Even though Zack Snyder was the filmmaker that was able to bring Superman back to the big screen in “Man of Steel,” he was far from the only guy that had an idea for what to do with the Big Blue Boyscout. J.J. Abrams, Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, and Robert Rodriguez were all filmmakers that were approached at one point or another to help reboot Superman. Another director that almost landed the gig before Snyder was Matthew Vaughn, and in a new interview, he explains what his grand idea would have been.
Back in 2008, it is pretty widely known that Matthew Vaughn was working with his “Kick-Ass” collaborator Mark Millar on a pitch for a proposed Superman reboot at Warner Bros. And judging by what he’s revealing now, his version of the reboot film would have been very, very different than what Snyder eventually did with the character.
Here’s how the plot of the film would have gone (via Polygon):
“Vaughn revealed that the first film in the proposed trilogy was meant to take place almost entirely on Krypton, and focus on Jor-El and the impending explosion of Krypton. Though the alien planet would still face destruction, Vaughn and Millar’s take would have the event take place much later in the timeline, allowing Superman to grow up on his home planet and gradually become familiar with Earth, maturing into an adult before having to reckon with his loyalty to both planets.”
Of course, “Man of Steel” did have a fairly large portion of the first act focus on Krypton, Jor-El, and the planet’s demise. However, that film stuck with the tried and true origin that baby Kal-El (Superman) was sent to Earth as an infant and raised by the Kents, as their own. Fundamentally changing his origin, giving Kal-El more time on Krypton might have been a bridge too far for many fans. Sure, it would provide a new wrinkle on the origin story, making him even more of an alien on Earth than before. But a lot of what makes Kal-El, aka Clark Kent, such a relatable, amazing character is the fact that he is a farm boy from Kansas, through and through.
Alas, judging by what WB ended up doing with the character in “Man of Steel,” ‘Batman v. Superman,’ and “Justice League,” maybe giving Vaughn and Millar the keys to the Superman kingdom in 2008 wouldn’t have been such a bad idea. (Only slightly kidding.)