If there's one thing I like about Chris Nolan more than anything else, it's that he's the type of creative that doesn't make movies for the sake of making movies. He, Jonah, and Goyer make a film because they have a great story. It's like after Begin, he insisted that he would not even consider a sequel unless they got the story right. That's how he operates. If Chris doesn't think there's anything worth telling, he doesn't do it. Begins wasn't set up for a sequel initially. It could have stood alone with Batman flying away after speaking with Gordon. Sure, it's great that Nolan made a second film, but we're only getting the third because as he charted the course for #2, the story elements for a final #3 were moving about.
Same goes for Superman. I don't doubt how many great writers have said it's genuinely hard to write Superman stories. Sure, the animated movies and JLA/JLU have done some great things, but there's a lot in animation that you can get away with that doesn't translate to live action.
Chris, David, and Jonah have ONE great Superman story, and that's what they want to tell. It might have some flashbacks, it might not. Ultimately, whether it's due to the IP fight, Nolan has one idea, one story and this is going to be Superman ala Prestige and Inception -- one awesome story told by arguably one of the greatest directors and creative team around today.
And I think we all really need to be amendable to that. Sure, the WB and Legendary probably want sequels. Sure, they probably want a 20 something cast to play the Man of Steel so they can sell action figures, videogames, and more comic books.
The Nolans could care less about all that. They got a brilliant take, and that's what they're going to do.
And legally, as I suggested, this could be one of the last Superman films we see for a long time. Possibly the last one in some of our lifetimes (come on, it took almost 20 years to get Returns).
Man of Steel could go down as the last hurrah for the WB's Superman. And that's fine with me. I'm just glad right now that we're even getting this film because the Superman license is ripe for a legal quagmire starting in 2013.
The Siegel Estate can effectively *kill* Superman by squatting on the license and taking the WB to court to enjoin anything Superman related until the fight is finished. The WB may not want to pay the arguably high amount the Estate is going ask for. IOW, expect a dragged out legal fight that could ice Superman for a while.
If not for Nolan leading this, theres probably no way the WB would even consider green-lighting this project. Its essentially a $200 million investment that will only have two chances to bring in major revenue (theatrical release and then DVD/blu-ray release).
So to get back to casting, Jon Hamm easily looks capable to play the part right now, as in next year for 2012. Thats all the Nolans are thinking about right now, and I sincerely doubt anyone in the WB is going to tell Chris who he should cast. If hes going older, and all indication are that he is, Levi is probably on the WB wishlist. Hamm, Fox and others are likely on Nolans.
We can all easily guess which list will win at the end.
. . . most people are capable of taking a bad photo. . .
In my line of work you have to have thick skin, and I do.
