So, you’ve likely seen “Man Of Steel” by now and like the rest of the planet, you probably have a very loud opinion on it (and if not, spoilers below). But the bottom line is that the movie is a smashing success at the box office (whether or not it joins the billion dollar club remains to be seen), and Superman has unequivocally been rebooted with a sequel fast-tracked and on the way. We’ll get to the followup in a moment, but first, it turns out there were even more superhero/DC comic world teases in “Man Of Steel” than first thought.
It’s long been known that both Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne have been teased, mostly via the appearances of their respective companies — LexCorp and Wayne Enterprises — while last week we learned how a sly reference to Justice League founder Cyborg had been worked in. And believe it or not, there’s even more. Slashfilm has rounded up a few more you might have missed, so let’s check ’em out:
Booster Gold: Easily the most meta of the references that only diehard super-nerd DC types will get, the character is a time-traveler from the 25th century who headlines his own adventures as part of an in-universe series published by Blaze Comics. Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it peek at the Blaze Comics logo.
Supergirl: Okay, this one is less set in stone, but everyone being asked about is evading the question (producer Deborah Snyder said, ”No. [Laughs] I’m not going to say anything but, it’s a thing.”) But basically, when Superman explores the Kryptonian exploration vessel, one of the pods is empty. So where does Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl fit in? Well, in the film’s prequel comic, it show’s the vessel coming to Earth, and highlights a battle between Dev-Em and Kara Zor-El (the former, being particularly murderous, offing several members of the crew). Dev-Em and Kara are the only survivors once the ship crash lands, but who was in the empty pod and who was the mummy that Clark Kent sees? Villain setup for part two or has Supergirl also been living under the radar?
Carol Ferris/Star Sapphire: So, you know that clip/scene at the end of the movie with the military soldier quipping that Supes is kinda hot? Well, read her name tag and you’ll see it’s Carrie Ferris, which one can only surmise is Carol Ferris. Last seen on the big screen portrayed by Blake Lively in the terrible “Green Lantern” movie, she’s also known as Star Sapphire and has basically the same powers as her green suited boyfriend. More world building? Probably.
Anyway, we’ll see how this builds towards the sequel and the inevitable “Justice League” movie, and Superman fans certainly got a jolt this morning when the Wall Street Journal reported that “Man Of Steel 2” is “expected to fast track…for release as soon as 2014.” Well, yeah, that’s probably not gonna happen which is why the language there is “as soon as.”
In an ideal world? Sure, “Man Of Steel 2” is coming next year, but in a realistic world, probably not. Firstly, there’s no script yet and more importantly no shooting schedule for the thing. Let’s say that somehow, Warner Bros. gets a script they like, everyone’s schedule is clear and this actually starts filming in the fall. Then let’s put the release date for fall 2014 — again, we still don’t see it happening. One, because after how long production took on the first “Man Of Steel” (with a big chunk of post-production dedicated to special effects), we don’t see the normally cautious Warner Bros. cranking out the follow-up. And secondly, with Christopher Nolan‘s “Interstellar” also due from the studio in fall 2014, they aren’t gonna crowd these two blockbusters together on the calendar.
Again, anything could happen and who knows, maybe they’ll pull an “X-Men: First Class” and deliver this for next summer, with production taking less than a year. Still, we doubt it and “Man Of Steel Rises” (or whatever) makes more sense for 2015 (particularly so it can swing dicks with Marvel‘s “The Avengers 2“).
