trying to make the DARK KNIGHT of the Superman movieverse. Which is a bold move, to be sure.

 

[GL's Light]

Telling me it has no origin and Braniac and Luthor are involved tells me only that Goyer, so far, has the same ideas Kevin Smith and Tim Burton and...oh...everyone since then has had.

The bare bones of "no origin, Luthor, and Brainiac" can be developed into wildly different stories by different writers.

I'm still not sold on Jonah Nolan, and find him kind of hit or miss, even after TDK. We'll see.

So far he's only written two produced screenplays (The Prestige and The Dark Knight), as well as the short story Memento was based on. Which of those do you consider to be the " miss" part of "hit and miss"?

 

[GreenKToo]

I fully expect the story to be dark..I can see Brainiac trying to take over and plunging the world into darkness, with Luthor having a hand in it somehow..
I doubt Superman himself will be dark though. If anything, I expect him to be the polar opposite.

 

[ultimatefan]

Yes there is. Working with Nolan didn't make Goyer's BATMAN BEGINS script all that great. It was basically the same thing he had originally written with a few more speeches and slightly less fantastical action sequences, but it actually got a little sillier in places as well.



He did? When? I don't remember too many origin elements in his script.



Almost everything Tim Burton and his various writers wanted to do was inspired by the DEATH OF SUPERMAN era of comics, save maybe for the actual designs. Guess where the groundwork for that arc was originally laid? Basically in the the Byrne era. Kevin Smith's Superman was about as close to the Byrne Superman as I've seen a professional screenwriter come.

You're right, though. There is way too little information to determine how this will work out. Which is why I think it's silly to assume it will be a great script just because of the people involved.



The Dark Man of Steel thing is a joke. Ten bucks though that they're trying to make the DARK KNIGHT of the Superman movieverse. Which is a bold move, to be sure.

It was very good in my opinion. And you said it was silly thinking that their partnership would make it "good or great", and "not all that great" doesn´t exclude "good". So no, it´s not silly in the slightest.

Depends on what draft you read. He even stated publicly in the "Evening with Kevin Smith" DVD that he wanted to redo the origin and portions of it were set on Krypton.

Regardless of any groundwork, the Death Of Superman storyline wasn´t written by Byrne and they clearly will not tap into that, given that SR already spent a big chunk of its storyline with Superman´s "death" and no mention of Doomsday in the new project was made.

I never assumed anything was going to be great, but the people involved have earned at the very least a mostly confident feel from me.

 

[Ultimate_Superman]

I think they should just redo everything and start from scratch. However I think it should be done like how Earth One Superman and Batman Begins was done through flashbacks but much like Batman in Batman Begins allow us to see the birth of this new Superman. I also would like to see the birth of some of the villains as well like in Spider-Man. The Joker in The Dark Knight I understand mainly because the Jorkers origin is always changing and is a mystery but for Superman I would like to see an unknown in the role and his and his villains origins.

 

[SpiderByte]

I fully expect the story to be dark..I can see Brainiac trying to take over and plunging the world into darkness, with Luthor having a hand in it somehow..
I doubt Superman himself will be dark though. If anything, I expect him to be the polar opposite.

Which is exactly why I think it would be awesome if he got a Blue Lantern ring. It would fit him perfectly.

 

[Slugster]

well we can assume john Byrn's Superman is a classic looking Superman
I HOPE!

 

[GreenKToo]

This is the one thing I cant stand about WB, instead of embracing the POSITIVE buzz about nolan and goyer, they try to shut everyone up...They really have no idea how to turn PR to their advantage. If it were me, i'd be jumping for joy over the good buzz.

 

[Slugster]

OH and... I LOVE ALL THE HYPE!!!!
Let the imaginations begin!!!!

 

[The Guard]

The bare bones of "no origin, Luthor, and Brainiac" can be developed into wildly different stories by different writers.

True, but I think I pretty much said how I feel about that already. My statement was kind of a package deal.

"Goyer is the safe choice, which may be what the franchise needs at this point, and at least the movie will be infused with comic lore. I'll get excited when I learn more about the project. Telling me it has no origin and Braniac and Luthor are involved tells me only that Goyer, so far, has the same ideas Kevin Smith and Tim Burton and...oh...everyone since then has had."

So far he's only written two produced screenplays (The Prestige and The Dark Knight), as well as the short story Memento was based on. Which of those do you consider to be the " miss" part of "hit and miss"?

I'm unsure how much more I can delve into hit or miss without going into ridiculous detail and boring everyone. I guess I would be referring to the somewhat hit or miss nature of his most recent work, THE DARK KNIGHT. I find it occassionally tonally inconsistent, and somewhat all over the place. He would write something FANTASTIC, and then something subpar, or generic. And then something FANTASTIC, and then something subpar, or generic.

It was very good in my opinion. And you said it was silly thinking that their partnership would make it "good or great", and "not all that great" doesn´t exclude "good". So no, it´s not silly in the slightest.

Fair enough.

It was very good in my opinion. And you said it was silly thinking that their partnership would make it "good or great", and "not all that great" doesn´t exclude "good". So no, it´s not silly in the slightest.

It was pretty good, but not great. And you have to understand, I've also read his GHOST RIDER script, so my optimism wanes for anything he does.

I'm not going to be satifisfied with "good". Superman deserves better than writers have given him.

He's a REAL PERSON!

Depends on what draft you read. He even stated publicly in the "Evening with Kevin Smith" DVD that he wanted to redo the origin and portions of it were set on Krypton.

Is there a draft called SUPERMAN BEGINS or something, or one that features the origin?

I'm just saying. The comic lore, and even the Byrne era inspiration is apparent in SUPERMAN LIVES, even though Burton weirded it up in the design process.

Now that I think about it, I would imagine the story will be somewhat dark, as that's what WB has apparently wanted of late. Even Goyer's FLASH was reportedly fairly dark.

 

[GreenKToo]

Guys, think about this..Just look at the talent Nolan had in BB and TDK...we'll have that for Superman as well.
I think we will be floored at the cast we get, I hope so anyways.

 

[Dark_Lord]

Guys, think about this..Just look at the talent Nolan had in BB and TDK...we'll have that for Superman as well.
I think we will be floored at the cast we get, I hope so anyways.

I'm really worried about who they'll cast as Superman. A lot.

 

[ZIPBAGS]

Here is the part of the Superman:TAS that shows Brainiac on Krypton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6sgbwgPYTM&feature=related

 

[GL's Light]

True, but I think I pretty much said how I feel about that already. My statement was kind of a package deal.

"Goyer is the safe choice, which may be what the franchise needs at this point, and at least the movie will be infused with comic lore. I'll get excited when I learn more about the project. Telling me it has no origin and Braniac and Luthor are involved tells me only that Goyer, so far, has the same ideas Kevin Smith and Tim Burton and...oh...everyone since then has had."

And I don't have a problem with the first part of the "package deal". It's the bolded part that doesn't hold up to logical scrutiny given my earlier point.

As for Jonah Nolan, I think the two films he's written to date are both excellent, but to each his own.

 

[GreenKToo]

I'm really worried about who they'll cast as Superman. A lot.

I think the safe bet will be on an unknown, surrounded by a TOP NOTCH cast.
By unknown, i'm talking about folks like Porter, trucco. Not completely unknown, but not A or B list actors either.

 

[Bad Superman]

Got a bit of mixed feelings over the news. I like the fact that they'll use Byrne's incarnation but at the same time it won't be an origin film??? I don't know but if they want to reboot the franchise they should to a whole different origin at least in flashbacks, specially if the "krytponian mythology" will play a part. I don't want this film to have anything to do with Donner's.

 

[Dark_Lord]

I think the safe bet will be on an unknown, surrounded by a TOP NOTCH cast.
By unknown, i'm talking about folks like Porter, trucco.

I agree. Hopefully they do too and they cast an unknown.

 

[Bad Superman]

Gonna dust off my Superman MOS Byrne collection. I think Brainiac was one of the early villians of the series. Luthor was somehow involved. Gonna check out the story.

 

[Bad Superman]

I agree. Hopefully they do too and they cast an unknown.

Unknown or little known is the best way to go.


Hoping for the best.

 

[GreenKToo]

I just hope we see some ''super'' a$$ kicking this time...

 

[Dark_Lord]

I just hope we see some ''super'' a$$ kicking this time...

Me too. It would be awesome to see Superman punch Brainiac through some buildings.

 

[ultimatefan]

True, but I think I pretty much said how I feel about that already. My statement was kind of a package deal.

"Goyer is the safe choice, which may be what the franchise needs at this point, and at least the movie will be infused with comic lore. I'll get excited when I learn more about the project. Telling me it has no origin and Braniac and Luthor are involved tells me only that Goyer, so far, has the same ideas Kevin Smith and Tim Burton and...oh...everyone since then has had."



I'm unsure how much more I can delve into hit or miss without going into ridiculous detail and boring everyone. I guess I would be referring to the somewhat hit or miss nature of his most recent work, THE DARK KNIGHT. I find it occassionally tonally inconsistent, and somewhat all over the place. He would write something FANTASTIC, and then something subpar, or generic. And then something FANTASTIC, and then something subpar, or generic.



Fair enough.



It was pretty good, but not great. And you have to understand, I've also read his GHOST RIDER script, so my optimism wanes for anything he does.

I'm not going to be satifisfied with "good". Superman deserves better than writers have given him.

He's a REAL PERSON!



Is there a draft called SUPERMAN BEGINS or something, or one that features the origin?

I'm just saying. The comic lore, and even the Byrne era inspiration is apparent in SUPERMAN LIVES, even though Burton weirded it up in the design process.

Now that I think about it, I would imagine the story will be somewhat dark, as that's what WB has apparently wanted of late. Even Goyer's FLASH was reportedly fairly dark.

You did, and I disagree, and will leave it that that.

I barely found anything about TDK to be subpar, especially comparing it to other summer blockbusters. Subpar means not on par, and hardly anything in TDK was not highly superior or above the average summer blockbuster. In a mass entertainment movie, it´s pretty much inevitable to get at least a little generic. Those are multimillionaire investments that have to appeal to very large audiences because they pretty much support entire companies and are an industry in itself. Still, that they got away with as much as they did in TDK was wildly unusual.

Like I said, Kevin Smith mentioned that his idea for the Superman script involved redoing the origin, I dunno if that draft is available, but that was his original plan.

The news emphasized the word "fun" when referring to the project, and the Byrne era wasn´t particularly dark, especially when compared to Nolan´s Batman stuff.

Like I said, I´m not assuming anything, but I feel mostly confident on something satisfying. What´s satisfying depends on each fan´s POV and preferences.

 

[GL's Light]

I wouldn't take it too literally that it going to be based on the Byrne era. That probably just means it's going to have the modern corporate Lex Luthor and that Clark won't put on a big nerd act.