Next Superman Movie (Henry Cavill Out?)

As per the title really. Active development means they will now be actively pursuing stories to tell, looking into development etc.

Good to know. I imagine it wont be until Comic Con next year where we hear anything, or maybe after Wonder Woman has come out.

I know there will be a mixture of vitriol and excitement in the thread, but lets keep the thread friendly please guys and gals - It'd be nice to discuss the content, rather than the constant arguments about the execution. :thumbsup

I dont imagine Zack Snyder will be at the helm (a shame for some of us, great potential news for others)

But the main question is, what would you like to see in a Man of Steel sequel, that would fit into the DCEU so far, if we take into account that by the time this is shown, we will probably have had Man of Steel, BvS, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League, The Flash, Aquaman, possibly Shazam! maybe the JL sequel and maybe Batman (probs 2018, MoS2 will probs be 2019).

I've been having a think - I think the obvious choice for most people is Brainiac, but I'm not too bothered about seeing that on the big screen I don't think. I also think there would be too much comparison to Ultron (whether fair or unfair), unless they really delve into the backstory of his planet and such. Which might work. It might also devolve into another story (prevalent in all Superhero films now) of having lots of minions to destroy - although seeing full on technological villains with sharp/fluid edges (like in the Geoff Johns adapted animated film). I also never liked that being around organic life like insects and mud etc is what messes with Brainiac.

Mongul might be interesting - you could start the story off with the Black Mercy attached to Clark ala Alan Moore, in a mountainous Fortress that he has built, as a flashback - you can have Batman and Wonder Woman trying to help out. We can have a life on Krypton, get Jor El and Lara back involved, Zod shown in a different light because Krypton isnt on the verge of destruction etc. Then you can have Clarks (fake Black Mercy) son ripped away from him, only to feel that loss for real when he awakes at the Fortress. It is revealed that these plants were sent out to multiple planets from War World, purely because Mongol was desperate for more ways to entertain his subjects, and enjoyed the idea of people suffering. This leads to Clark finding himself away from earth with a hell of a grudge to settle - hopefully we will have Cyborgs boomtube technology after Justice League, and it could be used to send Supes to War World. However there would be similarities to Thor: Ragnarok, who look like they are adapting part of the Planet Hulk storyline. Seeing Clark battle with a desire to react and instead inspire another planets citizens and teach them mercy as per the animated version of War World would be pretty cool.

I think my favourite idea though, is to have Lois investigating Cadmus, and uncovering a clone - part Luthor, part Clark. We all know where that's going. I would incorporate many elements from Young Justice about his backstory, perhaps also including the Reach. I would have the clone be slightly younger than Cyborg and Barry, maybe 16/17. You would get to have an emotional story of Lois and Clark taking him in, teaching him how to deal with being different. I'd want to amp up Connors rage issues, have him almost know nothing when he is first released. Have him discover things about himself at the same time we discover it, tactile telekinesis etc. His parentage. You could really have some emotional beats with Superman as a father figure, which would be awesome - I could see the DCEU Superman channeling his own father really well. Meanwhile, the discovery of the clone facility (which is being run by Waller, who in turn is being manipulated by the Reach without realising it) leads to the Reach activating their "beetle probe" which was sent out to other planets eons ago as early scouts - BOOM, hello Jaime Reyes. Blue Beetle is born. We have the dual struggle of Superboy and Blue beetle learning to deal with being fresh to the world, Beetle fighting against the programming of the scout, and the final battle would be Supes, Superboy and Blue beetle taking on Black beetle, who has been on earth a while supervising the cadmus project. - lord, I only originally thought about the idea of Clark as a father which is something I'd love to see, and it escalated. haha. Of course this leads nicely into Young Justice or Teen Titans being a spin off film later on. WANT.

What are everyones thoughts?

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

I actually have high hopes for this.

I agree with most of the comments that have been levelled in the past year or so (overwhelmingly fans have been saying Superman needs to go back to being more positive and that claims that that is boring have been debunked by Captain America movies printing money).

Otherwise I actually like this cast well enough. If the studio takes the feedback it's gotten to heart then I'd say there's a reasonable chance of a decent Superman film.

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I really liked Man Of Steele. The fight scene at the end could have been cut down by half but overall I liked it enough to buy it.....and Im not a Superman fan.

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They better film something quick before Henry's hair line recedes anymore.

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Some great suggestions guys... :lol

The tone will definitely be lighter - the natural progression towards that will be part of Justice League anyway. I even think they might go as far as to acknowledge it within the film near the start - even something as simple as Clark telling Lois that he wants to interact with the public more as Superman, that he wants to encourage good through more than just being the first response. After having his Capitol speech interrupted by Lex, it would possibly be nice for us to get a public announcement scene? Perhaps a speech about his return and to encourage humanity that there is hope despite the recent attacks of Zod, Doomsday and Steppenwolf.

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

I'm curious to see where they pick up. To belabor the Marvel comparisons, Iron Man 2 picked up not too long after the first film, with him doing pretty much what he'd been doing by the end of the first film, and carried it from there. Iron Man 3 did not pick up right after 2, as the Avengers happened in between. Tony had had an alien invasion to contend with, massive PTSD, and thirty-six new sets of armor in the meantime. Given BvS (and, potentially, Justice League), I don't see how a MoS direct sequel can pick up where the first left off, but there has to be some link to that story that the later non-Superman-centric one(s) didn't follow up on. BvS dealt with the afterman of Zod's attack, so I'm hoping that doesn't get dragged out further. JL will probably cover Superman's resurrection, so that should be out. What've we got?

--Jonah

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

Fawbish, IMO, I don't think Superman should be pandering to the public trying to reassure them. To me Superman is very much that introverted farm boy who will simply prove his worth thru his actions. I think it would be a disservice to Supes character to have him on a pulpit telling everyone not to worry.

Then again, at this point a disservice wouldn't be a new thing anyways. They've sort of messed with his normal character already. I did enjoy MOS much more than BVS

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

crabra comander said:

Fawbish, IMO, I don't think Superman should be pandering to the public trying to reassure them. To me Superman is very much that introverted farm boy who will simply prove his worth thru his actions. I think it would be a disservice to Supes character to have him on a pulpit telling everyone not to worry.

Then again, at this point a disservice wouldn't be a new thing anyways. They've sort of messed with his normal character already. I did enjoy MOS much more than BVS

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I thought in another post you said you hadn't seen any of these films and were decrying Suicide Squad?

But don't get me wrong. I don't want public corny speeches actually talking about hope unless it's written extremely well. I don't want his character to be as literal as that (so far he has shown humanity that you should act, by example. "If you seek his monument, look around you"

But part of Superman is also (through many of the comics and animated series) is to engage with the public in some way. To have it as a reaction, Clark altering how he operates based upon his experiences over the past two films to better embody the symbol that he wants to show people would be a great way to tell a good story, and to address the (whether fair or not) criticism levelled at the character by the audience so far. It would be natural.

I really hope they nail the emotional hero moment of his return, it's one of the best feelings in a film to have your hero step in at the last minute when it is well done (Matrix, Spiderman 2, Lord of the Rings, Man of Steel and many others have utterly nailed that "hero moment") Can't wait.

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

AJTaliesen said:

I actually have high hopes for this.

I agree with most of the comments that have been levelled in the past year or so (overwhelmingly fans have been saying Superman needs to go back to being more positive and that claims that that is boring have been debunked by Captain America movies printing money).

Otherwise I actually like this cast well enough. If the studio takes the feedback it's gotten to heart then I'd say there's a reasonable chance of a decent Superman film.

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I have NO hopes for this.


The public basically feared him after man of steel. The public definitely seems to fear Batman branding criminals during BvS.
all these heroes are acting ANYTHING like heroes.. because modern executives feel that you need to be angsty, and problem ridden to be interesting. it made no sense for the public to hold a vigil for a man who, as far as they know, didn't really save them from anything. I don't really remember doomsday acting with the general public in BvS.. yes, I know thy tried to show a montage of him helping people, but we don't really know why he suddenly started to do so on a more frequent basis.....there was no real 'they could be a good people, kal el' type scene, where we saw him thinking 'yeah, saving people full time could be a good side job'.....

Gone are the days when a super hero stops to rescue a cat out of a tree. He's more likely to get the call, fly over, fry the tree with his super visoin, and hope the cat lands on it's feet, as he speeds off to the real super threat. CEOs seem to think that all super heroes need to be like that..


I'd argue in these days of less morality, more morality is exactly what we need.
Captain America is more superman than Superman ;o).

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

Fawbish said:

I thought in another post you said you hadn't seen any of these films and were decrying Suicide Squad?
m

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I did see BVS...as a rental...& disliked it greatly. Haven't seen Suicide Squad but what I've heard sounds bad but also a step above BVS. WB is basically keeping me out of the theater for these films. And I'm sure quite a few others are doing the same.

just to clarify I haven't gone to the theater to see these. I have only rented them. But how much money would WB make if more people saw it in theaters then bought it?

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

NeilT said:

I have NO hopes for this.

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What a surprise.

NeilT said:

The public basically feared him after man of steel. The public definitely seems to fear Batman branding criminals during BvS.
all these heroes are acting ANYTHING like heroes.. because modern executives feel that you need to be angsty, and problem ridden to be interesting. it made no sense for the public to hold a vigil for a man who, as far as they know, didn't really save them from anything. I don't really remember doomsday acting with the general public in BvS.. yes, I know thy tried to show a montage of him helping people, but we don't really know why he suddenly started to do so on a more frequent basis.....there was no real 'they could be a good people, kal el' type scene, where we saw him thinking 'yeah, saving people full time could be a good side job'.....

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The entirety of Man of Steel set up that this Superman wants to help people. That he regularly gave up his assumed identities and livelihoods because he COULDN't not help someone. That he wanted to give the people of earth an ideal to strive towards.

They built a public statue of the guy! The newspaper clippings on Keefes wall showed tons of Superman saves. There was a montage of his heroic acts. He fights for what is right as a reporter, too, wanting to make sure that people weren't overlooked just because they are poor. He had an interest in stopping a man who was now branding criminals, and investigated it. I'm sorry, what did 1978 Clark Kent investigate between saving a cat out of a tree (which is great, honestly) and x-raying Lois Lanes underwear? (still great, but you see my point). How can there be an "End of Love Affair with man in the sky" as per Perry White, if there was no love affair? Some of the public adored him. Some of them were against him. There were talk shows out there that discussed his status in the world. It was a paradigm shift. A man that can fly and catch space Rockets living amongst us. That is entirely realistic, and exactly what was shown during the film. Pay attention?

NeilT said:

Gone are the days when a super hero stops to rescue a cat out of a tree. He's more likely to get the call, fly over, fry the tree with his super visoin, and hope the cat lands on it's feet, as he speeds off to the real super threat. CEOs seem to think that all super heroes need to be like that..


I'd argue in these days of less morality, more morality is exactly what we need.
Captain America is more superman than Superman ;o).

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Captain America is brilliant character brought to the screen. He is heroic. But he also broods. He also does whats right. He also kills frequently and brutally, which DCEU Superman does not. And I love Captain America too, I think his trilogy are probably the best hero trilogy I've seen. But he isn't Superman. An entire country/world isn't looking to him to solve their problems because they think he is a god. The only kick back Cap gets is when he feels out of time, and struggles with personal relationships. He isn't the only public hero. And he was created in a time where he literally had to kill all the bad guys to win, it was war.

The only difference is that there are more jokes in the Cap films, a lighter tone for the killing and brooding to be washed down with. You'll get your lighter tone in Justice League, and it will be a progression from these stories.

Promised myself I wouldn't respond to some of this again but couldn't help myself. Goddamnit.

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crabra comander said:

I did see BVS...as a rental...& disliked it greatly. Haven't seen Suicide Squad but what I've heard sounds bad but also a step above BVS. WB is basically keeping me out of the theater for these films. And I'm sure quite a few others are doing the same.

just to clarify I haven't gone to the theater to see these. I have only rented them. But how much money would WB make if more people saw it in theaters then bought it?

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Ah ok, I had read that as hadn't seen them, not hadn't seen them in theatres. That's fair enough.

I honestly have no idea of the value of a ticket versus the value of a home purchase in regards to studio profits. Interesting question actually. I have to imagine theatre tickets would be more lucrative but I know theres a ton of stuff to take into account.

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

Inquisitor Peregrinus said:

I'm curious to see where they pick up. To belabor the Marvel comparisons, Iron Man 2 picked up not too long after the first film, with him doing pretty much what he'd been doing by the end of the first film, and carried it from there. Iron Man 3 did not pick up right after 2, as the Avengers happened in between. Tony had had an alien invasion to contend with, massive PTSD, and thirty-six new sets of armor in the meantime. Given BvS (and, potentially, Justice League), I don't see how a MoS direct sequel can pick up where the first left off, but there has to be some link to that story that the later non-Superman-centric one(s) didn't follow up on. BvS dealt with the afterman of Zod's attack, so I'm hoping that doesn't get dragged out further. JL will probably cover Superman's resurrection, so that should be out. What've we got?

--Jonah

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For me, I think it's what I mentioned above. The fact that Superman hasn't connected with the public personally. And they still have to sort out how he should act, by the will of the governed, or by his own will? So thats sort of a point from MoS and a point in BvS to continue.

In Man of Steel, there was a strong theme of self pervading throughout. I think it would be great to now have a Superman film where he is fully confident in who he is, where he's from and what he stands for. He's been through his trials, he's worked towards being an inspiration and encountered hurdles. The public will be naturally more accepting of him now, considering he died for them. Lois will make sure that is well publicised. We already saw in BvS that the public at home were saddened to see burning effigies of Superman. Have a villain that allows the character to show us that now, to really hit those positive notes of this Superman in the traditional sense (that a lot of people are clamouring for now, because they aren't interested in the journey to get there etc) Which is fine, each to their own.

I'd like to see a child's perspective on him too, or a sympathetic characters viewpoint (which is where I think Superboy could come in really well) - it gives us a vantage point with which to really hammer in to the good person Clark is. Not perfect person, but good person.

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJI-eYSgRR8/

Henry Cavil posted this.

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

Why is anyone expecting a lighter tone from Justice League???

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

Westies14 said:

Why is anyone expecting a lighter tone from Justice League???

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I havn't seen it, and have no plans too because of the gross out designs and bad casting of people like will smith...but, the trailers for suicide squad seem a little lighter...
maybe people think Justice League will follow suit and be ae little more avengers family friendly?

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

It's been mentioned in many, many interviews and also prior to Batman v Superman coming out, that Chris Terrio was always writing Justice League to be lighter. Geoff Johns coming on in a more active role, has always had the mandate for DC to recapture hope and legacy with his writing. He is co-penning quite a few of these films now and is producing them for DC entertainment. The Justice League comic con footage is lighter in tone than BvS, and arguably Man of Steel. And after the reception from the General Audience to BvS, they will have beefed up the levity and tone a little within the realm of the current story. It's been established since before BvS that Justice League would be a lighter tone.

Story wise it also makes sense. Batman has been brought back from the brink of the abyss after witnessing Superman sacrifice himself and realising the path he was on was destined to failure. He says at the end on the voice over that people are still good. We'll be better. We have to be. Wonder Woman has been brought back into the light of day in the modern world despite being sequestered for the last 100 years etc. The people that they discovered during BvS are the type of people that naturally lend themselves to more levity in a script such as a youthful Flash etc.

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Well, let's hope! The DC films have been unwatchably bleak since (and including) TDKR.

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The film industry is generally always defaulting to dark-n-gritty when they aren't sure how to handle something.

Nolan did the job way too well with his Batman trilogy. It gave WB an excuse to assume that's the key to all superhero movies for a while. When they got working on Man of Steel the dark tone was absolutely a given.

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

batguy said:

The film industry is generally always defaulting to dark-n-gritty when they aren't sure how to handle something.

Nolan did the job way too well with his Batman trilogy. It gave WB an excuse to assume that's the key to all superhero movies for a while. When they got working on Man of Steel the dark tone was absolutely a given.

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the problem is, I think the only one that dark and gritty really can work well is with batman. any other hero, not so much. wonder woman might be a slight detour, but i think with her, being from an amazon warrior race, it'd be more fun to START her off dark and gritty, and then as she gets more involved with mans world, she lightens up and backs off a bit...

Green lantern to me has always been a bit jokey territory. far lighter than anything else. Superman is also a bright and colorful boyscout like world.


you can't make everyone dark and gritty like batman and A)expect it towork or b)expect it to be interesting when all their personalities clash.

Imagine the TMNT and everyone was grumpy and sarcastic like Raphael. it wouldn't work!

Re: Man of Steel Sequel in Active Development

I don't know if anyone here knows Tommy Sledge's from the early '90s. His schtick doing stand-up was a noir private eye, and he used all the euphamisms from the period and genre -- usually al together, like synonyms for emphasis. His deal is used to best effect in the movie Lobster Man From Mars, where his narrative is a voice-over when he's in the scene. The best is when the hero is driving somewhere and Tommy is following. As his car comes in shot, his voice-over fades in, then fades away again after it passes the camera, his narration following him like a cloud.

I say this because I'd kinda like to see a clever filmmaker do something to this effect with Batman. The rest of the movie and characters have a full-saturation color palette, but things just feel washed out and bleak in his vicinity, he projects so hard.

--Jonah