Some interesting legal developments are likely to impact the next Superman film.
As reported by Variety, the family of Superman creator Jerry Siegel has been granted additional rights over certain aspects of the Superman character. Also, Warner Brothers, the home of the Superman films, will lose its right to make Superman films in 2013.
So, where does that leave us?
The last Superman film, Superman Returns, was considered a failure; despite grossing about $400 million from a budget of over $200 million; Warners expected it to do bigger business. In director Bryan Singer’s defence, a chunk of his budget had already been spent on several failed attempts to launch a new Superman franchise by the likes of Tim Burton, Kevin Smith, J.J. Abrams, McG, and Brett Ratner (we dodged a bullet there!). And Singer did create a wonderfully romantic blockbuster that lacked the cynicism (and incoherence) of the likes of Transformers 2.
Warner Brothers, concerned about the lukewarm reception, has been undecided over how to continue ever since. This is despite Singer promising to go all “Wrath of Khan on it” for the planned sequel, Man of Steel, and inject the action that many felt was missing from Returns.
With the above news, Warners will most likely want to release a new Superman film before their rights expire. So, surely this is good news for fans of both Superman Returns and intelligent blockbusters. Warner Brothers could just green-light Singer to continue on his sequel, right? Wrong! Singer has just signed to direct a film based on the original Battlestar Galactica (it is unconnected to the recent, well received, TV show). Even if he wanted to come back he may be contractually unavailable.
So, there is a good chance that Warners will rush into producing a new Superman film forgoing the nicety of an intelligible, lucid script. And, unfortunately, the only kind of director willing to sign on for that kind of deal is hacks like Ratner.
Granted, this is all speculation at the moment, but it feels like Warner Brothers’ cold feet in moving forward may have cost us a terrific Superman film with Singer at the helm.
