World Interesting story summary of the Secret William Wisher Script for Superman Returns

[echostation]

The script that isn't out there for download... it's locked away in the WB archives and apparently it had a very Matrix type feel with Oliver Stone somewhat interested in directing... well here's a summary I found of it:

SUPERMAN LIVES (William Wisher, 8/23/2000)

In the myriad articles documenting the winding road that Superman followed to reach the big screen in 2006, Wisher’s script is often described as being influenced by THE MATRIX. Allow me to put that notion to bed. Apart from some Lex Luthor-created wireless internet technology a person can wear on their necks, there’s no hint of anything remotely similar to THE MATRIX in Wisher’s work. The “Lexmen” are a cadre of drones that act like MATRIX “agents” and manage to slow down the Man of Steel for a hot second.

If anything, Wisher’s script was a return to the roots of the Superman project, resembling the aforementioned Lemkin, Poirer, and Gilroy works. Kal-el, one of the scant few survivors of Krypton, is pursued by his father’s creation, Brainiac. He’s discovered on Earth just after he’s had a fight with Lois Lane about how uncomfortable he feels being an alien among humans. Lex Luthor allies himself with Brainiac in exchange for technology that gives life to his ill-fated “Lexlink” program.

Again, Brainiac employs Doomsday to kill Kal-el by page 60. His body is taken by Mal-ar, last Knight of Krypton, who swore to protect the infant prince before Krypton’s King Jor-el was murdered by Brainiac previous to the destruction of Krypton. Like Jesus, Superman is resurrected after “about three days” (page 79). Waking up a weakling, Kal-el wears a suit of “Krypton Armor;” a sleek black suit that gives him enhanced abilities. Doomsday doesn’t have a second shot at Superman: he disappears from the script after he’s served his purpose. Rather, Superman easily cuts his way through the Braniac-controlled “Lexmen” with a crystal sword looking like “a samurai from outer space” (page 98). While Lex Luthor tries to redeem himself as a human being before Earth explodes (Brainiac has a habit of destroying planets), Superman battles Brainiac in a rather anticlimactic scene wherein he regains his powers and, very un-Superman-like, kills the baddie while destroying his talking “skull ship.”

Again, wearing black and attacking the Luthor Building doesn’t really make Wisher’s SUPERMAN LIVES anything like THE MATRIX either. Oliver Stone was approached at this point to direct Wisher’s script but didn’t take the bait. It was time, too, for Nicholas Cage to cash in his chips. The new choice for Superman went to Russell Crowe. With Wisher’s moody Superman, Crowe may have been a good choice. The Aussie actor wasn’t interested. No director, no stars, and a script that took the project back six years. The wind had gone out of Superman’s cape.

http://www.impossiblefunky.com/arch...man.asp?IshNum=15&Headline=Superman: Grounded

 

[echostation]

i'm surprised no one is interested in reading about Will Wisher's script ideas for Superman Lives... i remember a year back people were scrounging left right and center for this stuff

 

[Daryl]

You can find the actual script here:

http://uncivilsociety.org/2009_0105_wbexhibits_filmscripts.pdf

BTW, most of the Superman Lives-related articles you can find on the internet are all riddled with BS. Keep that in mind.

Good read

 

[Spidermatrix53]

I like the Gilroy script better.

 

[_Kal-El_]

The Wisher script was damn ridiculous. One minute Luthor read like another slapstick Hackman/Jocker clone, and the next, he was wimpering at the sight of Brainiac like Draco Malfoy does at nearly everything.