Caffeinated Clint
New Bryan Singer project takes precedence over sequel
Update : Superman Homepage has debunked the claims that the “Superman” sequel has been postponed; according to their sources it is still set for a March 2008 start.
Yesterday, Brandon Routh spoke to Empire Online and mentioned that the “Superman” sequel is going to be flat-out more action-packed than the first film (which though I liked, many didn’t) – and seems General Zod isn’t going to be the villain, after all – but his enthusiasm-meter probably dipped today, having read that the sequel won’t be happening anytime soon.
The reason? Director Bryan Singer has opted to do a new thriller with the newly reformed United Artists (now headed up Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner), which he plans to shoot first. Initially, he’d planned to get the next “Superman” film off the ground next.
According to Variety, the untitled film re-teams Singer with “The Usual Suspects” screenwriter Chris McQuarrie. Set in WWII, the project is similar to “Suspects” in that it is a multi-character ensemble piece.
Singer and McQuarrie took the project directly to Wagner and Cruise, who agreed to finance it almost immediately.
“Bryan is one of the great filmmakers working today and Chris is an exceptional writer, and for Tom and me, this was an exciting opportunity for our second picture,” Wagner said.
Compared with recent tentpoles “Superman Returns” and the first two “X-Men” pics, Singer’s latest project carries a moderate pricetag.
“This was something Chris showed me late last year, and we worked on it quietly during the holidays,” Singer told the site “We brought it to UA and it was nice one-stop shopping. We decided it was the right place to make this movie, as opposed to shopping it around. It’s a period in history that has always fascinated me, and we found a very interesting story that materialized into a pretty wonderful script.”
It’ll be great to see a new Bryan Singer thriller… but bad luck for Supes.
I know what you’re all thinking… that series is dead, right?
Wrong. Far from it.
I think it’s too hasty to say Warner Bros aren’t keen on doing another “Superman” film. They are. Yeah, OK, “Returns” didn’t do anywhere near the business they had hoped it would… but this is till one of their stable characters… a bit more action, a good villain, and he’ll draw them in. So, it’ll happen – probably just not for a couple of years yet.
I think the guy this affects the most is Brandon Routh. The guy doesn’t seem to have much else going on – OK, so he could be taking his time in picking his next project, but I personally don’t believe he’s had any real good offers – and will need to no doubt eat in-between then and now.
