Superman Getting a Revamp?
The Hulk franchise has just had a revamp and now it could be Superman’s turn. Mark Millar, the writer behind Wanted told The Daily Record some interesting info:
“I’ve been planning this my entire life. I’ve got my director and producer set up, and it’ll be 2011. This is how far ahead you have to think. The Superman brand is toxic after that last movie lost 200 million, but in 2011 we’re hoping to restart it. Sadly I can’t say who the director is, but we may make it official by Christmas. But fingers crossed it could work out, that would be my lifetime’s dream.”
It was only a few months ago that Bryan Singer told us he had intentions to direct Superman: Man of Steel, so something may be going on at Warner Bros.
Superman Returns only just made $200 million in America, and less than that worldwide. If they were going for the ‘three years between sequels’ thing they would have started by now, or we would have heard something at least.
However, keep in mind that Mark Millar got himself into some hot water after generating a story that Eminem was “begging” to star in Wanted. Eminem’s agent and Universal issued strong denials about the story and it was revealed to be a publicity stunt to get Millar some free press. Could Millar be saying this just to generate some buzz so that he can fulfil his life long dream?
Superman Sequel: Superman as an “Angry God”?
Thomas Tull, founder, chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures (the company behind Batman Begins, Superman Returns and 300), told Hamilton students on April 17 that the Superman Returns sequel, Superman: Man of Steel, will present Superman as more of “an angry god”.
I wonder what that possibly could mean? Obviously they aren’t going to completely reinvent the character like Mark Millar did in Red Son, a mini series which showed what would have happened if Superman’s rocket ship landed on a Ukrainian collective farm rather than in Kansas. You can probably guess the result. Superman Returns presented a more EMO Superman. Maybe Man of Steel will have a Superman who begins to make irrational emotion-based decisions, throwing cars around out of anger, which will paint him as an Angry God in The Daily Planet?
Mark Millar Has “Big Name Action Director” For a Superman Returns Revamp? Announcing at Xmas? Madness.
Let’s hope Mark Millar sticks around the movie business for many years, and not only because the guy gives great quotes. With the adaptation of his Wanted comics raking in considerable bank and an adaptation of Kick-Ass on the way from director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake), Millar is not allowing a Superman Returns revamp to vanish from his broadening Hollywood map. In fact, in this latest candid interview with the Daily Record, Millar sounds as if he’s setting a dunkirk into action that would see Bryan Singer relieved of his directorial duties…
“Since I was a kid I’ve always wanted to reinvent Superman for the 21st century,” said Millar. “I’ve been planning this my entire life. I’ve got my director and producer set up, and it’ll be 2011. This is how far ahead you have to think. The Superman brand is toxic after that last movie lost [a good chunk of change], but in 2011 we’re hoping to restart it. Sadly I can’t say who the director is, but we may make it official by Christmas.”
Ding Ding. Just back in March, Singer confirmed he was meeting with writers with the intention to direct a more action-oriented and less nostalgic sequel. In April, Legendary Pictures chairman, Thomas Tull, cryptically pitched the sequel, tentatively entitled, Superman: The Man of Steel, as “Superman as more of an angry god.”
We speculated then that Tull wasn’t referring to an adaptation of Millar’s Superman: Red Son, his celebrated 2003 comic book that reimagined Supes originally landing to Earth in the Soviet Union rather than in America. “Superman meets Stalin Summer 2011,” yeah, that would pack in the U.S. Crocs set. But Millar seems to have a “detox” vision all worked out. Also, note that while his latest announcement seems incredibly assured, he added…
“But fingers crossed [a Superman revamp] could work out, that would be my lifetime’s dream.”
Did the guy speak too soon about announcing a director then? Before he could convert Wanted’s success into industry muscle, Millar was making similar comments in 2007, when he announced his Superman “remake” pitch to Warner Bros…
“This has to be Superman for the 21st Century, keeping everything we adore, but starting from scratch and making the kids love it as much as the 30-somethings. I would honestly write this thing for free.”
Personally, I hope Millar gets his wish from the Zoltar machine. Take for instance, the The Incredible Hulk, which has come to be viewed as a success in the eyes of most geeks, but didn’t rack up enough grosses or pop culture clout to overshadow Ang Lee’s prior film. In the end, the new Hulk was not an obvious-enough departure. They didn’t exploit the fact, directly or indirectly, that most people felt burned by the earlier version. There was never an “oh shit!” defining moment in the many trailers, so Web attention once again diverted to the Hulk’s tweaked CGI. A new Superman is even trickier.
Bryan Singer was allowed to make his dreamy passion project using one of the most commercial characters ever. That overpriced mush just didn’t fly. Let’s move on. Singer and another $250 millon isn’t going to solve the problem. That’s like Ang Lee remaking Hulk at the demands of fans. To be frank, Millar knows a lot about “oh shit!” moments and what gets people chattering in this day and age, and he clearly loves the character’s mythology as much as Singer. Why not have him in the driver’s seat for the entire process? More on this as it develops—somebody from WB has to refute/confirm Millar’s latest info, right? Man, what do you think Brandon Routh is thinking about all of this back and forth? It’s neverending.
Oh and you gotta love Millar’s fight for his right to live in Scotland and not relocate to Los Angeles….
“If I lived in LA I’d just write like everyone else. My pals over there are all on their second wives and do drugs. It’s a world I don’t want my kid to grow up in. I’ve been married since I was 23. I have a really normal set up.”
UPLATE UPDATE: Monster post! Millar posted an update regarding his comments above on his site’s message boards (a thanks to Obsessed with Film)…
“PS: That Superman news is interesting, isn’t it? In the interests of clarity (because I’m sure this will be picked up somewhere) a very well known American action director heard about my love of Superman, approached my and asked me to team up with he and his producer to make a pitch for this. We’ve been talking for several weeks now and, if this is going to happen, we’ll know by Christmas. He has huge pull at WB so fingers crossed. But this is nothing more than a huge US name pulling me into his fold and making me part of a package.”
Hmmm, a big name American action director with conecs at Warner Bros. George Miller is a no. I think we can mark through Michael Bay, Gore Verbinski, James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez and Brett Ratner. Tony Scott’s British.
Incredible Hulk Smashes Past
Judged against Spider-Man, Hulk came up short. Judged against Hulk, The Incredible Hulk came up big. The franchise restart, starring Edward Norton, topped the weekend box office with $54.5 million, according to Exhibitor Relations estimates today. While that’s about $8 million less than what Ang Lee’s Hulk opened with in 2003, the gross is considered a victory for Universal Pictures, which had to overcome, well, Ang Lee’s Hulk.
“There were a lot of naysayers out there when we said we were doing this,” Nikki Rocco, Universal’s president of domestic distribution, said today. “The Hulk smashed those naysayers.”
M. Night Shyamalan also won at the expectations game. While his latest horror-thriller, The Happening, settled for the bronze with its third-place debut, its $30.5 million opening represented substantial improvement over the filmmaker’s 2006 disappointment, Lady in the Water.
Kung Fu Panda, meanwhile, stayed strong in its second weekend, hauling in another $34.3 million and finishing second.
It was, however, The Incredible Hulk that dominated, accounting for nearly one-third of all ticket sales for the weekend’s top movies.
The debut was bigger than recent superhero movies such as Batman Begins ($48.7 million), Superman Returns ($52.5 million) and Ghost Rider ($45.4 million), even though it was far smaller than that of the latest superhero hit, Iron Man, which scored $98.6 million over three days in May.
The most important stat of the weekend for The Incredible Hulk, however, may be the strong A-minus it received from weekend moviegoers, per Cinema Score polling. By comparison, Lee’s Hulk rated a less-enthusiastic B-minus.
The next most important stat will come with next weekend’s grosses.
In 2003, it wasn’t just that Hulk didn’t score a $100 million debut, à la Spider-Man the year before, it was that business dropped a stunning 70 percent in its second weekend.
Can The Incredible Hulk avoid a similar week-two plunge?
“Who knows? I’m confident,” Rocco said. “Because this movie delivers.”
Drilling down through the box-office standings:
- When Iron Man (seventh place, $5.1 million; $297.4 million overall) crosses $300 millionand it will shortlyit’ll join the three Spider-Man movies as the only superhero films to bash that barrier.
- Kung Fu Panda’s second weekend was one of the best in recent memory, retaining nearly 60 percent of its first weekend business. The CGI comedy has already grossed a total of $118 million.
- Sex and the City (sixth place, $10.2 million) continues to prove it was no short-lived phenomenon. Since its $57 million, bigger-than-The Incredible Hulk opening, the romantic comedy has tacked on $62 million over the last two weekends, bringing its cumulative total to $119.9 million.
- In its second weekend, Adam Sandler’s You Don’t Mess With the Zohan suffered the usual 50 percent dip, plus a little extra, falling to fourth place and a $16.4 million take ($68.8 million overall).
- In limited release, Mongol ($113,000 at five theaters; $135,326 overall) had another strong weekend, while the new indie horror-comedy Baghead did okay with $8,925 at two theaters.
- After a couple of big weekends, the movie business has nearly caught up to 2007, with overall ticket sales now off less than 1 percent from last year. Attendance lags nearly 4 percent.
Here’s a recap of the top-grossing weekend films based on Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
1. The Incredible Hulk, $54.5 million2. Kung Fu Panda, $34.3 million3. The Happening, $30.5 million4. You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, $16.4 million5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $13.5 million6. Sex and the City, $10.2 million7. Iron Man, $5.1 million8. The Strangers, $4.1 million9. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, $3 million 10. What Happens in Vegas, $1.7 million