Zack Snyder to direct Superman: Man of Steel
This entry was posted 1 year, 231 days ago
Zack Snyder has been confirmed to direct Warner Bros.’ upcoming Superman reboot, Man of Steel. Recently named amongst a tough looking shortlist, Snyder has come out on top, beating competition such as Tony Scott (Man on Fire), Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles), and Duncan Jones (Moon) for the job. The project will continue to be overseen by Batman maestro Christopher Nolan with his regular story scribe David S. Goyer handling the script.
As it stands, we don’t know much else about Man of Steel, other than Goyer’s suggestion that the film will see a modernised approach to the Kryptonian, perhaps similar to that of the reinvigorated Batman franchise. Speaking of his newly received job, Snyder has stated; “I can’t say why they came to me, other than the fact that they know I have a fondness for the character and a real desire to understand him and present him to a new audience.” Asked for details on the script, the director commented that “it’s early yet, but I can tell you that what David and Chris have done with the story so far definitely has given me a great insight into a way to make him feel modern.”
With the Watchmen director locked-in, attention has now turned to confirming the indentity of the film’s villain and, fingers crossed, it also won’t be too long before we find out who’s playing the hero himself. Could those Jon Hamm rumours be true? Stay tuned for more news from Krypton.
Personally, I’m not 100% on the choice. Snyder has already had a pop at superhero royalty with his spin on Watchmen, which – though I loved some of – found other parts way too unnecessarily stylised. Though I suppose his controversial re-written ending was an attempt to ground the story, which is kind of what they seem to be after here.
There are also rumours that the villain will be General Zod, rather than the previously proposed Brainiac. Zod looks human, which could be a potential lure – it may be that modern audiences aren’t yet ready for Superman to do battle with a weird looking alien being with magical powers. Perhaps get them in gently and then crank it up for the sequels?
Anybody got any views?
I’m not sold either – but then again, isn’t the whole concept of the reboot a bit dicey? Thus far not one piece of casting gossip (or such director-ly confirmation) has managed to stir any real excitement in me. The proof, as they say, will be in the pudding. I’m just not sure how much I want to eat it.
Superficially, Jon Hamm looks the part of Superman. I’m not so sure he can pull off the mild-mannered part of Clark Kent, however. He’s got too commanding a voice.
Indeed – I commented on the Clark Kent condundrum in the original Hamm article; though my concerns were more the fact that dressing him smartly will just make people think “geeky Don Draper?!” Also, he’s probably a bit too old to still be that shy!