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The studio decided to make a Superman film that goes “dark to the extent that the characters allow it.” Two new Man of Steel trailers are out. Are they too dark?
Superman appeared for the first time in Action Comics in 1938. More than 70 years later, a new Superman film by director Zack-Snyder opens in 2013 starring Henry Cavill.
I think they’re great and show a young, bearded Clark Kent taking on one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: A lobster fisherman. Plus, there’s a great shot of (presumably) young Clark pretending to fly with a cape. In the end, we get a shot of Superman flying into the sky with a sonic boom.
It’s hard to judge the teasers, but we reached out to Larry Tye, the writer of the best-selling novel Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero
First, you can watch the trailers with Jor-El and Pa Kent. I put them together into one trailer since they’re pretty much the same except for the voice-overs.
Jor-El (Russell Crowe): “You’ll give the people an ideal to strive for.
They’ll race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time
they will join you in the sun. In time you will help them accomplish
wonders.”
Pa Kent (Kevin Costner): “You’re not just anyone. One day, you’re going to have to make a choice. You’re going to have to decide what kind of man you’re going to grow up to be. Whoever that man is, good character or bad, is going to change the world.”
Here’s what Larry Tye told us.
“The three short snippets don’t give much sense of what Man of Steel will be about, and how much they’ll deviate from the way Superman has always been.” Tye said.
“Then again I have faith that Warner Bros. is smart enough not to tinker, in any ways that really matter, with a mythos that has been going so strong for 74 years and counting. It’s not like Superman is broken and needs fixing. In fact everything going on in the world today suggests this is precisely the time for a hero of light — a guy who instinctively knows right from wrong — in a way that sometimes defies darker heroes like Batman and more fraught ones like Superman.
“That is an understanding that Dick Donner got better than just about anyone when he created the first and best of Christopher Reeve’s four-set series of movies in 1978, and it’s why that film and the ones that followed worked so well. It’s what Bryan Singer understood in 2006, when he gave us Superman Returns. Donner called it verisimilitude, which simply meant staying true to the character Jerry and Joe gave us in 1938. If Warner Bros. does that, it’ll have another blockbuster on its hands.
“If not, fans will let them know where they got it wrong and, I trust, make them return to the superhero’s noble beginnings.”
He’s confident the studio will stay true to the character’s ideals. That or they’ll feel the wrath of the fans.
Larry Tye is the author of several biographies, including The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays and the Birth of Public Relations, Home Lands: Portraits of the New Jewish Diaspora and Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend. Make sure you check out his site at LarryTye.com
Via Huffington Post
What do you think of the trailers? Do you think the character will go too dark?
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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="39681 ">15 Comments
Considering I saw a trailer for it before The Dark Knight Rises, no I don't think it will be too dark.
The teaser trailer was pretty lame, especially since we've most of us seen Superman up close from leaked footage. And the idea that contrails are coming out of his feet like a jet fighter seems pretty ridiculous, though I suppose a man flying in the first place is pretty ridiculous. Anyway, Snyder did a great job on "Watchmen" so I'm hoping it won't be too awful. I was surprised to see Christopher Nolan was producing it, since Superman doesn't seem to be up his alley the way Batman was.
Though really my biggest concern is if they'll change the theme song or not. You can't beat the classic John Williams theme, you just can't. So I hope they integrate it like they did with the other movies.
You may want to edit Larry's comments to read "fraught like Spider-Man," as I believe he intended to say…
Superman deserves to be a monumental figure, and I believe that's what Snyder is going for, a giant concept that goes a little beyond Metropolis. Grant Morrison's Superman is exactly the one Larry is looking for (and what that shot of the jeans and t-shirt look is meant to evoke), willing to do what's necessary even if it doesn't seem to square with the Big Blue Boy Scout we've known, and still being the people's champion.
In fact, if Snyder can make Superman into the superhero version of The Rock, then he really does have a winner, if you smell what he's cooking.
i am trying to avoid things that relate to the film, the trailer is just a teaser… i have not tried to search out anything more than the studio wants us to see. i talked with composer tyler bates about his not being the composer of this as he has scored several of the director's biggest releases. well he said… coming soon to a post near you… see that is a teaser. it's not dark it's the way of all super hero inspired films… they think we want dark, they give us dark. if we wanted pink, they would give us pink…
I didn't care for the whole "fishing" angle thing that seems to come across in the trailer but maybe this is an attempt to appeal to fans of "Deadliest Catch"? I don't know for sure. But the movie is bound to be a winner with Christopher Nolan putting the money up (producing) it. There's no way he'd let his money go to a project that sucked ass.
I hadn't seen any of the trailers yet, so this blew me away! I am a huge Deadliest Catch fan, so putting Clark on a crab boat is pretty awesome in my opinion. Is it too dark? I'm not sure I can tell from what I just saw. But, even so, I don't think darker characters is a bad thing.
I did see the trailer during The Dark Knight Rises. I do hope they go for a darker Superman. Maybe I'd like him more. Heh.
I saw the trailer at The Dark Knight Rises, but didn't think it showed enough for me to decide if I even wanted to see it.
I am completely underwhelmed. Superman on screen should be exhilerating. This just looked like an indie drama mixed with some reality TV and sprinkled with a tiny bit of not-particularly-impressive flying effects. So far, they have teased themselves out of one ticket sale.
I like the Malick-ian nature of the trailer. Really quite good.
It was too much of a teaser for me to make an opinion – I liked the S symbol though.
Ciara there's not much to go on
Hey Maurice,
Thanks, as always, for stopping by and if you don't mind, I'm going to use the "man-tear" comment 🙂
I'm thinking Snyder doesn't understand Superman at all.