Scottish comic book writer Mark Millar, who all summer has been telling the world he has an epic idea for a new SUPERMAN film trilogy which I’m pretty certain already has Warner Bros interested (as they announced they were willing to listen to new pitches are proclaiming they want to reboot) has been spilling the beans over his intentions for his and the character’s magnum opus.
Speaking to Empire Magazine, Millar tells us the epic would basically tell the whole saga of Superman’s life in 8 hours, spanning three movies that would be shot at the same time and released a year apart, ala LORD OF THE RINGS.
“I want to start on Krypton, a thousand years ago, and end with Superman alone on Planet Earth, the last being left on the planet, as the yellow sun turns red and starts to supernova, and he loses his powers.”
Wow. Would Warner Bros. really be willing to risk the profit money from THE DARK KNIGHT in order to make this extremely expensive and huge risk-taking project?
And even if they would, is it really the right way to go…can you tell the entire story of Superman in 8 hours?
Millar continues…
“It’s gonna be like Michael Corleone in the Godfather films, the entire story from beginning to end, you see where he starts, how he becomes who he becomes, and where that takes him. The Dark Knight showed you can take a comic book property and make a serious film, and I think the studios are ready to listen to bigger ideas now.
Wouldn’t we rather have a long running franchise of kick ass stand-alone movies, just like what Chris Nolan is doing with Batman, taking it one step at a time?
That’s not to say it couldn’t work of course and could you imagine how awesome it would be if he pulled it off. The LOTR version of a comic book series, all shot at the same time, keeping continuity and everything.
Millar still refuses to name the big A-list Hollywood director he has been working with in close collaboration for the past few months… though I dare say it would have to be someone pretty convincing in the pitching arena to try and get this kind of epic saga off the ground.
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Although I’m generally of the opinion that Superman should be left alone, this sounds like the best way to go if you’re going to do it.
The problem with Superman has always been his invincibility; audiences have a hard time relating to him. Richard Donner managed a masterstroke by finding Christopher Reeve, who infused the character with a great deal of warmth and campy-yet-realisitic humor.
Millar’s concept would push the alien angle of the character, and blend in some poignant tragedy that would really be something to see. The fanboys would love it, but would general audiences?? “Downer” endings have been poisonous in recent times.
I like the idea behind this, but I wonder if it could be done over the course of three movies without leaving something important out that will cause some fanboy outrage.
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[...] born Mark Millar, the comic book writer on KICK-ASS and WANTED is one such scribe who has already spoken with Warner Bros. over his trilogy of Kal-El which would basically start at his birth and end with his death over the course of three [...]