Who Is Writing The Superman Returns Sequel?

From most accounts circulating behind the scenes the Superman Returns sequel is happening and aiming for 2010. The question remains, does the sequel already have the writer(s) or are meetings still taking place? Over the next couple of days I will be reporting on some of the possible contenders:


Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci

The duo worked on the summer blockbuster Transformers and the upcoming Star Trek film. Iris from www.brandonrouth.com reported that "Kurtzman and Orci seem to be interested in writing a script for MoS" on November 17th, 2007, just after Mike Dougherty and Dan Harris left the project in October.

http://www.bluetights.net/theplanet/showpost.php?p=1489507&postcount=386

On February 6th I reported that a "famous screenwriter" was talking with WB, this screenwriter was Roberto Orci.

Some rumors are circulating that the WB is preparing to bring a "famous screenwriter" in to discuss a possible Superman Returns sequel or a totally different Superman movie. Right now of course this is just a rumor. However, with the strike seemingly winding down and the latest news before the strike being WB was bringing in various writers to meet with, one has to wonder.

http://showtime029.blogspot.com/2008/02/new-man-of-steel-writer-being-brought.html

On March 10th, 2008 IESB reported that Orci and Kurtzman were in talks with WB to pen the sequel.

Word is Transformers/Star Trek scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are considering being behind the project. This gives Superman fans hope after Returns' mild disappointment amongst fan boys. The pair are apparently in talks and have had "several meetings" regarding the film. No need to worry about a lack of action from these two!

http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4497&Itemid=99

Up Next: David Hayter

Thomas Tull Talks Superman Sequel

Speaking at Hamilton College, Thomas Tull mentioned a Superman Returns sequel in which he hopes to invoke more of the image of "an angry god".

See a sample of the article below, click the link for the entire article

Thomas Tull '92, founder, chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures (the company jointly responsible for producing the films Batman Begins, Superman Returns and 300), spoke to Hamilton students on April 17 in Wellin Hall about his journey from Hamilton to film production. Tull expressed appreciation for Hamilton's impact on establishing his success, and reciprocated by screening never-before-seen footage of Legendary Pictures' upcoming Batman sequel, The Dark Knight. While lecture attendees were required to sign a nondisclosure agreement about the contents of the film clip, audience members were treated to a short scene from the movie featuring Heath Ledger in his last performance as the Joker. Tull mentioned that the lecture required his creative team to bring substantial video and sound equipment up to the Hill to screen the movie, a decision attendees undoubtedly appreciated.

While he explained that Legendary focuses on commercial projects over independent films, he said that the company seeks to make the stories they tell "elevated" and take the source material seriously. Legendary's roster of upcoming films includes a wide variety of properties, including Watchmen (from the renowned graphic novel), Akira (a remake of the popular Japanese anime film), a Superman sequel (in Which Tull hopes to invoke more of the image of "an angry god"), Clash of the Titans, Where the Wild Things Are and a film of Paradise Lost (Tull is particularly interested in the "[story] arc of Lucifer"). Tull is also sponsoring the Legendary Film Treatment Challenge, an upcoming opportunity to submit film treatments to Legendary Pictures for consideration.

http://www.hamilton.edu/news/more_news/display.cfm?id=13939

David Hayter On Man of Steel

David Hayter was a guest speaker at York University in Toronto Canada about 2 1/2 weeks ago. He came in to discuss his profession with the class and somebody asked him about Superman Returns and what his thoughts were on the movie. He said he thought it was great but the films biggest problem was that "it couldnt decide whether it was a richard donner film or a reboot Singer film"

He said bryan is working on the sequel and hes talked to bryan about it and Bryan is aware of the fanboy complaints with SR and is committed to more modern comicbooks for MOS. He also said that Bryan was a hawk when it comes to trying to please the fans and will go all out for this one. He also told the class how much he loathes X-3.

Superman Not Taking Flight In 2009

Now I for one enjoyed Superman Returns, the movie had its flaws, and I can understand the criticism the movie has received from some fans. It obviously did not perform the way that WB projected. That being said I was optimistic when I heard a seasoned screenwriter was coming in to take over the reigns with either a Superman Returns sequel or another Superman movie. Not because I didn't like what Mike Dougherty and Dan Harris did with the Superman Returns script, but because I want to see Superman on the big screen again. I urge anybody who hasn't read the Superman Returns script to check it out, in my opinion, it flows much better than the movie did in some respects.

Anyway, this is what the Hollywood Reporter has to say about the possibitlity of a Superman Returns sequel.

There are at least nine more projects that are not dated but could be slated for 2009, according to one source. But one studio tentpole, the sequel to "Superman Returns," is not so lucky. There apparently are no current plans to add the project to the slate, according to a studio source.

Read the rest here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i09f751dd163aa4110d36b46a59d23839?pn=2

New Superman Screenwriter?

Some rumors are circulating that the WB is preparing to bring a "famous screenwriter" in to discuss a possible Superman Returns sequel or a totally different Superman movie. Right now of course this is just a rumor. However, with the strike seemingly winding down and the latest news before the strike being WB was bringing in various writers to meet with, one has to wonder.

Thanks to Super Kal of Superherohype for the above manipulation.

Bryan Singer Back For Man of Steel?

Slice of Sci Fi is reporting that Bryan Singer will indeed go forward with a sequel to Superman Returns according to the below movie talk snippit and podcast report.

Movie Talk: Contrary to reports last year that director Bryan Singer opted out of returning to helm the “Superman Returns” sequel, the famous director has decided to accept Warner Bros’ offer and return to the center seat.

http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2008/01/26/slice-of-scifi-145/

Thanks to "\S/JcDc\S/" of http://www.superherohype.com/ for the scoop and "Super Kal", also from The Hype, for the Superman manip.

*The Podcast is reporting the budget will be 170 million and the movie will not be out until 2011 or 2012 with a start date of 2010. According to the podcast there are no screenwriters attached and it seems that the studio is now straying from the Jason storyline and it this could mean the end of Brandon Routh as Superman.

This report sounds as if it is being pieced together from previous reports but the 2011 and 2012 release date sounds off to me.

Return to Krypton

Believe it or not Superman Returns is still being discussed on http://www.superherohype.com/ & http://www.bluetights.net/. The colors of the suit, Superman's curl, Bryan Singer's directing choices, and Lex Luthor's plot points are all being debated back and forth by fans even now.





One of the debates revolves around the Return To Krypton scene or RTK as it has been dubbed by the fans. Above is some amazing artwork done by Ben Proctor who not only worked on the RTK scene but also some Smallville scenes and the FOS (Fotress of Solitude). Ben's work is truly amazing and you can check out what he did with Superman Returns and other movies such as Transformers by clicking the link below.

http://www.benprocter.com/SITEv2/HTML/HOME.html

While on the subject of Superman Returns, as above one of the hot topics before, during, and after production was the suit. Thanks to Steve Younis at Supermanhomepage and concept designer Eddie Yang, we can compare Bryan Singer's version of the suit to the concepts below before Bryan was brought on board to direct Superman Returns. I would advise if you're a Superman fan that you check out Eddie's page, you will also find concept designs for Tyzor, a villian from JJ Abram's Flyby script. Enjoy.

http://www.supermanhomepage.com/news.php

http://www.eddieyang.com/portfolio/costume.html