Warner Bros. plans 'Superman vs. Batman' Movie

ReadParse writes "The Sacramento Bee is running an AP story about Warner Bros' plans to produce a Batman vs. Superman movie. It's kind of hard to imagine anybody but Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel -- somebody check Michael Keaton's schedule."

Comments

Lacking something important.....

[Lord_Slepnir]

I think they'd get more money with a Catwoman vs. Wonder Woman movie. Unless this new one has a lot of Kristen Dunst in the rain.....

Wolfgang Petersen also directing 'Ender's Game'

[Bonker]

Which, in my humble opinion, going to be a lot more interesting than a fanpiece like 'Superman Vs. Batman'. Well, if you get to make both, why not?

The problem with the Ender's Game movie is that the studio is apparently trying to submarine Petersen's efforts into getting a cast that he feels is realistic for the story. You can read the AICN rumour here: http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=12681

Essentially, it boils down to the fact that Petersen wants to include a racially mixed cast to reflect the in-book and real-world race ratios at the time Ender's Game is supposed to be set. The studio has vetoed his plans claiming that white audiences won't want to go unless the adults in the movie are all white.

From the rumour:

He was flat out told "Not a chance in hell. There will be a handful of token characters from other races but every other child will be white." As the studio execs pointed out, if there are too many background characters that aren't white, white people will be afraid to go see it.

I'm going straight to hell

[Mike Schiraldi]

It's kind of hard to imagine anybody but Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel

Well, I guess they could just put kryptonite in every scene.

Eh?

[American AC in Paris]

from the man-of-steal-vs-the-dark-knight dept.

...Hamburgler vs. Batman?

Re:How is this a fight? (Hint: it was, Batman won)

[SirSlud]

Too late.

Check out "The Dark Knight Returns", where Batman defeats Superman (using some Kryptonite, btw.)

Miller (the author) got it right; Batman is the world's greatest detective mind (nevermind one of the top martial artists in the world), and basically an all around genius.

Might might be right, but only when the dude holding the might doesn't get outsmarted, as Superman did in "The Dark Knight Returns"

Batman is the coolest superhero ever. Why? No superpowers. Brains, altheticism, and a raging case of vengance. What can be more powerful than that?

Re:Someone tell me how Batman could beat Superman?

[3Y3]

I guess you never actually read any of the comics then, in fact basically every time they meet Batman whips superman like a little girl. Just because super man has powers doesnt mean he wins, remember, Batman is smarter and will set up any fight to his specifications. Superman isn't the brightest of fellows ever (duh..i'll use my heatvision). Just read Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller (as well as the sequal comic to is in which batman leaves superman a bloody lump) and you should get an idea what I mean.

Thats why I think this movie will be a bad idea, it cannot cature to both the hardcore comic readers and the common public. The actual comic readers would know that Batman would most likely win (or at least kick the daylights out of superman) while the common public wont be able to get past the idea that since superman has powers and batman does not, then it will be an easy victory for superman.

How to Do It Right

[arfy]

This could be good.

Pray that the screenwriter (who worked on Se7en) is adapting, or at least heavily influenced by "The Dark Knight Falls" by Frank Miller.

Now that would be something worth seeing! And if you look at the director's comments in the article it's not out of the question that this is the story they may be telling...

Re:How is this a fight?

[swagr]

Superman also flew faster than light to go back in time.

1. Time travel gives him an advantage.
2. The work required to accelerate an object with mass to the speed of light is infinite. So Superman isn't just "Really REALLY strong", he's "REALLY REALLY REALLY..." strong.
3. The universe doesn't seem to mind when Superman breaks the laws of physics.

Crappy plot, I think.

[MattRog]

Batman: I finally found the people that killed my parents! Prepare to die! :holds up BatGun:
Superman, swooping in: I'm sorry Bruc-- I mean 'Bat-Man'. I can't let you kill them, that would be wrong.
Batman: Oh shut up you tight-wearing pansy! :looks at own tights: Ok, well at least I make this look good!
Superman: After all we've been through together! :wipes tear away: Prepare to die! :turns on heat vision:
Batman: Ah-hah! 'BatAntiSupermanHeatShield' activate! :heat vision deflects and blows up a nearby building:
Superman: You bastard! I'll crush you with my pinky! :lunges at the Caped Crusader:
Batman: Not so fast, Superdork! :whips out glowing green kryptonite rock:
Superman: Noo, my one weakness! My Achilles rock, as it were! :grabs Bruce's parents killers: Now I have YOUR weakness, the vengeance for your parent's killers! :laughs heartily:

...Lather, rinse, repeat...

2 hours later

Superman: :breathless and weary from a long fight: How did... how did Lex Luthor and The Joker team up to defeat us both?
Batman: :also beat-up: I don't know, but I suspect it is the scene for Batman V Superman II: "Two super-heads are better than one!"

fin.

This puts "Ender's Game" on hold

[Lumpish Scholar]

According to http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/eo/ 20020709/en_movies_eo/10217, "Petersen says he will temporarily shelve his other Warners projects--the epic Trojan War and an adaptation of Orson Scott Card's sci-fi novels Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow--and will begin working on Superman vs. Batman."

Re:How is this a fight?

[Cheeko]

In the original Justice League, you had all these super-human super heros and then Batman. He was like this sorta dark guy who was out for good, but also wasn't super righteous like the super-human guys. In the comic, he made sure he know everyone elses secret weekness, and was prepared to exploit it if need be. Now I haven't read all of these cause well, I haven't even seen most of them, but I've been informed by people who've read them, that in Super Man's case, Batman had a gun with kryptonite bullets or something along those lines. And also was able to figure out who Super Man's alter ego was. I also seem to recall that Batman knew were Super Man's ice cave was, but I'm a bit less certain about this bit.

Basically while Super Man is the definition of pure physical strength, Batman is the definition of pure cunning. Batman was a loner always, even when fighting for good, and as such mistrusted even his "super" friends, and was always ready to cover his own ass first if need be.

I'm still waiting for

[unformed]

The Superhuman Royal Rumble.

Granted, it'll probably get sued by the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) who was recently sued by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund).

Even still, the Royal Rumble between Superman, Scooby Doo, Batman, the Penguin, Wonderwoman, Catwoman, and Tonya Harding, would be a truly kickass event.

New man of steel

[st0rmshad0w]

" It's kind of hard to imagine anybody but Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel"

True enough, but I vote Bruce Campbell. Its all in the chin, baby.

Re:New man of steel

[Skyshadow]

Then Batman really wouldn't stand a chance. He'd kick Supes around the film in amusing ways for a half hour only to get his head blown off by a not-much-worse-for-wear, shotgun-weilding Superman.

Hail to the King, baby.

Re:New man of steel

[Keith Russell]

I'd go see any Superman film with the hero line:

Good... bad... I'm the guy with the heat vision.

Although I'd have a problem with Batman dancing around, singing "Little goody-two-shoes! Little goody-two-shoes!"

Re:How is this a fight? (Hint: it was, Batman won)

[JoeBuck]

SirSlud writes: Check out "The Dark Knight Returns", where Batman defeats Superman (using some Kryptonite, btw.)

Cool. So Christopher Reeve can play Superman after all.

History Lesson

[Guppy06]

"It's kind of hard to imagine anybody but Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel"

Once upon a time nobody could see anybody but George Reeves playing Superman. A change in actors can be done successfully. Whether it will be done successfully is a whole other matter.

On the other hand, Batman has been played by a revolving door of actors since Keaton.

Matt Damon, not Michael Keaton

[tbmaddux]

It's kind of hard to imagine anybody but Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel -- somebody check Michael Keaton's schedule.

According tp the IMDB's "Celebrity News" the director wants Matt Damon. Here's the relevant text:

Matt Damon may get his choice of playing either Batman or Superman in a new movie that brings the comic book superheroes together - as enemies. Moviemaker Wolfgang Petersen has signed up to direct Batman vs. Superman for a 2004 release, and he wants Damon among his stars. The director says, "Matt's an interesting action man and a hell of an actor." The Perfect Storm director jumped at the chance to make the new movie because he likes the idea of pitting two heroes against each other. He says, "It's a clash of the titans. They play off each other so perfectly - Superman is clear, bright, all that is noble and good, and Batman represents the dark, obsessive and vengeful side. It'll make for great drama."

Re:Matt Damon, not Michael Keaton

[Slak]

Have you ever seen a Connery movie where he drops the accent? Didn't think so.

How about Clint Eastwood as the Dark Night - think "Unforgiven" - if it's to be anything like "The Fall".

Cheers,
Slak

Re:Brains vs. Brawn

[jafac]

It certainly has a potential for good political commentary.

Batman's big beef against Superman in the Dark Knight series was that Superman was a bit too boy-scouty, a bit too flag-wavingly patriotic. Too much of a political tool. Too much Law and Order, not enough Justice. Batman was perceived to have "crossed the line" and Superman was sent to reign him in.

In this post 9/11 PATRIOT Act Globalization Corporate Facism Goth/geek-profiling-from-Columbine-aftermath world (heh, I beat Jon Katz to the punch with THAT one) - there's EXCELLENT fodder for political commentary. Too bad the spineless wussies will probably shelve that idea.

The Great Carnak holds the envelope to his head...

[Cirrocco]

...and says, "Christopher Walken."(carefully opens the envelope and removes the card)

"Name something that members of the Reeves family will never see again!"

Re:How is this a fight? (Hint: it was, Batman won)

[Skyshadow]

Kmart. A lot of people never shop there, but there's actually some great super hero supplies stashed back behind the fishing stuff in sporting goods.

Don't tell anyone.

A serious reply: Would a superheroine movie sell?

[GuyMannDude]

Titilation aside, I wonder if the time is approaching that mainstream America is ready for a superheroine movie that isn't a joke or B-movie trash. The popularity of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon seems to indicate the American audiences may be willing to accept women as competent, powerful fighters. But I wonder if that acceptance wasn't because the whole movie was supposed to be a fantasy (with the flying and all). What do slashdotters think about the popularity of a serious big-budget Hollywood superheronie movie? You think people would go to see it?

GMD

Re:A serious reply: Would a superheroine movie sel

[VivianC]

I guess we'll have to wait and see how the new POWER PUFF GIRLS movie does....

Re:A serious reply: Would a superheroine movie sel

[Skirwan]

But I wonder if that acceptance wasn't because the whole movie was supposed to be a fantasy (with the flying and all).

I hate to burst your bubble, but Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Catwoman are all fantasy too. Completely fictional.

You might want to get out more.

--
Damn the Emperor!

Re:Someone tell me how Batman could beat Superman?

[markmoss]

Wouldn't Superman crush Batman in about a milli-second?

That's always been a problem for the Superman scriptwriters - how to make _anything_ be a challenge, since over the years since the comic strip started (around 1930?) they've attributed so much strength and so many abilities to him that anything short of a galaxy-sized black hole ought to be easy. He's the irresistible force and the immovable object. And if he screws up and lets something bad happen without being there to stop it, he can just fly faster than light to reverse time. You'd think his only real problem would be keeping his personal organizer up to date (08:45 save Lois from bad guy 1, 08:50 save the world from bad guy 2, 08:55 pick up a mugger from the alley and drop him off at Sing Sing, 09:00 put in an appearance in civies as the mild mannered reporter who missed all the fun again, 09:05 save Lois again...)

So how is Batman, who is just a human being with really nice toys, going to face Superman? Yawn, kryptonite again. Obviously that stuff deadens his brain long before he comes close enough to lose his strength, otherwise he'd have learned not to fall for it every time. And it's easy to find green kryptonite on earth, even for convicts on the run from the law, let alone billionaires.

IIRC, someone once calculated from the quantities of kryptonite that have turned up on Earth and the inverse square law, that Krypton must have been so massive it collapsed into a black hole.

Re:How is this a fight? (Hint: it was, Batman won)

[Kwil]

Well.. what wasn't mentioned is Batman did have a wee bit of an advantage in the Miller books.

Superman had just recently been at ground zero of a multi-megaton nuclear bomb, one that kicked up enough dust that there was next to no sunlight getting through to the earth. Being that sunlight is what powers Superman, he was in a weakened condition to begin with.

Plus, Superman didn't actually want to kill Batman - he was just there to "bring him in", and considering that Batman was in his elder years in the DKR, Superman was probably holding back considerably.

Mix this with Batman being in a veritable tank of a suit and using Superman's known weaknesses (such as they are) including electricity, sonics, and of course kryptonite (which in the words of the comic "The stuff took years and millions of dollars to synthesize, but luckily I had both")

Put it all together and you wound up with a situation where Batman could beat Superman.. if only just barely.

back to superheroes and audiences for a moment...

[dpilot]

I really liked "Unbreakable" as a truly unusual treatment of the whole superhero thing. I guess most people didn't, because it didn't do that well at the box office.

In the same vein, I couldn't imagine Michael Keaton as Batman. He did well enough there, but his portrayal as Bruce Wayne was downright terrific. First time the character ever seemed believable, comic, TV, cartoon, whatever.

Good vs. Good???

[Fascist Christ]

How much do you want to bet that in the end they set aside their differences and work together against some super-villain?

Old News

[crashnbur]

Not to take away from ReadParse, but news about this movie has been available at Coming Soon for several weeks. Maybe the boys over there have more news worth duplicating...

Now for an on topic comment: haven't we had enough comic book hero movies for one life time? The answer seems to be no, as it was first Superman, then Batman, and now Spider-Man who have repeatedly broken box office records every time a new one is released.

Now the bad news: we all have to wait two years for the movie to develop. So why is it such big news now?

You know who'd be perfect for the Superman role?

[Rogerborg]

Our own dear Wil Wheaton.

Think about it. He's handsome in a boy-next-door Young Republican poster kind of way, he has the correct wholesome, too good to be true, "I'll save-the-day" associations in the public consciousness, he can actually act, he has geek appeal, and he looks good in a skin tight unitard.

Petition here.