The blogosphere just about exploded recently with a rumor started by Latino Review that David Goyer, co-writer of Batman Begins and story contributor for The Dark Knight, as well as the Blade trilogy, will write the upcoming Superman movie, tentatively titled The Man of Steel. If this and the recent rumor that Christopher Nolan will head the new production in some sort of “Godfather” mode, then two of the men responsible for the rebirth of the Batman franchise will have a go at the Last Son of Krypton.
If the post is to be believed, the new movie will not be an origin story, and Goyer will write a more “down to earth” Superman (no pun intended) in line with the way writer/artist John Byrne wrote the character in the 1980s. The villains will be Lex Luthor and Brainiac, and the plot will focus on Kryptonian mythology.
That is, if the rumors are true. As Kiel Phegley reports at Comic Book Resources, another blogger, Drew McWeeny over at HitFix claims that Nolan is still in process of finishing his latest film, Inception, and that Goyer simply hasn’t been asked.
The Pulse: While Superman is a complete one-eighty in terms of tone compared to Batman, I hope these rumors are true. Sure, Nolan and Goyer tend to go for a dark atmosphere with their movies, but I think that they are smart enough storytellers that they know what parts of Superman work and what parts won’t. At heart, Superman is the best of us. He’s what we all should aspire to be. Because of this he’s too often portrayed as perfect–the Big Blue Boy Scout–but he’s not, he’s just bigger. Physically, mentally, even morally he works on a larger, more epic scale than normal people, and his conflicts and worries need to be necessarily bigger to match, otherwise he’s a grinning, indestructible bore.
I think that we need a Superman right now; a character that exemplifies what’s best in all of us and will always do what’s right even when the world turns it back on him. And I believe that Goyer and Nolan are smart enough storytellers to understand that.
So what do you think? Assuming the rumors are true, are Goyer and Nolan the right guys for the job, or are you afraid they’ll bring to much Batman to the game, so to speak?
Credit: Comic Book Resources
