Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Thoughts On Superman: Man of Steel

It was recently announced that Zack Snyder would be helming the Superman franchise reboot for DC and Warner Bros. with Christopher Nolan producing... It seems like the movie franchise is finally in good hands for the first time since Richard Donner's original go of it in 1978!

Even more good news... After early reports and speculation from the movie going community, Snyder revealed today that General Zod as the new film's villain is "just a rumor." Good for you, Zack. That's a great step one!

You want my advice? No? Well here it is anyway...

Reboot means reboot. Superman: Man of Steel does NOT need General Zod. It does not need Lex Luthor as the main villain. It does not need to be a full origin story. In fact, it doesn't really need ANYTHING from the first 5 movies in the series.

With that in mind, here is how "I" would write the movie if he put me in charge of the script...

Superman would be very young...in his early to mid 20's. He would be leaving the Kent farm after a forgettable, sheltered youth with the intention of being Superman full time. While he is out patrolling for crime, there is an explosion at a LuthorCorp nuclear facility. A night janitor, caught in the explosion, is turned into the power sucking creature known as...The Parasite!


Superman battles with the Parasite and works with Star Labs to find a way to stop him while the two battle back and forth throughout the film. When Star Labs is stumped, Superman meets with Lex Luthor about the accident and the two develop a tense rivalry while working together to resolve the Parasite conundrum.

In the end, Superman and Lex Luthor defeat the Parasite. Despite Lex's help, Superman is left with a number of questions about Luthor and his company's dealings. He decides that in order to keep a closer eye on Luthor, he will resume his Clark Kent identity and become an investigative reporter for the Daily Planet.

The movie closes with Clark getting set up at his newsroom desk and being assigned to one of the Planet's best reporters to be shown the ropes. The last scene of the movie would be Lois Lane walking up and introducing herself to an instantly love struck Clark Kent. Roll Credits.

No rehashed villains. No origin story. No Kryptonite. Just a good old fashioned reboot... And the perfect setup for a romantic relationship based sequel featuring the development of the rivalry with Luthor and yet another new villain... Metallo, perhaps?

Zack Snyder, if you're reading this, I'll write the script for you...cheap! I'm not greedy. I'd just be excited to see a DC hero (other than Batman) finally get a just treatment in a Hollywood film. And who knows? If it works out, maybe I can tell you my idea for a Wonder Woman film sometime...

Good luck with Superman: Man of Steel, Zack! Up, up and AWAY!