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Bryan Singer had the scope right, but make superman a bit older than Brandon Routh, return him to his American roots, and set him against Darkseid or Brainiac. And keep mentioning Gotham City in the background.

Superman is a tough character to write. Even in the comics he's referred to as a "boy scout"--can you imagine basing a multi-million dollar movie around that? No one really wants to see a movie about "truth, justice and the American way", we want our heroes flawed and dark, which is the opposite of what Superman is. Writers (and DC) are unwilling to change Superman to fit that mold, so the character remains hopelessly corny and outdated. People will still see any Superman movie because the character is so iconic, but most of us simply can't relate to him. I think it ALMOST impossible to create a really good Superman movie, but they are more than welcome to prove me wrong.

I'm not a comic book reader (I just read watchmen a few weeks ago and that was my first 'comic book' I've ever read), but I love Superman. I saw the 3-D IMAX movie twice in 2006. However, they need something new. Superman Returns was the same as the first Superman basically. Come up with a new story, there's so goddamn many to choose from. Like Alex says, Superman has been around for 70 years so why do they have to repeat the same story? Superman Returns made $200,006,305 at the box office domestically (rotten tomatoes), people will watch whatever they put out, but give us a new story for Christ sake!

Superman is a very difficult character to do in the right way. The best Superman stories have to involve an assault on his moral character, pushing him to the breaking point and then watching as he not only saves the day (usually by doing something mind-blowingly huge) but also retainins his beliefs. Superman is about having to do things the hardest way possible because you believe that's the right way (even if everyone else doesn't). Villains are also a problem for Superman so I think that someone should take the image of a villain from the comics and rewrite the backstory or even create a combination like Absorbing Man in the Hulk movie. If the character is good people won't care if they adhere to the comic 100%. Look at the Joker, no drop into toxic chemicals this time around and I didn't hear anyone complaining as they left the theater.

I agree with Diego about the Kill Bill 2 thing: Tarantino makes an excellent point there. I've always thought that they were approaching Superman from the wrong angle. As much as I love the Donner Superman movies, they were done at a time when filmmakers were limited by their budgets and crude special effects. The problem with Superman is that he is nigh invincible. How can audiences relate to something like that? Simple: you bring Superman down to our level. That's why the originals worked so well: you got to see Clark Kent trying to make his way through life with these phenomenal powers. That's why Smallville works so well. That's why the Brian Singer film flopped. His Superman just came off as a brooding emo kid with superpowers. I'd like to see the Superman we all remember: kind, boy scout-ish, friendly. Someone that you'd have to be an absolute tool not to just adore and respect. He's not Batman. He's a bright shiny beacon of hope. Then, beat the ever-living hell outta him. Put him up against a villain so powerful that Superman has to pull out all the stops to defeat him. I want to see a world spanning bare knuckle brawl-to-end-all-brawls. I'd say Doomsday, but I really don't think we're ready to go through the whole "Death of Superman" arc (as much as some people would like to see him dead). Give it a classic storyline: good vs. evil, an unstoppable force, unbeatable odds, that sorta thing. Make Superman really have to use his brain AND his fists to get through it. I think filmmakers have been avoiding supervillains because they don't want to turn it into a lame action-fest, but every comic book movie needs a little action here and there. Superman 2 had supervillains (Terrance Stamp ftw!) and look how well that worked out. Also, ditch the kid. Don't explain it, don't reference it. Just hit that replay button and pretend he never existed.

I want to see a superman film where you see, superman actually hit somone as hard as he can and has a decent fight scene... I watched superman returns and enjoyed it but expected more. Lex has had his day in the movies, its time for a darkseid or doomsday to give superman a run for his money or even general zod (Just so i can hear Kneel before zod again lol!!!!) Love the site by the way

One thing that the show 'Smallville' touched on but wussed out on getting in depth about was the idea that Jor-El's plan for Supes was to be a conqueror rather than a saviour. It was touched on in the animated 'Doomsday', too, the replacement Superman's idea that we don't know how to govern ourselves anymore, and that he's there not just to fight for truth, justice and the American way, but to actually enforce it. I know this is the same way that TDK went, but if they're going to go back and do an origin story then they need to establish what Superman's moral and physical limits are, and establish how he discovers his own limits. And bring back Zod.

WB need to stop focusing on Superman. Make a villain that is so horrible, so intelligent, and seemingly unbeatable that Superman cant help but look "super". Also, I understand the concept with Brandon Roth was that Superman is genetically strong so he doesn't have to be physically built like Arnold". However Singer never sold that idea. At this point regrettably dump Roth and find someone who can act first and fits the suit second. Oh, one more thing put Louis in the background like Nolan did with Rachel.

Here's what. Returns was a unnecessary, see, Lex Luthor, real estate. Really? That's the pitch for the villain? ahahaha. And the whole kid thing was horrible, kate bostwort was miscast, just a huge fail. Superman is a rich character with lots of villains, and if they can use all these villains in Batman, why not to the same with Superman? And superman needs to be fallable. He's not god, and as such he must show weakness, he can't save everyone for starters. Working within the main theme of the Dark Knight "Gotham needs batman, even if they don't realize it" would be fairly easy. And that's where the JLA would enter. See, superman starts "failing", imagine a situation where instead of having to save one plane, he has to save two planes, and one of the plane breaks in half, etc etc, and now he can't save everyone, so some people die, one of the planes causes large destruction in a area of the city, JLA comes and they save people from fires etc etc. JLA starts gaining status as they do more than Superman can alone. Say it's discovered who planned the whole plain incident, tracks back to some villain in Gotham City, Supes goes to Gotham and kicks the living crap of the dude until he spills out who are the original interested in the deal (Important people were on the plane), and when he's about to kill the villain out of vengeance and anger Batman comes up etc etc, they talk about morals, Superman is not himself. Anyway, it all tracks back to a group in the middle east, located in a war zone, superman goes after him, sees the leader, there's killing happening around and the leader makes his case that superman is not god and he can't decide who lives and dies, etc etc, he orders the execution of 10 prisoners some distance away, superman flies to stop it and he can't, he doesn't manage to reach them faster than the bullets do. Superman picks the leaders of the groups and drops them at the door of the UN building, badly wounded, debate surrounds about the rights Superman has, as he is has no official right to act on behalf of governments, etc etc Superman goes to a church and sees a priest, superman cries, realizing that he can't save everyone, and that maybe people don't need him as much as he believes they do. Priest says he's not god, and he can't save everyone but that he can make a difference, and that he makes the world a better place etc etc. Superman before leaving thanks the priest and tell him to call for him when in need of help, the priest asks if he could cure cancer as he is sick, superman floating says that he doesn't know if he could but that he will never find out because if ended up being able to do it then people would always expect miracles from him, to which the priest replies, looking at supes flying "But is it not a miracle, that which you are already doing" bla bla bla. JLA is America's favorite bunch of heroes, JLE plans start being laid out, people start believing they don't need superman. And then that's where Doomsday comes in, parallel story happening, arrival, etc etc. He casts destruction upon a small town, JLA shows up, they get their asses kicked, etc etc, superman is needed, clash of titans, everyone is watching, the fight is taken to metropolis, half of metropolis becomes ruins, superman dies, there's a funeral, etc etc. And at the end people truly realize how much they loved and needed superman. This is all stuff taken from the books for the most part, it would give a kickass superman movie, it would be launch platform for JLA, and it would allow the much anticipated moment of Superman and Batman on the same screen happen, even if only for brief moments. I would pay 10$ to see that, i would buy the Blu Ray, and i would eagerly anticipate the sequel. But that's me, i like stories about heroes that are challenged.

The battle with Doomsday would rock, as Doomsday is like a raging dog, he causes destruction wrecklessly, like the Hulk, and Superman would have to fight him and save people at the same time.

I think they should drop Singer & go with someone that can put an edge to the whole story. He TOTALLY dropped the ball with the last movie!! Singer had a great actor playing Lex... if only he had let him loose to truly be evil, like Spacey was in Se7en. Instead he made him do his best Gene Hackman impersonation. Hackman was good for the 70's & 80's, but Lex is way more of a dark character in the comics, cartoon & even on Smallville. I think Lex is still a great villian for Superman, if he would just knock off all the dreams of being a "Real Estate Tycoon". I mean come on! Lex had at his disposal all of Superman's technology & the best thing he could come up with was, "lets make a huge uninhabitable rock in the ocean & sell it for real estate." You don't think a true evil genius would find a way to create an alien weapon that could actually challenge Superman and achieve world domination? What this last movie lacked also was the depth of emotion that Christopher Reeve brought to the first one, and that's not knocking Brandon Routh. That comes from the writing, it was just trying to piggy-back on all the hard work of the first & second movies and hope that would be enough. Obviously, I could go on, but I won't... Pull Singer out of there. FAST!

they need to leave the Reeve's movies in the past, not to mention Superman has a whole rogues gallery other than Lex Luther, that's why Batman is more interesting than the Superman movies. Batman has since had the Penguin, Riddler, Mr.Freeze, Poison Ivy, Two Face, Catwoman, granted the Joker twice as opposed to Lex Luthor going on 5 times now!.

Lois's memory was wiped at the end of superman 2.

You want to ditch Bosworth and her greasy wig? You want rid of that Jason kid? You want to ditch Luthor? You want a big nasty bastard of a villain? You want an dark, sensible and brilliant Superman film? Give it to David Fincher... he'll kick absolute arse with it.

I was just thinking about this a little bit more. What about Parasite? The villain that can steal Superman's powers?

I guess in general, and I mean this is me shooting spit balls here, I am not fancy movie exec, they should try not making bad movies. See I didn't like Batman, because it was a good Batman movie. I liked Batman because it was a good movie and it happened to be about Batman. But Nathan, the movie execs say, how do we do this. Well it's simple, first you get writers. Really, lay some money down and get good writers, the best director on Earth with all the talented actors you can afford will never make up for a horrible script. So just take your budget, and whatever money you set aside for the writers in Superman Returns and double it. Create interesting villains, plot twists, dialogue. That's it. Then get a director, some actors, whatever, and make your movie. Please someone show me a good movie with bad writing, because they just don't exist. Well that's just me. I am sure some fan boy somewhere will be super cheesed if Superman's cape is a shade darker than it should be no matter how good the rest of it is.

The reason why Superman 1 & 2 worked was and is because they were somewhat dark films: In the first movie Lois died because Superman had to choose between keeping his word or breaking it. In the second movie Superman gives up his powers only to find out that 3 beings with his powers have invaded earth. He has to get his powers back only to be defeated(temporarily), and lose his chances at a normal life with Lois. This is the movie I would want see: Should be dark. I would even darken the primary colors a little bit. They should briefly explore his early relations with Lex Luthor: I picture a seen with a young Clark and Lex looking out at the Metropolis skyline with Lex telling Clark how Lex will oneday own all of Metropolis--that it's not a dream but his destiny. Later Lex would have, after being defeated by Superman many times before, spent years developing weapons, using kryptonite radiation, with the goal of being able to effectively defeat and kill Superman. His rational would be that no one man should have all of this power without there being some layers of protection from him. Maybe he would sell some of this to the government, however, his main goal would be to confront and fight Superman, in Metropolis with all eyes on this battle--to show Metropolis and the world at large that Superman is not so "super" and that the world needs Lex's brains rather than Superman's brawn. I would imagine that in order for this to take place, Lex would secretly have Louis Lane kidnapped, leaving some sort of clue or indicator that only Superman would recognize, pointing him toward Lex. Lex would be on his balcony one evening and Superman would confront him as to where Lois is. Superman would be tempted to comfront him then and there but Lex hints that it would cost Lois her life and that if he wants Lois, then he will meet him at a certain location in Metropolis the following day. This is where Lex would call out Superman and the battle would begin. I imagine Lex would have something like a partial body suit that could emit controlled bursts of radiation from kryptonite which would weaken Superman within a 20 mile square radius...maybe other things like kryptonite bombs, lasers, bullets, etc. He would also have an enrgy field around his body that would protect him from debris, etc. Like invisible armor. Lex would defeat Superman and stop just short of killing him--for now. He doesn't want to do that in the public eye--just humiliation. Lex would then stage a rescue operation, with his own mercs, funded by him, and very public, to rescue Lois Lane. Some of Metropolis would begin to side with Lex and Superman would withdraw to rethink his role or position...maybe a moment of doubt in what he's doing. At this point Lex would decide it's time to kill Superman..however, another threat to Lex's empire would arise(maybe alien..I'm not sure). Lex would decide that it may be beneficial to keep Superman around for now as insurance against this new threat. He may even aid Superman and this might cont into another film. Ultimatley Superman would deafeat Lex before being defeated and killed himself by Doomsday. Just my 2 cents.

@ Real6, I TOTALLY agree!!! The Superman Animated Series from the '90s is exactly what the character should be. He was aware of his powers, aware of the great burden/gift that they are. Make a movie surrounding his burdens. I've said this over and over again, DC Heroes are the stoic heroes of the entire comic book genre. They take everything on the chin. Just look at Christian Bale's Batman, he knows he has to take the blame for Harvey Dent's murder so that he can protect the guy's reputation and thus Gotham's last vestiges of hope. Each and every DC character has that same vein of stoicism running through them. It's the pain beneath that stoicism that Nolan depicts in his movies, something that can easily be done with Superman. Now, I'm not saying I know the whole Superman legend, but I'm sure as hell acquainted with the mythos. SO IS EVERYONE ELSE!!! If we get another depiction of Krypton being destroyed, or glamor shot of the Fortress of Solitude, or some half-assed introduction to the Daily Planet, the movie will tank. Absolutely no way it won't, because it's following the same formula as the previous Superman titles. We have to lose the cliches first. And one of those cliches is Lex Luthor as villain. Now, for the layman, Lex Luthor is the only damn villain Superman has any trouble with. it's bullsh*t, I know, but go ahead, ask Joe Schmo on the street and see what they have to say. So keeping him for the first of a trilogy might be ok, if he's actually depicted as the devious, diabolical, possibly deviant (that's right, let's make him a little more evil PLEASE all he's been depicted as is a conniving brat with money). But what's most important is that Lex Luthor NOT understand Superman's reasons for fighting for justice. The thing about the dynamic between the Joker and Batman was that the Joker knew what Batman didn't want him to know, which bothered him to his batty core. Superman is different from Batman. He already is a symbol, so he wants people to know what truth, justice, and egalitarianism is. He doesn't want to inspire people to find their own paths, he wants people to follow this already set out path that he himself has also followed. So when Lex Luthor doesn't understand Superman's boy-scout behavior, when he doesn't understand Superman's need to save the world from itself, Superman is bothered in the same way that Batman is bothered. He tries to make Luthor understand. The theme of The Dark Knight was burden. Not sacrifice, because that was the previous movie's theme (what with Bruce's sacrifice of his need for vengeance, the sacrifice of Rachel Dawes, the sacrifice of a normal party-boy lifestyle for one of a vigilante in a bat costume). The Dark Knight takes on the burden no one else can. He is the proverbial well that everyone can drop their sorrow and anger in, so that they won't take it out on themselves. The theme of the next Superman movie, in my view, should be of free will. Superman could be flawed in one way: he believes he can change people's fates. It's not that his powers have gotten to his head, it's that he sorely believes that because of his powers he can change people's minds even if they don't want to be changed. It's a sore lesson, represented by Lex Luthor. Lex is compelled by his jealousy of Superman, his hatred for the fact that Superman doesn't share his powers and that he doesn't have them either. (It was touched upon by Kevin Spacey, but really, having a bit of dialogue about it between him and Superman would have been nice). Superman is compelled to try and change Luthor, and when he can't, his worldview falls and is changed. It doesn't have to be dark to be good, guys. Superman isn't a dark story. Superman IS hope, he IS justice, he IS righteousness. But that doesn't mean he's flawed in his perception of humanity. Everyone's been touching upon Tarantino's interpretation of Superman. Well, that isn't just Tarantino's alone, but with that point aside we should all stop taking it so literally. At least, for the first movie of a possible trilogy. If Superman really does believe Humanity is weak, it wouldn't be in that first movie, and really, as a moviegoer, I'd like to see the development of that ideology first. So let that development proceed with Superman's sense of righteousness and need to change the world clashing against Lex Luthor's overwhelmingly blind jealousy and hatred of Superman. Let Lex try to pierce at everything that Superman is, and have Clark Kent take the windfall of the damages. Let Lex Luthor NOT understand his greatest foe, and have the two giants FINALLY HAVE A DECENT FREAKING CONVERSATION WITH EACH OTHER!!! That last sentence was in all caps because hell, I'm so damn angry that Superman and Lex haven't had a decent conversation the way Batman and the Joker did. Several times, by the way. SEVERAL TIMES IN ONE MOVIE! How come Superman and Luthor don't get that? Because Superman's a boy scout? That should be the exact reason WHY they get a decent conversation between each other!! Anyways, that's my shpiel. Make Superman try to change Lex, have Lex not understand Superman's compulsion, give Superman the flaw that he, and only he, can change the world because he has these magnificent superpowers, and then throw in a bloody battle with kryptonite for good measure. Keep Brainiac for the second movie,

they should bring the man that ends up turning into a cyborg(i dont know his name) and brainiac. they should reboot the series.

I have no doubt Brandon Routh will be the odd man out, and thats ashame, because he was a really solid Man of steel! Somebody at Warner's has to be smart enough to copy the Chris Nolan school of super hero filmaking. Make things realistic, and tap into the mass fear of living in a post 9/11 world. Its that simple! I think its safe to say that Bryan Singer has directed his one and only movie in this franchise!

It's sad that a fantastical approach to storytelling is now - based on a lot of the feedback here and elsewhere - considered such an outdated concept. Why does everything have to be 'realistic' to be good? What's wrong with unashamed fantasy? Let's not let our imaginations atrophy like this. Superman has superpowers, he isn't Batman, or even Iron Man. If every movie that comes out is a carbon copy of The Dark Knight (which is brilliant - I'm not criticising it) and that style of filmmaking, it's going to get very dull, very quickly.

Had a little more to add. there should be a theme in the story much like Batman fear addressing the issues of today. I doubt today we'd accept some good samaritian who just wants to help just how todays world is. So I'm just adding to what I said before. Make sure there is a difference between when he's clark kent mild manner reporter he slouches, he walks with his feet turned inward his stutters when he speaks, but he's one hell of reporter. When he's Superman that when the old farm boy from Kansas shines thru he stands up straight his voice is stern and strong, and just radiates with confidence. Lois is reporting on intergang activity in Metropolis, beleiving it has some connection to Lex Luthor billionaire inventor who basically owns all of Metropolis. She's and army brat who gets on Perry's last nerve he'd fire her if she wasn't so dam good at her job. she's the only person Cat Grant will be friends with (in her own mocking kind of way) and the sports reporter continuiously hits on. She's a take no bullshit kinda gal and her contact is a guy who lives in the Metropolis slums Bibbo (I think thats his name he was in the animated series) Jimmy Olsen is basically how Clark is when he first arrives in Metropolis , Jimmy sees Clark as an older brother but Superman as an inspiration. While all he does at the office is fetch Perry's coffee he aspires to be more and only Clark really beleives in him becasue the kid can take some dam good pictures. Lex is sinister and has no moral compass. He's always thinking of ways to better man and how he can profit from it long term make a cure for cancer? thats a one time deal something that manages cancer with little fuss and 90-100% effective cha-ching! My previous movie idea shows Clark struggling on how best to use his powers without putting his parents at risk hence the new office clark persona. look above to my previous post on how Luthor brings Brainaic to earth. Clark learns of his birth planet and rescues the bottled city of Kandor restoring them to their normal state Superman 2 New Krypton- The kryptonians believe they have every right take over the earth after seeing how primitive we humans are, Lead by General Zod they begin to make Earth into their new home. Meanwhile Clark struggles still with the idenitity Lois is becoming suspicious but how he's handled the earths problems he feels its not his place but he has the power. When tension betweens the Krytonians and the Humans start to reach the boiling point Superman tries to intervene and reason with his people but they simply banish him to the phantom zone (Hey a cool 3-D monent for the movie) with Superman gone Luthor uses the oppertunity to get back into everyones good graces (in the first movie his connection to intergang is exposed but he tries to fight it claiming ailens took over his brain) creating Metallo and Parasite. Lois and Jimmy go to rescue Superman and discover others who do not wish to follow General Zod (enter Nightwing and Fire or is it Flamebird). Superman 3 Doomsday- A meteor is headed to earth mad e from Kryptonite Superman becomes weaker and weaker. a team of astronounts Hank Henshaw his wife and his team go to destroy the meteor. but disappear in the explosion. Something else however makes it thru and lands on earth Kara Zor-el Superman's cousin from Krypton. As they get close and learn about each other intergang attempts to capture the girl when they prove unsuccessful the being known as Kalibak arrives on earth to claim her who also gets his ass handed to him. Later in metropolis the being known as Doomsday arrives and battles Superman as elsewhere Kara is attacked by Granny Goodness and her female furies. beleiving her to be just as strong as he cousin she unleashes her full might and defeats them then rushes to her cousin's side who has already died in his epic battle with the monster known as doomsday. realizing he'll just have to do things himself Darksaid comes to earth Kara battles him now in the Supergirl persona. Supergirl- Kara now trying to carve out a life for her self on earth tries to fill the void left by her cousin be no one really has faith in her as she isn't as careful with her powers and can make a disaster worse. New heroes are born Steel, and Gangbuster. When a homely toymaker starts killing buisness men from the army (Lois Lane's father Samuel Lane being a target) Supergirl gets invovled with Lois and Jimmy's help going after Toyman. Even teaming up with Steel and Gangbuster Supergirl 2 The girl of steel- Supergirl begins trying form a secret idenitity on earth but can't seem to conceal her powers and doesnt want to. Cat Grant has some issues with Supergirl and begins to tarnish her name. Luthor who has been trying to clone Superman finally succeeds. The world beleives superman has returned, as does Kara who finds her cousin a bit odd when she tries to connect with him but he has very little memory of his life before! The bounty hunter known as Lobo arrives on earth to kill Superman Kara teams up with Superman to battle the foe. during the fighter SUperman is injured and begins to have personality change as he becomes more violent and derranged even like a cracked mirror of the original Superman. Supergirl battles the bizzaro Superman and with help from Steel determines that he was created by Luthor who tries to Kill Kara since she is the last Kryptonian making them extinct. Superman Rebirth- a ship crashes into smallville inside its Superman (oy another yeah I know but bare with me) has memories of being Clark he's taken in by the Kents and begins preparing to return to metropolis he even manages to prove himself to Kara when he stops the would be planet conquer Mongul. Lois however is a little more skeptical then everyone who wants to beleive this one is the real deal when she discovers that the body burried in metropolis is gone! (in truth she'll already know that in the girl of steel) Lois travels to the artic to find Superman's fortress of solitude. Things get weird when during the battle with SIlver Banshee half of Superman's face is blown awayand reveals a cyborg head underneath. Quickly things take a turn for the worst as its revealed that Mongul and this Cyborg Superman are working together!. He takes control of all the machines in metropolis and changes it into a machine city. (we learn that Hank Hanshaw had ended up on War World and due to the exposure to so much kryptonite made him able to talk to machines and he fused with the planet's machines and made mongul his slave vowing to get revenge on Superman beleiving the krytonite meteor was his fault) but since Superman is dead he'll just take revenge on the city he loved. Supergirl is captured by Mongul and Steel and Gangbuster try to save her. at the fortress of solitude Lois finds Superman inside alive thanks to the space craft that brought him to earth. When he finds out what the fake superman has done he returns to metropolis and teams up with Steel and Gang buster fight with Mongul, rescue Supergirl. (The return of Bizarro or kill Supergirl I'm thinking of the sceen when Superman finally defeated the cyborg superman because of the gas that was running machine city) Superman returns for real this time but people are still skeptical Superman has to reearn their trust. Clark Kent returns to the Daily Planet few months later as he was part of the people who are still recovering from Doomsday attack.

"What would you want to see Warner Brothers do with Superman?" Kill him. I've wanted to see the Superman-Doomsday showdown on screen ever since I read the comics. Of course, Nolan-esque realism would be all wrong for Superman. Superman needs some style. My ideal director for the next Super-flick would be Zack Snyder. As I recall, Watchmen has one or two "boy-scouts" and that's turning out great.

Make it a space story bring in Braniac helped by the Cyborg, have Lobo make a cameo and then make a sick R rated Lobo movie

A continuation is NOT an option. Mark Millar's vision is what they need if they want to make a good movie. Why the hell is he not hired already...

I'm all for a continuation of Singer's Superman with Routh. It's kind of sad how fickle people can be, just because the first film reboot doesn't meet all the fan-boy expectations. I thought Superman Returns was a great homage to what had come before, while offering something new. It really was the best of both worlds, in my opinion. My only real complaint about the movie was the lack of good old fashioned super powered fist fights ala Superman II, and I actually hated that drab looking costume. But over-all, a solid cast and director who does in fact understand the appeal of Superman, and I think these guys deserve a chance to follow it up with a sequel. Let's just get a better script this time. Movie re-vamps don't always hit a home-run at first. Look at Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Thank god they kept the original cast with Star Trek II, which was an amazing sequel that completely eclipsed its predecessor. I think when film makers start rebooting franchises every couple of years just because they didn't hit some ill-concieved profit margin, fans are going to become less and less interested in making that investment of time, energy and emotional investment in the story and characters.

Superman shouldn't be a 'dark' character. That's why we have Batman.

in response to post #12 Hey Tom.....I think this is excellent content for a Theater Hopper strip!

Do I care about Superman ? No ...I never did ...even when I was child I bought comic books of Superman just because there was a small part in it with Batman ( Jim Aparo's style ) ... I don't hate Superman but I don't care what will happen with him and what they will do about him ... I am sure Nolan will never get so low to direct a movie with Superman ...and I will only watch a movie with Superman when there is Batman in it ... otherwise...No ... That is why my answer is I hope they will not make another Superman movie ... and if they do then let it be Superman vs. Batman movie ..otherwise I don't care in another side Superman can't be so dramatic ...because it is against his nature ...he is a Superman not a normal human being ... and that is why no one can take Superman and make it dramatic as the Dark Knight ...

@People suggesting Death of Superman They're not going to re-boot a franchise and kill off Superman in the first movie...think about it...

The imagery of Superman Returns was fine I thought, as with the space travel but the kid has cornered it badly. If he were to die, imagine what that would do to Lois Lane. I'm not too sure what to do next but Darkseid would provide some violence for sure.

Also, I think Warner should avoid a Nolan route. Don't see how it could work w/ Superman because they're 2 totally different characters. 1 is feel good and the other is just dark and gloomy. Even the animated series were distinguished in such a manner. Spider-Man worked without having to go the Nolan route so why can't Superman? Whoever has to come up w/ the script has to get away from Lex being the main/only villian. There are plenty others out there.

@64 Haha i noticed that too!

#33 WTF are you talking about? Yeah I agree Darkseid would be the best bet for a villian, but we've already seen Supes depowered and beaten up in two movies, fuck that just give him a badguy who can match Supes blow for blow and have at it.

@ dezdigi, totally, FLAWS=Gold with superman, not darkness. and LW, I totally agree lol, everyone's so damn amped up over their own opinions they arent replying to neone else's. One comment though, why Lobo now? If there's ONE thing Superman needs to take away from The Dark Knight, it's natural plot progression. Lobo is just a bit too much of a deus ex machina for all the fanboys out there. Then again, azrican, that's a really cool idea having a bounty out for Superman, and then in the third movie they could come up with Darkseid actually coming in to kill Superman himself since Lobo obviously failed. Boomshakalaka! haha, but that's my two cents, hopefully someone reads them. and post # 36!!!

I'm with "PimpSlackStick". The franchise doesn't need a "reboot". It needs a redirection.

My comment has recieved 2 replies... I R WINNAR!

Superman is just too overpowered to make any good action out of it. The only thing they could possible do is to make the Doomsday vs Superman and kill him off. Because every single film has been just too predictable, villains get some cryptonite, make him weak, still cant finish him off and get their asses kicked. Or some variations on that. It is not exciting so every film focuses on Supermans personal problems instead, which is just plain boring when it comes to such a boyscout as he really is. He is too perfect and flawless. So kill him off I say.

CGI Christopher Reeves. That's the ultimate solution.

# 78 Omega728 : I remember that even in the 80th with the Jim Aparo's style .... Batman was dramatic and had more realistic issues to deal with than the other characters not just Superman ....and I mention 80th because I grew up with Jim Aparo's comics... the realism in the drawing and the drama that you find in that comics were unseen able ...I didn't saw that feeling and that sadness in any of the other characters ...I mean the entire justice League .... ( I don't mention the name of the writer ..because I believe what I see in the drawing is enough to tell me about the story ...even Batman had a lot of nice writers but the other artists who draw him just killed that realism that Batman have ) I am not fighting over Batman's character ...I am not making him look better than Superman ...but I am answering your point that 20 years ago the comics I saw gave me the view of drama more than a comic that I must enjoy with ... it gave more realism in his character than just a comic and funny pictures ... I don't care how the movies showed Batman .... they all came from the comics and as much I remember Superman was always having problem with his enemies ...but nothing serious with his life ... maybe the death of his father and mother ...but everyone will get that feeling when he grow up and must deal with it ... Superman is kind a funny character ..not in his face but in the power he have ...he is always the show man ...he is the symbol for safety .... he can be out anytime day and night ... But Batman is not ...Batman is a man of night and the darkness ... Batman comes like shadow and these elements will always make people be afraid from him ...even when he save their lives ... Batman still undiscovered ... and hidden ...he is not a show man ...he is not a face or commercials... he got more fight inside him than fighting with evils in Gotham .... these make Batman more dramatic ... I hope you understand my point is not to broke the name of Superman but it is the truth that Superman fans must accepted .... Conclusion : Superman is a Show man and commercial face with his nonhuman super powers ... Batman is not ( Nothing against Superman fans )

This is so RETARDED, all these posts keep saying DOOMSDAY and BRAINIAC, wHAT HAPPPEND TO THE 28 KNOWN GALAXIES THAT THE KRYPTONIANS KNEW ABOUT. Thats why superman keeps failing, cause they never take him off t his damn rock. Its always here fighting for good justice and the american way!!! WHATEVER!!!! Superman needs to go out into space and ended up getting his ass kicked by soemone with some actual power. Not ZOD cause he was killed in superman 2. Thats bringing in the 21st century not having him fight doomsday, or making an alternate earth or some stupid crap like that. leave that for the DC books not the screeN. The guy can fly to other galaxies why not let him. I think that allowing him to do that would be kick ass. Bring in MARTIN Manhunter, have some space hunters inform superman that theres a bounty on manhunters head and then superman and him fight and he almost gets killed but then superman finds out he was lied too. CAUSE YA KNOW HE ALWAYS WANTS TO DO THE RIGHT THING and then he realizes that Martin is a good guy and it was actually martin that was chasing them. Dude you can fill 3 hours in that short story!!!!

What is wrong with having Mark Millar? I have read all of Mark Millar's comic books. He is a good writer. Singer is still relying on the Reeve's Movies. They had nothing in common with DC's Superman. Smallville has nothing to do with DC comics Superboy and Superboy and The Legion of Superheroes. Green Kryptonite doesn't give earthlings superpowers. The DC comic's Superman doesn't live in a fortress made of krytonian Crystals. If the LW on this thread is the same LW on The Dark Knight Thread ; he can tell you that The Superman Movies and Smallville TV Show have very little if nothing in common with DC Comics. Singer failed to bring Superman to the 21st century. He just continued the Reeves Movie version of Superman. We need a "Superman Begins" type of film. A film that will erase Reeves films and Singers film. LW is you are the same LW from The Dark Knight Thread ; I welcome you back.lol.

To #82 Martin Manhunter?.... Martin? .... sounds like a cannibal-nerd. LOL! Maybe next, Superman will take on the whip-wielding 'Domsday' and the bowel-moving 'Braniac'.

Why couldn't they do the same thing for Superman as they did for Iron Man. I want to see a futuristic Superman, that can't be hurt or even come close to death. No sons. Also, he should battle some intergalactic super robots that throw him into building, where he smashes through walls, the building collapses on him, then Superman just stands up from the rubble. A truly amazing Superman could be done, especially with all the modern FX we've got, they just need some incredible writers.

Could Tom Cruise be Superman?

#81: yes I do know about Action Comics turning itself into Christopher Reeve's World including The Fortress of Solitude. Donner influenced the direction of Action including bringing back General Zod, Ursa and Non. There was even a mention of bringing Chloe to Superman and/or Action However ; she hasn't shown up yet. #82 has a good point. Superman's best adventures are the ones that happen in outer space. He must be more of a science fiction character then Batman. If you want Singer to continue The Superman Franchise; why not have a film that falls between Donner's George Reeves #2 and Singer's/ Routh's Superman returns. The movie can explain specifically where Routh's Superman was during his absence. This could be a completely Science Fiction Movie. We get to see him visit various planets like War World and meet Mongul, Rann where we're introduce to Adam Strange, Thanager and Their Hawkmen(Hawkman and Hawk Girl are not Thanagerians and won't be present)OA where he meets The Guardians and their Man Hunters( The Green Lantern Corp hasn't taken their place yet.) , Daxam where he meets Lar Gand, etc. There will be fights and peace. Enemies will be made but so will allies. Whether it's Millar or Singer, whether you prefer a different scenario; the important issue is to take him off Earth and into Outer Space.

Has anyone seen the Superman Doomsday feature length animated movie??? We need that type of story with real people & computer imaging doing the effects.

Bryan Singer had the right scope YES! But Superman Returns was a love story finishing with a happy ending... for "women and children".. To top things off ~ Superman had a kid... for "women and children".. The true supporters are always let down because of the money!!!!! We want serious action and less love!!!! The Dark knight kicked arse because of that... I'm not a genius at film writing but I know what I like in comics books.. Film's are all about money these days!!! Not us!! How long did it take to release a new superman??? To redo the franchise once again means defeat ~ Warner brothers should pull there heads out of there arses and write a new script around the first film and not rely on the public to help as they don't listen to us.... . .

I meant Marvel's Super Surfer not DC's Super Surfer. lol

Continuing: actually they should first do a SMALLVILLE movie with the original cast from the show Smallville. The show has been on so far for 7 seasons and still going strong with a great fanbase. The series show Clark's inner struggles along with his physical. Then a Superman movie as a follow up!

Sa I like your idea. Smallville has a large fan base as evident by their online sites and their Smallville Magazine. Even though I have never liked the George Reeves take with the krytonian crystal Fortress of Solitude and the Smallville take that green krytonite gives humans super powers;#81 reminded me of Action Comics change to the world of George Reeves. Superman Comics even mentioned a future introduction of Chloe into The DC Superman book. I have always liked Tom Welling as Clark/Supeboy and the actors that play Chloe, Lois Lane, Kara/Supergirl and lex Luther. As anyone who read Superboy and Superboy and the legion of Superheroes; it was they who taught Clark Kent/Superboy how to use his powers.My plot for a Superman movie can be tweaked for a Smallville Movie. The introduction of the legion of Superheroes and the transformation of Clark Kent/Superboy into a professional Superhero.Please see my comments #95. In The midst of his training; Mordru and The Daxamites come into the picture. Even though his training is incomplete; he joins The legion in Their biggest battle. After the Battle is won; Clark Kent dons his Superboy Costume and an opportunity opens for more movies where Superboy grows into Superman. He travel to metropolis where his relationship with Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Chloe continue to grow. The Second movie can continue where the first one left off. The planet is invaded by Mongul and War World and Superman and The world prepare for the onslaught. This is where his heroic friends from The Smallville Series return to help Superman and Earth. Green Arrow, The Flash, The Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Cyborg and Black Canary. Together they take on War World with The help of Earth's Defenses led by General Lane(Lois Lane's Father) Superman takes on Mongul and without holding back his punches and with the lessons that he learned from The Legion lashes out with heat vision, Super breath that serves as a freezing weapon, a weapon to deprive an opponent of oxygen and to create winds more powerful then any Super hurricane. It is a violent confrontation that shatters asteroids. However when Mongul temporarily makes it to Earth's cities; Superman punches him hard enough and expertly enough to knock him into a non-populated part of the Earth where The Fight Shatters Mountains and Trees. Eventually; he beats Mongul.His Super heroic friends and the Earth's Combined International Military Force defeats War World. The Earth proclaims Superman and his friends as The Defenders of Earth. After the battle is over and The Super Heroes are about to go their separate ways; Superman admits that after his seeing both what The Legion of Superheroes did to save the future and what his Super Heroic friends did to help him save the Earth; he can't do it alone. He admits that his super friends especially Green Arrow were right all along. One superhero can't do it alone but a group of Super heroes can do it together. Green Arrow reminds him that the seven of them along with The International Earth Military Forces just barely defeated Mongul and War world. He believes that there are probably more people like them.He mentions The Legendary Figure in Gotham called Batman. Aquaman mentions The Legendary Amazons in an Island that he thinks is off the coast of Greece behind a Mist. The Martian Manhunter also tells them of The Planet OA home to an intergalactic police force. Superman decides to investigate these legends and divides his team into three search parties. The Martian Manhunter will search for OA. Superman will stay on Earth to protect it alone until the others report their findings. The 2nd group made up of Green Arrow and Black Canary will travel to Gotham to find out if this Batman really exists. The 3rd Party made up of Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg will see if the island Aquaman believes is the legendary Island of Amazons exits.The Second Superman movie ends with a War and ends with a search for what will become The Justice League. The Smallville inspired Superman movie ends and The Next DC Movies will be followed: the third and final Nolan/Batman Movie followed By The Wonder Woman Movie, The Green Lantern Movie and The Justice league of America movie sometime in 2014. We won't have to worry about Smallville The TV Series since I read that the 2008 season beginning this fall is their last season. The Smallville Movies can follow in 2009 and 2010. The other movies can be done between 2011 and 2014.lol

http://www.man-of-steel-movie.webs.com In an effort to bring a Superman film to the bigscreen that is faithful to the character.

make him dark. SR was bad because it was made 4 the geeks. TDK was good because it was made 4 everyone.

I remember some time ago when John Byrne rewrote Superman in the comics and downgraded his powers. This was the single greatest thing they ever did, I can't recall all the stories but they were grittier more real stories where Superman had to break a sweat. See: The Man of Steel #1, July 1986. This version of superman became the basis of the Lois & Clark TV show where Clark wasn't so much of a geek as the Richard Donner movies. The Key in all of this is that Superman became a much more real character with downgraded powers and we even get to see him bleed. I don't have the actual comic but there was an issue where superman fights metallo the android with the kryptonite power source and supes get beaten to a pulp and not only that his costume is shredded and torn in various places. I think everyone looking for a darker storyline is missing the point, TDK was great not just because it was dark but because it made it real. Think of the James Bond films prior to Daniel Craig's movie and notice how you hardly never saw Bond bleed, it was actually a shock to see Bond bleeding in Casino Royale with blod all over his tux, but what that did for the audience is make them feel that this could happen. Singers Superman was basically a self indulgent take on Donners movies and the same mistakes that those movies eventually did. When I saw the Matrix Reloaded, i remarked to a friend that there was no way that Superman could be as cool as Neo, when in fact Neo was basically a homage to Superman and when I saw S-Returns I felt I was right. The trick of the Batman films and even Spiderman was the fact that their abilitie are limited to a certain extent and thats the same reason why Bond is much more interesting now because he has to depend on his will and determination to get himself out of tough situations and not gadgets. If they reboot Superman they should limit his powers and not make him all powerful conquering messiah that we saw in S-Returns as that simply won't work. Jeff

i would love to see it go into a darker path I would love for the writers of both Batman Begins And The Dark Knight To write this i would love for a new cast new director Superman should be played by Jim Strauss or Tom Welling Louis Lane a dark hair Scarlett Johanson Lex Luther Cant Replace Kevin Spacey Director Either Peter Berg I really Want Christopher Nolan To direct but he was about to turn down The Dark Knight So im guessing that he is picky another Zack Sniter if not maybe just maybe Micheal Bay cause i really liked the Island I want badass action and non of that chick flick superhero movie crap like in superman returns BUT MOST OF ALL GREAT ACTING AND AMAZING STORY LINES AND SCREEN PLAY AND GREAT DELIEVERY

I've always believed that Villains make the superhero's a success. All the Superman Villains suck, so. Superman should just stay dead. Perhaps the creation of a NEW superhero? Not a new Superman but how about they stop living in the past. People are willing to accept new superheroes. The T.V. show Heroes was popular for that exact same reason. (Even though most of those were stolen ideas.

#25 was right. In Superman 2, Clark kissed Lois on the lips and she forgot about his secret. #42 must be high. i watched Superman 2 on earth. Those who disagree with me & #25 must have watched Superman 2 in the 'Phantom Zone'. Rubinov, please give mark Millar's concept a chance. Dish Luthor and flesh out Braniac & Mettallo.

Oh yeah! I asked my daughter about another Superman movie. She loves SMALLVILLE. I suggested SUPERMAN REBORN for the title. She made a face and suggested THE MAN OF STEEL!!! GOD she is awesome! And she's only 12 to boot! LOL! THE MAN OF STEEL. A Michael Bay Film. There you go!

The following are quotes from the August 22, 2008 article in The Wall Street Journal: Quote#1, " Warner Bros. also put on hold plans for another movie starting multiple superheroes -- known as "Batman vs. Superman " --after the $215 million "Superman Returns," which had disappointing box-office returns, didn't please executives. "Superman didn't quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to," says Mr. Robinov. "It didn't position the character the way he needed to be positioned." "Had "Superman ' worked in 2006,we would have had a movie for Christmas of this year or 2009," he adds. "But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all."Quote#2, With "Batman vs. Superman" and "Justice League" stalled, Warner Bros. has quietly adopted Marvel's model of releasing a single film for each character, and then using those movies and their sequels to build up to a multicharacter film." Along those lines. we have been developing every DC character that we own," Mr Robinov says. Quote#3, Like the recent Batman sequel--which has become the highest-grossing film of the year thus far--Mr. Robinov wants his next pack of superhero movies to be bathed in the same brooding tone as "The Dark Knight." Creatively, he sees exploring the evil side to characters as the key to unlocking some of Warner Bros.DC properties."We're going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it,"he says. That goes for the company's Superman franchise as well. Quote#4, The studio is set to announce its plans for future DC movies in the next month. For now, though, it is focused on releasing four comic-book films in the nest three years, including a third Batman film, a new film reintroducing Superman, and two movies focusing on other DC Comics characters. Movies featuring Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman are all in Active development. Many of the studio's directors credit Mr.Robinov for taking Warner Bros,' films in a darker and deeper direction. Christopher Nolan, who directed "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight," says Mr. Robinov " really encouraged the logic of the villain" from "Batman Begins." That led to focusing heavily on the Joker in the sequel. "At the script stage, Jeff really wanted us to be very clear on the Joker's lack of purpose,"he says. Mr Jeff Robinov is The President of Warner Bros. Pictures Group. Final Quote, Mining the comic-book franchise is central to the success of Warner Bros.'strategy. Its lineup of"Tent poles"--Hollywood speak for big movies that are the foundation of a studio's slate--has thinned. Warner Bros, has been slow to capitalize on DC, and it now faces a rival in Marvel Entertainment Inc.'s Marvel Studios, the company behind box-office gusher"Iron Man." The Article in The Wall Street Journal is titled, Warner Bets on Fewer, Bigger Movies. I hope this adds some reality to our comments.lol

As much as i enjoyed the superman returns movie i think i got caught up with the idea that it was superman back on the screen. Lets start with the plot which was to basically say he is back and he can lift stuff as he is strong BUT where was the emphasis on this character, we didnt see much of his flaws or his emotions but even when we saw his weakness to kryponite he still managed to lift an island full of the stuff (what the) and the villain was not right or big enough. Acting on Brandon's behalf, for a guy picked on his similarities to Christopher Reeve i think was wrong, i feel sorry for him as it was not his fault at all plus he did ok and he worked hard to get into shape for the role. Maybe a reboot is best, i wanna see metallo which we will see superman (metallo posing as him) turn evil and kill and push those close away plus lose trust from the world, we could have darkseid where he joins him but then decides to pull the plug and fight darkseid and struggle to regain the love of the people which then we bring DOOMSDAY which is easily the greatest, if you saw the recent animation film then you would see why. HE dies trying to save the people he loves which people then realise what they lost through superman. As for Lex luthor, he should be this background character, not the main focus of villain. Maybe we could have a follow up but its got to be much more intense, serious, more focus and fragile parts of this superman, however im concerned with the superman has a son emphasis, that was a bad move and way to soon. My conclusion is... semi reboot, lets see darkseid and brainiac in the next installment which will make us see more sides of superman with his evil and fragile situation and then lets have Doomsday with him maybe killing those close to superman and him die killing doomsday but maybe finish with metallo created by lex, to which the superman is back as he does not die but apparently it takes him a long time to recover. But i wanna see DOOMSDAY

got ya but the second was a bit silly like the bit where he throws his superman crest at one of zods men and it was like a towel being wrapped around him in the fortress, cheers for that by but the 3rd and especially the 4th was a disgrace i agree. Would you say bring on the doomsday or wait??

i think they should look at the cartoon movie doomsday and use some stuff from that if they do that would be a hit

Hey Ivan keep your powder dry,your pecker wet and your men safe and I will talk to you later. Watch your back,bro! People here are talking Superman movies but I don't see it happening too soon! Besides,THE DARK KNIGHT is WB's Golden Nugget right now! They're more concerned there.

A darker superman is a good idea. Alot of people are saying superman should be light, and i agree with that. But the last supermans were light, and an out of control, superman would be the stuff. Look what happened when darkseid killed one of his friends in the animation? He beat the crap out of that tank and went after him. I think the villains that could seriously harm him are Brainiac, darkseid, and my favorite, Metallo. :} i would love to see Metallo, hes a bada**.

oh by the way Tony, Watchmen IS going to kick a**! Amen! YEAAAAA!

why not do "superman: red son" movie?

AZComicGeek How can you say that? The ORIGINAL Superman is a CLASSIC you retard! If it weren't for the original would we have THE DARK KNIGHT or any of its predecessors??? For that matter,Superman II was decent. III and IV sucked. SUPERMAN RETURNS was decent! And you consider yourself a comic book buff??? Pull your head out of your ass dude! PS SMALLVILLE sux!

I disagree, I loved the original two Superman movies but even if they weren't made it doesn't mean there would be NO comic book movies to have ever come out, they would have been made eventually.

I think they should just use Tom Welling to cast as Superman (for all of you who don't have a clue as to who Tom Welling is... watch Smallville). In my honest opinion, he plays the perfect part as Superman in the telelvision series so why not bring him in to play as Superman in the movies?

please start all over from the beginning dont let bryan singer near the set or story he should change his name to doomsday cause he killed superman. did he also do xmen cause each one of those films sucked i spent 40 dollars to buy xmen part 3 collecters dvd i watched it once and gave it to my neighbors kid and around the same time i bought superman the dvd used for 15 dollars and after watching those movies i promised myself to never buy dvds again unless i see the movie first only then ill buy it i saw the dark knight already and i cant wait to buy the dvd so i can watch batman begins and the dark knight over and over again batman 1 and 2 were the greatest super hero movies i have ever seen in my life christopher nolan is the man and so is micheal bay my take on superman is that he should grow in front of our eyes as the most powerful thing in known existence and by this time we should know existence not that fag from superman returns making funny faces all the time but as long as u dont let singer near the new one i guarantee is counldnt be much worst

I really hate the reboot term they are now using when doing movies. Anyhow I agree they really need to bring out the big guns on superman. More serious villains, more dc universe connections, serious tone and more action.

First off, I think Superman Returns was a huge disappointment, for several reasons. First, the actors (with the exception of Spacey as Luthor) were wrong. Brandon Routh may be a decent actor, and I know that Singer was trying to capture lightning in a bottle twice by bringing in an unknown (like Reeve was for the first Superman) to play the part. However, Routh does not have the depth to play this character. The reason everyone is still harping on Christopher Reeve 30 years later is because he INHABITED that part--he WAS Superman. Equally, Heath Ledger's Joker was the same--he WAS the Joker, not some actor playing a part, and that's why everyone remembers it. Kate Bosworth as Lois was the biggest goof Singer made--Lois is supposed to be a pit bull in a reporter's outfit, Superman's (and Clark's) equal in every way, his balancing force. Kate Bosworth was about as intimidating as my next-door neighbor's cat, and made a very forgetful performance. She could have been a piece of furniture for all the emotion she put into the role. Second, the score. Raise your hands if you don't hear John Williams' score from Superman every time you see the character. Anyone? I understand if you don't want to use the same score, or the same conductor, to go your own direction. But you need a score equal to the character it's supporting. Superman is grand, a god in red, yellow and blue. Using trumpets and horns, cymbals and drums, John Williams conveyed that grandeur in a way that made everyone who saw Superman know he was coming, announcing his entrance like a king at court. The new score is bland, boring. A few times, you almost think, OK, here comes the horns and the drums, they're going to do it!, but no...it drops off every time. Basically, you had a forgetful movie full of forgetful actors with a forgetful score, and that's why Superman Returns didn't work. Bryan Singer did a great job with the X-Men franchise, and frankly, I think he should have stuck with that. I say start over, replace the cast and director, and come back with a powerful story that hits physically as well as emotionally. Basically, The Dark Knight in red and blue. The Kryptonite thing has been played to death, in all 5 installments of this franchise--it's time to try a different tactic. I think the Doomsday storyline would be a great one to play, though it may be difficult to encompass the whole story and do it right in a film under 2 1/2 hours. However, if you leave out the whole "Reign Of The Supermen" storyline, and just focus on Superman vs. Doomsday, use the idea touched on in the comics about Doomsday being an ultimate weapon created on Krypton long ago and buried on Earth, give Superman a real challenge, and do the character justice, you'll find that the last movie's naysayers will come around. You can look at the recent history of comic-book movies, and see that when a property is taken seriously, the people will come. The Dark Knight is the ultimate example--who would have thought a year ago that a comic book movie would take in $500 million in the U.S. and close to $900 million worldwide? I think those who say relegate Lois to the background are wrong--they need to beef her up, both the character and the actress playing her. Superman's love for Lois is legendary, one of the truest love stories from the comic book world, and she is the reason he continues to fight on, even when things seem hopeless. That could become an integral part of the plot, especially if he fights Doomsday. Also, look at the special effects, especially when it comes to Superman's powers. I understand you don't want the thin laser beams he had in the original movies for his heat vision, but I also think the way they did it in this latest movie was wrong. You need something more solid-looking, conveying the power behind it. Think Cyclops in X-Men. Also, the flying sequences--you need to work on those. Other than the saving-the-plane sequence towards the beginning, for the most part, Superman's flying sequences were fake-looking, especially him flying through the clouds at the end. I've seen smoother edits of flying on Heroes than they had in Superman Returns, and they didn't have a $250 million budget. Brandon Routh looked like he was flying on wires, which I know he WAS, but I shouldn't be looking at the finished product and have it LOOK like he was. Lastly, have fun with this. Look at the Dark Knight--great story, great actors who all inhabited their roles perfectly, dark imagery. The one thing everyone brings up is that they took Batman to the edge of compromising his morals by having the Joker see how far he could push him. Now, Batman's already dark and morally borderline--he has always flirted with the dark side of life and been colored by it. Yet see how great it turned out, and how well it did with audiences? Superman should be even more fun to take to that edge, exactly BECAUSE he's so much further from it. He's always right, does the right thing, is the world's biggest Boy Scout, etc. Now pit him against Doomsday or something akin to the villains from Superman 2, a character (or characters) who will force him to confront his morals and face his worst fears--does defeating this enemy mean I have to kill? Could I lose all that I hold dear in the process? Can I delve into my darker side, and expect to not be changed by it? These were the types of questions Dark Knight encompassed, and why it worked so perfectly. Superman is the ultimate good guy, who is always above the corruption and filth, never truly compromised by it, who never kills under any circumstances. That dichotomy is what made the first two Superman movies work, and the last two Batmans, and not just movies. The Kingdom Come limited series in comics played that light-and-dark relationship to the hilt, and became one of the most popular and well-loved storylines in comic history. If you want to bring the viewers back, and put out the best movie possible, you have to be willing to take things further than you have before. It can be done, but I don't think Bryan Singer is the one to do it. I would say bring in Christopher Nolan, but I know doing two series of movies that huge is impossible for any one person to take on. However, you need someone with his type of vision and willingness to take risks and push the envelope. The studios showed that respect for Batman and Iron Man, and it paid off for them in spades. How can a character like Superman--one of the most beloved and popular comic book characters of all time--be worth any less?

Wow! All the feedback on Superman! I agree. Bryan Singer should stick to The X Men franchise although Halle Berry went on record saying "There will be no more X-Men movies!" And Wolverine with Hugh Jackman is in post production so maybe she was right after all! No big loss really. I'm not too crazy about The X-Men. Hell,I thought their video game you kinow the one where they team up to fight Galactus THAT should have been in the fucking movie! Oh well what can you do? For the record Daredevil was decent. Ghost Rider sucked. Iron Man looked interesting. Heard The Hulk sucked bad. LOL! Oh Marvel you guys got to get it right! Back to The S Man,bring in Michael Bay to direct the damn movie. Guy's on a kaiser roll after TRANSFORMERS rocked movie theatres! Second,bring back JOHN WILLIAMS the man behind JAWS,STAR WARS,INDIANA JONES,HARRY POTTER and of course SUPERMAN! After all,didn't GEORGE LUCAS use Williams' music for all six of his Star Wars movies? Williams is the man! Danny Elfman comes in a close second! Third,let's cut poor Brandon Routh a break already! Poor guy had to be blessed with the late Christopher Reeves' good looks! That's why they picked him! Routh looks like a younger Chritopher Reeves! And he is NOT a bad actor so you assholes lay off him already! Put up or shut up I always say! Fourth,I agree on Kate Bosworth. She's cute,perhaps too cute and she is fuckable(is that really a word? LOL)just too bad she had to be so fucking bland but doesn't that leave the writers to blame? They could have made her tough as nails like the now insane(too bad)Margot Kidder! Fifth,no more Lex Luthor! He's been played out. Bring in his son like in the comic books not his goofy ass nephew(Jon Cryer)from the forgotten Superman IV! Have Tom Cruise play Lex Luthor Jr. Why Mister My Ass Is Crazy Cruise? Go look at a ish with Junior and see why! Sixth,okay we get it! No more gay ass Kryptonite! Been done to death! Right? So bring on Parasite to suck up Supes' strength! He drains S Man in a Royal Battle with lamp posts,stop signs,mailboxes,etc. They fuck up the city and Supe goes into hiding after getting his ass beat like a big brass drum! Junior takes over Metropolis as its Governor and announces his bid for The US Senate and his aspirations to be President(so he can push that fabled Red Button on us)! Have The Super One fight someone like Black Adam! Now that would be tight! Make it like that WWF brawl from Superman II! That shit was righteous and that's the way you do it! DO NOT bring in Bizarro! That dude's a fucking retard! And no Supergirl or Astro The Super Dog! That shit is just as gay as SMALLVILLE! LOL! Well that's my take on The Super Dude! Hey Ivan good to hear from you again! Here I am to give em hell like you said! LOL! I chased away naysayers like LW,DJO,Kelly and many others! I will not be vanquished. LOL! GOD speed to you and your men! Blow up Iraq already so you can home to your friends and family. Keep safe bro! Peace. Out!

ok i recently wrote swaying towards reboot but im saying continue with returns, we had his return and it was just a return, tying up a story so people know whats going on but now the next is where they get it right, even bryan singer said he wants it so people know he is back which will also bring villains wanting to test their might against this guy.....COME ON warner brothers!!!

it just did not make sense to have lex luthor lay the smack-down on superman in the first movie. what a wimp. lois lane was her usual stupid bitch self. she's shacking up with her boss, typical female!!!! Superman should date a real hottie now. how about dwayne "the rock" johnson and any hollywood bimbo for lois. by the way, the dark knight was the most kick ass movie ever!!!!!

How about Robin Williams as The Toyman? That role is tailor-made for him!

Singer set the tone. let's let him raise the bar like he did with x2.

I grew up watching the christopher reeves versions of superman, and I still watch them to this day. We all as children would of dressed up and played as superman at some point in our lives.....im sure others still do! The superman franchise will always draw in people at the cinema, its a fact. Superman returns was lame and didnt thrill as well as the reeves versions for one superman would not take control of a spinning plane by holding on to a wing, yeah the plane was spinning but the reeves superman would fly underneath and guide it slowly back to earth. The scene was the best part of the movie and for me totally wrong. when roth reveals the emblem for the first time was a total sham, I had waited years to see transformation from clark to supes on the big screen...wasted. As for the next installment of the film. I would like to see a film dedicated to bizarro- same powers as supes without the morals- we can have some great fight scenes between the 2 - good vs evil. We can have lex luther invent a machine that zaps supes which brings out his darker alternative or a form a kryptonite. Supermans greatest enemy is himself, its exciting and leaves a nother movie for doomsday.

Thank you #67. Spider-Man did just fine. Dark Knight only surpassed the last Spider-Man movie by a few million. Let each hero stay true it's source. Batman's nickname is The Dark Knight. You can't take his moral theme away and bring it to other characters WHO ARE NOT BATMAN. TDK is based on Batman comics/graphic novels. Spider-Man is based on the Spider-Man comics/the animated series, so on and so fourth.

after watching 300 for the 1000th time, I Think that DC and warner should snap up Zack Snyder for the job. lets be real people singer destroyed superman! If ou look at every other comic book movie thats been released in recent year they have hve all wiped the floor with Superman Returns. Look at 300 every single spartan looks like superman's superior which in all fearness shouldn't be the case, for god sake even batman looks stronger! Forget all that genetically strong stuff in the comics and cartoon superman's muscle mass looks intimidating brandons time should be up as well they need to remember that chris reeves played the charcter superman and that superman is not based on chris reeves. as for story there should be three superman movies. The Death of Superman, World Without a Superman and final The Return of Superman.

300 was terrible, all style with no substance, Superman needs a more competent director.

Spiderpussy? How childish. Either way, the gap wasn't significant whether you like it or not. In total, it's about 900 million worldwide. I've read the articles. And I do hope this bandwagon mentality fades out quickly because it's annoying.

Wow, just wow. OK there dear, keep doing what you doing. Whatever makes you happy.

Dude 300 was a box office hit! What you got against Snyder anyway?? You better get used to that name because most likely THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS is his! Frank Miller gave him the greenlight!

I have nothing personal against Snyder, I just don't think he's a very good director. - The Dark Knight Returns is really coming to the big screen? I need to add that to my "must watch" list.

That'll be incredibly interesting, I'm wondering if the film adaption will take place in the same universe as Nolan's films???

If they do decide to keep it in the same universe then I suspect they'll have to cut out some aspects of the graphic novel such as Robin and maybe even Superman but it can still work to make a great film.

While I would love to see a live action movie version of Dark Knight Returns directed by Zack Snyder,one has to wonder how well it would translate to the screen. One can't help but wonder if it would serve better in an Anime format. Right?

I think it could perfectly suit a live action film, the story is not really unbelievable, in fact it is one of the most realistic Batman stories around.

Frank Miller played a hand in helping to adapt his other comics into film so I can't see why he wouldn't here.

Lol, I was starting to think that too, oh well.

I don't think that people have totally given up on Superman, I just think he needs to actually throw a punch and be more flawed to relate to audiences.

I think Superman has been overshadowed by The Dark Knight.

In order for a good turn for Superman, they have to completely reboot and start from the beginnig. Superman has to be more rugged and fierce; they need to stay away from the traditional slender geeking looking character...In the comics he's a lot more bigger and when he fights it needs to be more epic instead of the instant solution....Hope the Wachowski brothers can take over and do it properly!

Wow, good question. DC should make him stronger and faster because I'm getting a bit tired of seeing kicked around so easliy by other villians so much and for the film, they need to realize that the fact is they seriously need to not only make this movie better than Superman returns, but far, far better. At this point, it's really not good enough to have a "good" Superman movie. What we need is a "spectacularly amazing" Superman movie that is much better in every way - much better storyline, script, plot, and able to have a good connection and can relate to the crowd and chemistry with both characters and audience and perhaps some wittiness and humor in the story not just cool special effects made to look and feel as accurate and real as possible from flying/superpowers special effects and seeing Supes punching and kicking ass and seeing many things being smashed in epic fights like in the episode "clash of the titans" where Superman fought Captain Marvel and where he unleashes his true power against Darkseid in the final episode in the animated Justice League Unlimited series and in Superman Doomsday - that kind of epicness, just to make my point. only done in live-action. Yeah, I know I'm a bit of a comic geek LOL. But as a Superman fan, it would mean a lot. And they have to keep true to the fact that the closer he get to the yellow sun, the more power he gains and the more amplified his powers are - fact, if he is to fly closer and closer towards or even into the yellow sun, can absorb enormous amounts of the sun's energy not only making him more powerful but able to reach very god-like levels and becoming faster than light.