Director Bryan Singer is finally spilling some details, to Empire magazine, regarding the long-whispered-about Superman Returns sequel (Superman Returns Returns?). While Singer grumbles at talk that his 2006 reboot was a failure — if a movie that grosses nearly $400 million is a flop, he suggests, then we’ve set the bar awfully high) — he does acknowledge that many viewers were disappointed that there was so much nostalgia and romance and so little action. He’s not apologizing for that either (it was necessary, he suggests, in order to reestablish the characters after their long absence from the screen), but he does promise that the next installment will have less mush, more rush. "From frame one, it will be unrelenting terror!" he promises. He says he will be directing it, he implies that Brandon Routh will return as the Man of Steel (sorry, all you Superfans who wanted to toss him overboard), and he notes that the script is in development. (No confirmation of the rumor that Transformers‘ Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman will be writing it.)
So it sounds like the story is not carved in stone yet. Now’s your chance, PopWatchers, to tell Singer what you’d like to see in Part Deux, who the villain(s) should be, and what other plot contrivances Superman should leap in a single bound.
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Brandon Routh was a beautiful Superman. He’d BETTER be in the next one!!
I would like to see a really big supervillian. Someone like brainiac, Metallo or Darkside. Darkside or Doomsday would really bring out the action in the movie.
i liked Brandon Routh- it was kate bosworth who was god awful as lois lane. so kick her out a la katie holmes batman begins, replace her with someone with some actual chutzpah and call the movie “the man of steel”… and yes, more action please
No Kate Bosworth. That would be my one request about the movie.
Also, can you not show the absolute coolest scenes in the movie in the commercials? The eye-stopping-the-bullet thing was cool, but made no impact on me in the actual movie because I’d seen it a dozen times already.
DUMP KATE BOSWORTH, she was the worst thing in the movie. Parker posey was the best thing in the movie (and would have been a GREAT Lois Lane!!!)
Get away from trying to emulate the 1970s and ’80s Christopher Reeve movies. Those are done. Do something original with the character. I’d rather see a reboot and recast — Routh was fine trying to imitate Reeve, but he’s a little skinny for Superman to my tastes. (And I didn’t like Bosworth at all or the whole Lois-is-a-married-mommy-with-superkid subplot.) Personally I liked John Byrne’s take on Superman, which influenced the ’90s TV series. Or what about the Godlike, Force-of-Nature version of Superman we see in Kingdom Come and Frank Miller’s Dark Knight comics? And PLEASE lose Lex Luthor. It’s just embarrassing. He comes off so small-time and his real-estate scheme in the last film made no sense whatsoever. If you have to do Lex, why not make him President? Or scrap the villain and have Superman battle with internal struggles with his status apart from humanity?
Bryan, here’s some honest advice…take a moment to remind yourself that you were the director of one of the best films of the ’90s, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, and don’t allow yourself to fall any further into the soul-selling trap of Hollywood franchise garbage! Unless your sole purpose and a film maker and a storyteller is the almighty dollar ($$$), then get out of that trap now while you still have some director’s dignity left and put something new and original on the screen!
Get rid of the non-acting skeletor, Kate Bosworth.
Let’s “ditto” all the cries to lose Kate Bosworth. Honestly, other than Kate, the only problems I had with the first one lay in trying to recreate the Reeve franchise instead of starting anew. No one can compare to Chris. And poor Gene Hackman was given the wrong direction for Lex Luthor. Just redo and it’ll all be much, much better.
Dump Lex Luthor. The movies always portray him in some stupid real estate scheme while comics alternated between mad scientist and corporate evil-doer. How about bringing Brainiac (and only) onto the big screen? Focus on one villian and don’t try to squeeze in a whole bunch for the sake of merchandising. For a good (and incredibly chilling) take on Brainiac, try reading Alex Ross’s “Justice.”
lose kate bosworth…horrible lois lane!!!
I thought the whole Superman’s baby subplot brought down the whole movie. Overall, I enjoyed it, but to saddle a reboot with that in the first (of several, I hope) movies, really ties things down and opens the door to precocious kids in the sequels. Parker Posey WOULD have been a great Lois! Good call on that.
I agree with getting rid of Kate Bosworth (even though I like her) and the whole Superman-has-a-kid plot. Bring in a kick-a** supervillian, keep Parker Posey (I love her) and have more action.
If all of these things happen, perhaps I’ll actually go see the movie in theaters and not wait for it on Netflix!
Hear hear! Parker Posey would’ve been perfect as Lois Lane! Maybe we can have Chris Rock as the next villain, sort of a Richard Pryor Superman III redo. Or if you want to go in a new direction (please!!) then Brainiac is the answer. Look at Smallville for some inspiration – could have Bizarro or something similar.
Death of Superman would be perfect though – should be able to get Doomsday right and then you’ve got a badass supervillain to bring back a few years down the road.
Maybe portray Superman as someone who wouldn’t abandon Earth right after promising the President he wouldn’t (in Superman II, which this was supposed to follow), or someone who wouldn’t stalk an old, deserted flame and peep into her house? Seriously, Singer’s Superman was selfish and creepy, the exact opposite of what I’d expect Superman to be.
I have to agree with my fellow posters: In the same way the new Batman franchise dumped its weak link, I’d like to see a recasting of Lois Lane. I don’t even think Bosworth was that bad, she’s just not right. I don’t buy her baby face as award-winning veteran journalist Lois Lane.
I’d also like to see a villain other than Lex Luthor. He’s absolutely played out and there are plenty of villains to choose from. But the way they keep using him is absurd. It’s like if every Batman movie featured the Joker.
Overall, I’d like to see a little more action but not too many major changes (I liked Routh). I liked (not loved) the movie the first time I saw it, but everytime I’ve seen it since then, it gets a little better.
1. Lose the kid, it was a dream, some bad sushi whatever….lose him
2. Recast Lois Lane…Angelina Lilly from LOST would be perfect.
3. NO MORE LEX LUTHOR!
4. NO REHASHING OLD VILLANS: IF I see Zod in the next one I’ll go nuts.
5. Bring in any of the host of enemies that Superman has, BRianiac, Metallo, Darkside (sp?) etc…the point is that he needs a vilian he can fight an not beat in a few seconds.
6. Stop shopwing us three hours of him saving people….we get it, he likes us humans
7. Have a sense of humor…not all the numor has to come from Lex, Superman can have one as well. LIke when a guy shoots him in the eye…he couldnt have a witty one liner for that?
8. Action action action….not stoping flame or catching some glass…non stop bad as* Superman pounding villians action! Super speed, super streghth something!
I had no problem with Brandon he actually made the movie bearable, by all means studio keep him. Place Kate, the kid, the director and the screenwriters in a wood chipper and chip until they are nothing more than a bloddy mist to be hosed away.
1. New Lois Lane. The perfect choice to give Lois a necessary backbone and some good acting? Rachel McAdams….PLEASE make it Rachel McAdams.
2. Keep the kid for continuity purposes, but make it clear he is NOT Superman’s son (a lame idea, in my opinion). If he still has to have super strength due to the piano scene last movie, have him be fathered by some alien being that secretly impregnated Lois, and make him grow up fast to become Superman’s enemy (an alien plot to kill Superman by impregnating his love with an equally powerful alien that is sent to destroy him, but who he thinks is his son? Priceless!)
3. Barring “the kid is Supes enemy” idea, I want Darkseid or Doomsday (preferably the latter) as Superman’s enemy. Building off of “The Death of Superman” would be good, giving you additional characters stepping up to take up Supes’ cause while he’s dead.
4. Explore the Kill Bill idea of Superman – his struggle to hide by being “weak” Clark.
I can’t agree with you guys more. Kate Bosworth has GOT to go!!
Excuse me Mr. Singer, may I suggest that you cast Emily Deschanel as Lois Lane? Her Dr. Brennan on Bones is halfway to Lois Laneville really, tough chic who loves her job and can’t quite get that her lovable coworker is perfect for her. Plus she really does have brown hair. Oh and while I’m making suggestions, please do no let Nicholas Cage anywhere near your movie. Thanks.
The entire shuttle rescue sequence was the high point of “Superman Returns”–including its brilliant conclusion in the baseball stadium. The rest of the movie was a super letdown. Personally, I like the super-feats stuff and “saving of humans.” I still can’t get enough of the Superman’s First Night sequence from Donner’s 1978 original. We’ve seen plenty of silly supervillian slug-outs in the glut of superhero flicks of the past decade. Skip the supervillian and concentrate on real world disasters/issues. And please ditch Kate Bosworth. She was a terrible Lois Lane.
I think Rachel Adams would be perfect as a new Lois Lane. My only problem would be that she would out act that horrible Superman. Put Brandon in some acting classes or let him watch old Cary Grant movies so he knows how to do the Clark Clent. At least Christopher Reeves was in acting school before he got cast. And I agree if they put Zod in the next one I will pissed! Get rid of the kid too. It could have been a bad dream.
I was going to post a comment about killing off Lois Lane, but recasting her would be good, too! Also Brandon Routh needs to pack on about 30 more pounds of muscle.
I liked Brandon Routh but you gotta give him more to say next time, like Vhristopher Reeve’s puns and one-liners in the earlier movies. I didn’t like Kate Bosworth but if you’ve gotta keep her I’ll still buy a ticket!
I think the kid thing could be interesting. there could be a parallel storyline where Superma is fighting evil and the kid is dealing with a bully at school simultaneously while trying to hide and handle his powers. Think the sequence in ET where ET is getting drunk at home and Elliott is acting drunk with the frog dussection at school.
New Lois
Lose the kid
No Lex anywhere near the movie
Lots of more action with a good villian.
Give Brandon Routh some roids or HGH.
I liked Superman returns it was just a bit too sappy and wanna be artsy (a la Ang Lee’s aweful Incredible Hulk). I can’t agree with u guys more about Kate Bosworth. She was just plain aweful for the role. Rachel McAdams or Evageline Lilly would be nice. MORE ACTION PLEASE!!! The stupid real estate plot…REALLY! REALLY!!!
Keep Routh. Ditch the whole “Superman as dead-beat dad and stalker voyeur” subplot. No Doomsday, it’s already been done fairly well in the direct-to-DVD movie. Maybe bring in Braniac and aspects of Alan Moore’s “For the Man Who Has Everything” (Superman given a glimpse of what his life might have been like had he not become a superhero and settled down with Lois.) Oh, and make Superman, rather than Lois’ boyfriend, the actual hero of the movie.
Well it seems like a clear consensus on this board and with most people I have talked to, that they should re-cast Lois Lane. I just pray the director and casting listen.
I agree with earlier posts that suggest casting Rachel McAdams and Emily Deschanel. Might I also suggest Emily’s sister Zooey Deschanel as well. While much more on the quirky side, her look just really seems to match.