Just four days ago Anne Thompson was hinting that Bryan Singer might not be the man for the “Superman” franchise job after all and now comes word that he’s probably not.
Breaking news over at the Wall Street Journal (via Cinematical) who evidently talked to Warner Bros Group President Jeff Robinov who says the ‘Supes’ franchise will be getting a reboot in the vein of Louis Leterrier’s “The Incredible Hulk” (and oh yeah, ‘The Batman vs. Superman’ project is dead too)
“Superman [Returns] didn’t quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to. 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. But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all.”
It’s no news that Warner/D.C. is behind Marvel and they want to get in the game. The new plan apparently is four comic book movies in the next three years: A Batman film (no word about Nolan’s return), a Superman film and two other unnamed D.C. characters/properties.
That’s all fine and dandy, but dont’ get too eager to get in the game or you’ll rush in and fuck up these films like “Catwoman.” Anyone who rushes ahead into a Batman film without Nolan at this point is either desperate or an idiot. The longtail wins, just remember that.
More pause for concern? WB is apparently head over heels with “The Dark Knight” and they want to keep exploring the dark side, something they might do with Superman which sounds off. “We’re going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it,” Rubinov said, but made a million Superman fans a little anxious.
D.C. is expected to announce new films “next month.” They’ve been saying “next month” for about three months now, or at least every reporter in the know has. So finally. What does this mean for Brandon Routh and Bryan Singer, not to mention the entire cast of “Superman Returns”? Is Routh on the phone with his agent right now going, “Shit Ari, can you at least get me an audition for Justice League?” It sounds like Singer and Routh are going to be left out in the cold.
The Incredible Reboot?
Reboot enthusiasts should note, “The Incredible Hulk” with Ed Norton wasn’t entirely successful or at least was as successful as its predecessor, “the bomb.” Get this the grand total for Ang Lee’s “The Hulk” worldwide? $245,360,480. Norton’s version is still probably in theaters, but it’s total gross right now is $243,524,684 and it’s probably not going to grow vastly.