Sequels Superman: The Reboot - How Would You Do It?

[inlers87]

With all this talk of a "revamp" happening, how would you do it? Casting? Villain? Tone? Story?

My own idea:

A movie focusing less on origin and more on Superman testing the limits of his power as a new inhabitant of metropolis. Seeing as kryptonite is SEVERELY downplayed in every Superman flick so far, we find out, WITH Superman, the effects of the mysterious green rock. And, ala Peace on Earth, we witness Superman in his truly weak moments: i.e. the fact that he can fight all the aliens and monsters he wants, but he cannot do much to combat poverty and illness.

My Cast:

Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent: Patrick Warburton
Lois Lane: Courtney Cox
Jonathan Kent: Jeff Bridges
Ma Kent: Diane Keaton
Lex Luthor: Kyle McLachlan

Anyone else got any ideas?

 

[charl_huntress]

There are few threads like this, but this title caught my eye. Personally, I have a laundry list of what I would like to see in a Superman movie, but the two things I really want in a reboot is an updated Metropolis that actually looks like the city of tomorrow, and full display of all of Supes powers in combat.

 

[inlers87]

I'd love to see that. The studios hold back on that for some reason. And I've often thought the same about Metropolis. I'd like to see them explore "why metropolis?"

Have you ever read the Darwyn Cooke/Tim Sale Book about Supe's introduction to Kryponite? If so, that'd be my ideal movie. The idea that Superman is scared of just how long his power will last time is really intriguing.

There's a scene in that where he is trying to save a small village from a volcano eruption and he gets claustrophobic and basically starts having an anxiety attack at the thought that his powers would give up in that moment, killing everyone. That's the kinda stuff I'd like to see.

And then, like you said, once he grows past that and learns his limits, he opens up a few cans of Super whoop ass on whoever (Bizarro *crosses fingers*) he's fighting at the time.

 

[luca_frontino]

As much realistic as possible.
I want a Superman who doesn't break the laws of physics.
A believable Superman.
No stupid tights.
No unexplicable flight.
No laser beams from eyes.
No alien father talking in english.

Superman in comics and films suffers from the "Dragonball Z syndrome".
In DBZ the characters reach impossible amounts of power.
Now that there is Hancock, let's change Superman having realistic powers and being hunted by the governements, investigators and press, like in the graphic novel "Secret Identity".

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

As much realistic as possible.
I want a Superman who doesn't break the laws of physics.
A believable Superman.
No stupid tights.
No unexplicable flight.
No laser beams from eyes.
No alien father talking in english.

Non vuoi Superman allora, vuoi un'altra cosa.

 

[luca_frontino]

Non vuoi Superman allora, vuoi un'altra cosa.

No. Sarebbe comunque Superman. Solo più realistico.
Insomma, vorrei un film di Supes che ti faccia dire: "Potrebbe davvero accadere...!"

 

[TruerToTheCore]

As much realistic as possible.
I want a Superman who doesn't break the laws of physics.
A believable Superman.
No stupid tights.
No unexplicable flight.
No laser beams from eyes.
No alien father talking in english.

.

Yeah, go away. You are probably not a Superman fan.

 

[charl_huntress]

No. Sarebbe comunque Superman. Solo più realistico.
Insomma, vorrei un film di Supes che ti faccia dire: "Potrebbe davvero accadere...!"

I wish I could understand this. Translation? Anyway, no lasers beams from the eyes. That's crazy. It's one of his established powers. Do you really even like Superman?

 

[luca_frontino]

I wish I could understand this. Translation? Anyway, no lasers beams from the eyes. That's crazy. It's one of his established powers. Do you really even like Superman?

I just wrote that it would be cool to see a Supes movie where every subtle thing is possible and plausible. A movie that if you ask to a scientist if it could happen, he says "Yes!".
Laser beams are for Harry Potter and DBZ. I want a Superman based on the real world.
And BTW, Superman is not about powers. It's about what you do. It looks like YOU don't know what does mean to be Superman.

 

[charl_huntress]

I just wrote that it would be cool to see a Supes movie where every subtle thing is possible and plausible. A movie that if you ask to a scientist if it could happen, he says "Yes!".
Laser beams are for Harry Potter and DBZ. I want a Superman based on the real world.
And BTW, Superman is not about powers. It's about what you do. It looks like YOU don't know what does mean to be Superman.

I'm kind of the opinion that Superman couldn't exist in this world, and grounding him with too much reality is bad. That's what happen with SR.

It's Superman...ya know? Up, up, and away. He's got cool powers. If you don't see those powers then what makes him Superman? No, he's not about just the powers, but the powers make him Superman. That's part of him being Superman...the powers. If not for them he'd be a regular ole guy and not a superhero.

 

[Jochimus]

As much realistic as possible.
I want a Superman who doesn't break the laws of physics.
A believable Superman.
No stupid tights.
No unexplicable flight.
No laser beams from eyes.
No alien father talking in english.

...are you Jon Peters?

But seriously, the idea of a Superman who doesn't have powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men is absurd. His having super-powers is the reason why he's called SUPERman; if it were because of his morals and sense of ethics, you'd just as well call him Boy Scout Man and have the kiddies sign up at the theater door. B'sides, any typical movie pseudo-science technobabble could be used to explain his powers, if that were really necessary, which I doubt it would be since even most of those people in audience who don't read comics will probably still expect the guy to have super-powers anyway because he's, y'know, Superman.

Now the English-speaking Jor-El thing I can kind of understand where you're coming from, but then if Kal-El is being raised in Kansas rather than on Krypton, English would probably be his primary language, so it's not unreasonable that any sort of "Fortress hologram"-type of representation for Jor-El would speak English.

 

[smoothbody]

...are you Jon Peters?

But seriously, the idea of a Superman who doesn't have powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men is absurd. His having super-powers is the reason why he's called SUPERman; if it were because of his morals and sense of ethics, you'd just as well call him Boy Scout Man and have the kiddies sign up at the theater door. B'sides, any typical movie pseudo-science technobabble could be used to explain his powers, if that were really necessary, which I doubt it would be since even most of those people in audience who don't read comics will probably still expect the guy to have super-powers anyway because he's, y'know, Superman.

Now the English-speaking Jor-El thing I can kind of understand where you're coming from, but then if Kal-El is being raised in Kansas rather than on Krypton, English would probably be his primary language, so it's not unreasonable that any sort of "Fortress hologram"-type of representation for Jor-El would speak English.

I Dont know they speak english in Starwars,unless you look like an alien/creature.and thats not entirely true either,some aliens speak english aswell!!

we need the suit,no suit no go!!get rid of the underwear outside the suit,please!! the suit should be red/blue/yellow & not maroon/teal/gold like in sr.

This is not smallville,this SUPERMAN needs to fly,people love it!!

keep away from ice planets and ice crystals.The fortress should be a museum like scientific type place.

add a top notch cast.. get ILM to do the effects and there you have it!! SUPERMAN THE MAN OF STEEL.

 

[Jochimus]

I Dont know they speak english in Starwars,unless you look like an alien/creature.and thats not entirely true either,some aliens speak english aswell!!

That's one of the things I liked about the early Star Wars and Star Trek movies that the newer ones just don't have (except maybe for one or two scenes in the Prequels); frankly, I was surprised even to see alien-speak subtitles in Bay's Transformers.

keep away from ice planets and ice crystals.

The crystals weren't ice (Luthor said so in SII). And IMO they're still a unique depiction of alien tech even by today's standards, when every other sci-fi movie relies on faux-Giger motifs that you can apparently hack into using any laptop.

Anyhoo - myself not giving a crap about a reboot unless it was my idea - I'd probably do something along the lines of the stuff I posted here, which admittedly is pretty rough and would need a bit of fine-tuning, but anyway...http://www.supermanhomepage.com/forum/viewthread.php?forum_id=21&thread_id=6116&rowstart=20

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

Holy crap this thread again

 

[fabman]

Damn, did I just get an effin' amazing idea for a Superman trilogy, although every part would be quite "stand-alone". I'm gonna write a script! Bye...

 

[Nightwing1977]

How I would do the reboot? Simple: I wouldn't do a frickin' reboot. Not even for....one million dollars.

 

[Minus Shock]

As much realistic as possible.
I want a Superman who doesn't break the laws of physics.
A believable Superman.
No stupid tights.
No unexplicable flight.
No laser beams from eyes.
No alien father talking in english.
.

..... John Peters?

Haha I swear to god I did not see the guys post who said that before me... makes it that much funnier to me.

 

[AnorexicBatman]

I would keep his powers but tone them down a bit
He would still be invulnerable but anything bigger than a bazooka would leave a mark, like a burn or something

Oh and none of this crystal nonsense, I'd have him build the Fortress Of Solitude with his bare hands like he does in The Animated Series & Comics (Not counting Infinite Crisis).

 

[GL1]

..... John Peters?

Haha I swear to god I did not see the guys post who said that before me... makes it that much funnier to me.

Be careful... he's from THE STREETS!

 

[Ley]

I would make an origin story based loosely on Superman Birthright, but borrowing heavily from various other sources as well. For example, Superman's personality would be very much akin to his Golden Age counterpart, but with realistic ramifications for his actions. One of the film's main focuses would be Superman's Kryptonian heritage and how it affects the way he views life on Earth. After the central plot's resolution, the film would conclude with the creation of the Fortress of Solitude (as seen in Up, Up, and Away! Part VIII).

 

[NotFadeAway]

1) A complete reboot. Note the comment I've made above, and that Smallville is an utter disappointment compared to what it could have been a few years ago, and therefor is not good enough to be considered and origin.

2) An origin movie with Braniac as the sole villian. Lex needs a break, and this would also build anticipation for seeing Lex and the sequel and if the origin move was a big hit financially and critically, an excellent actor could be attracted to the part. Luthor, as well as LexCorp, should get a few name drops though. I also think it is important that Superman save the world, not just Metropolis, in this origin flick. Batman stops the crime, Superman saves the world.

3) A new Superman, one who can act, and not mimic or stand in for Chris Reeve. That is what Routh did. That is bad. We need someone who can act, who looks the part without being a Reeve look alike, and again someone who can act, someone who can act both the Clark Kent and Superman roles, not just one, which would be unlike Dean Cain. I'm still an avid Henry Cavill supporter. He has all the qualities I listed, I dare say a better look than Reeve, and has matured nicely since the days of the casting wars. I liked him then, as well. And I might get a few funny looks for saying this, but if the guy could buff up and with the help of some camera trickery, Ryan Gosling would make a great Superman. He has the charisma and confidence to play Superman, and the down home country charm and niceness to play Clark Kent.

4) After casting Superman, cast solid, quality actors around him. Not A-listers, but somewhat recognizable actors who can slip into there parts with ease and give great performances. This is a similiar tactic to Batman Begins, with the casting of Neeson, Caine, Murphy, Watanbe, Oldman, and then again with TDK and the casting of Eckhart and Gyllenhaal. Hell, Morgn Freeman was the most known to the general population out of all the actors in Begins. And no, I'm not just pointing to those films because there the rave of society, but because that game plan works everytime.

5) Use the post-crisis, Clark Kent as the real person and Superman as the disguise version. You can debate until your blue in the face, and you know what, as far as comics go, you pre-crisis lovers might have a point. MIGHT. But anyway, were not writing a comic, we are making a good movie. In the MOVIE world, post crisis Superman will work better everytime, I bet my one of my kidneys on it. Clark Kent as the real person creates more story telling ability over the course of two hour films, and it connects more with your movie audience.

6) The world should start out afraid of Superman, for obvious reasons. How would you feel if you saw some alien flying around, lifting cars over his head. It would create a good storyline and some welcome change for the movie. And it sets up Lois Lane as the only person who believes in Superman from the beginning, and urges others to give him a chance. At the end of the movie, after Superman defeats Braniac and saves Earth, he is accepted. The last scene could even be Superman's first press conference for the world.

 

[Frodo]

Well , I think the next Superman film should be a sort of Superman Begins type story. I like the idea of Lex not being the villian in the first one at least not up front.

It should be post crisis except I would include the death of Johnathan Kent.
I'd have a brief appearance of Lana Lang in SV but she wouldn't dominate that part of the film. He would save her a tornado but that would be after Johnathan dies. She would promise not to reveal his secret.

I'd show breif montage of Clark Travelling the world to make his way to the North Pole to create the FOS. I'd keep the tense relationship with Jor El. They see the world differently even though Jor El is his teacher their is that tension between them that will show itself in sequels. In Clark's heart he is human not Kryptonian. In this film he hasn't embraced his heritage though he's curious.

Brainac should be apart of the destruction of Krypton except he would only be in the first act on Krypton and return for the sequel. I'd also have appearences by Zod, Ursa, and Nun and references to the Phantom Zone.

There should be three persona's of superman. The SV Clark who is the real Clark Kent, The Metropolis Clark who's a Mild Mannered yet Competative Journalist, and Superman the leader and Guardian.

Lois Lane would be a cynical about Superman for most of the film. I don't think she should fall head over heels for him at first sight as in the other incarnations. I'd have her believe that he has some kind of game going. I wouldn't even have the famous interview with him until the sequel. At this point he should be a bit mysterious . He saves people then leaves. I think Superman should have to prove to her that he is genuine then she can begin to fall for him .

As for Clark, she see him as a competitor . They don't become partner's until the end of the film. I wouldn't have Clark fall for her instantly either.

I'd have the Daily Planet struggling at the beginning. It's finest days are behind it. Lois Lane had to work her way to where she is against male competitor's. I'd have her co-workers gossip about her and consider her a lightweight . They'd say stuff like she slept her way to where she is.

She'd have a chip on her shoulder constantly trying to prove herself. At this point she does fluff stories when she really wants to do investigative journalism . Jimmy Olsen at this point is a copy boy with a crush on Lois and he would be one of the few people who believes in Lois. He'd be about 16 not in his twenties.

Perry is the steward of the fledging paper and there is very little confidence in him amoung the grunts and the stock holders. I think That Perry, Lois, Clark and Jimmy sort of form a rag tag union that the brings the Planet to new heights . No one believes in them at the beginning of the film but by they end they begin to turn the paper around. The bond between them won't truely be formed until part three.

I like the idea of people being wary of Superman. I think the respect Superman achieve's has to be earned . This should be Lex's main motivation. He genuinely see's Superman as a threat to humanity . He think's he's a scout for an alien invasion. Lex will do anything to stop him and expose him for what he thinks he truely is. I like the idea of Lex not being a black and white characterization . He has shades of grey. I'd have Lex meet Lois and Clark briefly but even then Lex would give them a cruicial piece of the puzzle in discovering the truth behind Metallo. He'd actually help them in a small way.

I wouldn't have Clark instantly think he's bad since he see's him only once and at this point only a very unlucky few know how truely dangerous he is. He's a Donald Trump type in terms of prominance. He's looked on as a hero.He came from a poor background and made himself a billionare and then he gave back to the inner city. The Superman/ Lex rivalary will come in the sequel.

Metallo would be my villian of choice . It's a good way introducing Kryptonite and Superman discovering his limits . I'd have intergang and Morgan Edge be behind the creation of Metallo. John Cordon would be one of their hired guns.

All and in this should be very much an origin story , establishing the world the Superman inhabits . By the end there should be some hint of attraction between Lois and Superman, The Daily Planet should begin to turn around, And Lex would begin to start researching Superman and putting pieces together, The citzens of Metropolis should begin to trust Superman.

It should be a story of a man finding his place in the world and choosing to help people as opposed to feeling forced to do it because of a prophecy.

 

[fabman]

Toyman would work perfectly in a Superman pic, even though not as main villain. You just gotta rethink him a bit. By connecting him to Intergang or Bruno Mannheim, as in Superman: TAS, you could set up some other things aswell.

Also, why not have the government in the flick. Like in The Dark Knight Returns, they could go after Superman to use him - except that in the end he won't work for them. It would shake things up a bit. What do you think?

 

[Jochimus]

Also, why not have the government in the flick. Like in The Dark Knight Returns, they could go after Superman to use him - except that in the end he won't work for them. It would shake things up a bit. What do you think?

I was hesitant to include the government "conspiracy" angle in my reboot idea, but for me it would have been unavoidable, so this is how I figured it:

The stardrive-powered House of El hits Earth's atmosphere just shy of the Arctic Circle, angling off as the massive crystal understructure of the makeshift "starship" breaks off and plummets into a glacier, creating a gigantic smoking crater on impact; above in the clouds, outer chunks of the Kryptonian structure begin to break away off into separate directions, zipping across the skies for hundreds of miles as the "ship", now entering North American airspace, is whittled down to the superstructure of the bedding chamber. By this point STRATCOM has detected the meteorites barreling at a downward angle across the American midwest, but the middle-most one - projected to land somewhere in Kansas - is moving way too fast for a chunk of space debris, and a special agent, Nathaniel Hardcastle, has been given the order from President Reagan to investigate; I should mention at this time that at this point in the story, we're in the early to mid-1980s, which for what I'm introducing here is ideal given the 'nuclear' tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. I wanted to put it at 1984 or thereabout.

That enabled me to bring Hardcastle into the first story; he's replaced by Amanda Waller in the second one.

 

[SuperDaniel]

1) A complete reboot. Note the comment I've made above, and that Smallville is an utter disappointment compared to what it could have been a few years ago, and therefor is not good enough to be considered and origin.

2) An origin movie with Braniac as the sole villian. Lex needs a break, and this would also build anticipation for seeing Lex and the sequel and if the origin move was a big hit financially and critically, an excellent actor could be attracted to the part. Luthor, as well as LexCorp, should get a few name drops though. I also think it is important that Superman save the world, not just Metropolis, in this origin flick. Batman stops the crime, Superman saves the world.

3) A new Superman, one who can act, and not mimic or stand in for Chris Reeve. That is what Routh did. That is bad. We need someone who can act, who looks the part without being a Reeve look alike, and again someone who can act, someone who can act both the Clark Kent and Superman roles, not just one, which would be unlike Dean Cain. I'm still an avid Henry Cavill supporter. He has all the qualities I listed, I dare say a better look than Reeve, and has matured nicely since the days of the casting wars. I liked him then, as well. And I might get a few funny looks for saying this, but if the guy could buff up and with the help of some camera trickery, Ryan Gosling would make a great Superman. He has the charisma and confidence to play Superman, and the down home country charm and niceness to play Clark Kent.

4) After casting Superman, cast solid, quality actors around him. Not A-listers, but somewhat recognizable actors who can slip into there parts with ease and give great performances. This is a similiar tactic to Batman Begins, with the casting of Neeson, Caine, Murphy, Watanbe, Oldman, and then again with TDK and the casting of Eckhart and Gyllenhaal. Hell, Morgn Freeman was the most known to the general population out of all the actors in Begins. And no, I'm not just pointing to those films because there the rave of society, but because that game plan works everytime.

5) Use the post-crisis, Clark Kent as the real person and Superman as the disguise version. You can debate until your blue in the face, and you know what, as far as comics go, you pre-crisis lovers might have a point. MIGHT. But anyway, were not writing a comic, we are making a good movie. In the MOVIE world, post crisis Superman will work better everytime, I bet my one of my kidneys on it. Clark Kent as the real person creates more story telling ability over the course of two hour films, and it connects more with your movie audience.

6) The world should start out afraid of Superman, for obvious reasons. How would you feel if you saw some alien flying around, lifting cars over his head. It would create a good storyline and some welcome change for the movie. And it sets up Lois Lane as the only person who believes in Superman from the beginning, and urges others to give him a chance. At the end of the movie, after Superman defeats Braniac and saves Earth, he is accepted. The last scene could even be Superman's first press conference for the world.

That is basically my script especially point #6! However CEO Luthor would also be a big part of the movie. I`m making him more like Citzen Kane, who control people through LexCorp, instead of the press. He is like the most powerfull person on the planet. Basically LexCorp is this huge conglomeration of technollogy spread over the world and then the AI Brainiac takes over creating Chaos everywhere.

Huge action from this plot as he takes controls of all weapons of the world and computers.