We virtually bought a Man of Metal sequel from the director of the final 4 Mission: Unimaginable motion pictures. And based on him, it could have been “so f***ing good.”
With James Gunn’s Superman reboot lastly right here, discuss of a sequel, crossovers, and even some early Justice League teases are already circulating on-line.
As of the recording of this video, I haven’t seen Superman but—however one factor’s for positive: if this film does even just a little bit nicely, we are able to depend on a sequel going into growth immediately.
Or can we?
See, Superman’s cinematic journey has by no means precisely been clean. There’s Superman Lives, the notorious unmade undertaking from Kevin Smith and Tim Burton, J.J. Abrams’ scrapped Superman: Flyby, and even the announced-then-silently-scrapped Man of Metal 2—which might have starred Henry Cavill and been directed by Christopher McQuarrie.
So in the present day, we’re diving into the Man of Metal sequel we virtually bought. Let’s get into it.
Again in 2008, after The Darkish Knight broke field workplace information, DC wished to comply with it up with a extra grounded, life like tackle their different heroes. They employed Zack Snyder—who had already tailored 300 and Watchmen—to direct a brand new Superman movie that might doubtlessly crossover with Christian Bale’s Batman. And in 2013, we bought it. Man of Metal, produced by Christopher Nolan, written by David S. Goyer, and directed by Snyder, hit theatres and have become a monetary success—seemingly reviving curiosity in DC characters within the wake of Marvel’s rising dominance over the superhero style.
Now, I received’t converse for everybody (Man of Metal might be essentially the most polarizing Superman movie ever made), however I feel most of us would have welcomed one other spherical with Cavill as our favourite Kryptonian boy scout. Snyder’s Man of Metalwas the primary Superman film since 2006, when Bryan Singer tried a smooth reboot with Superman Returns. However Man of Metal ditched all previous continuity and reimagined Clark Kent’s origin story, embracing a extra uncooked and emotionally conflicted model of the character. It was a grounded tackle Superman—somebody struggling together with his identification and powers—set towards Snyder’s signature visible type: epic motion, kinetic fights, muted colours, interior turmoil, redemption, and, sure, even homicide.
However one thing surprising occurred—audiences began seeing Superman otherwise. Those that as soon as dismissed him as a boring, overpowered do-gooder now noticed a extra complicated, conflicted hero. A person torn between his interior rage and his obligation to cease Zod’s chaos, whereas additionally attempting to indicate humanity that even with the powers of a god, he was nonetheless certainly one of them—nonetheless human sufficient to care about Earth.
In fact, not everybody was on board.
However no matter the place you stand (sure, I see you typing #RestoreTheSnyderVerse), Man of Metal stays a one-off solo entry in a bigger crossover universe that began massive… and resulted in chaos, damaged guarantees, and unfulfilled potential.
So… what occurred?
Effectively, merely put: The Avengers occurred.
In 2012, Marvel launched what turned a landmark cinematic second—when Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America teamed up on-screen in a shared universe. Which may not sound all that epic now, however again then? Sport-changer.
The Avengers was a large hit, unlocking the true monetary potential of crossover storytelling. So naturally, DC scrambled. Nolan had wrapped up his Batman trilogy, and Snyder—initially introduced in to make a one-off Supermanmovie—was abruptly anticipated to fast-track a full-fledged cinematic universe. The strain was on. The studio became a suppose tank, chasing Marvel’s success. Massive-name expertise was employed and fired. Tasks like Inexperienced Lantern, The Flash, and sure, a direct Superman sequel have been tossed round—many with top-tier creatives connected. Together with Mission: Unimaginabledirector Christopher McQuarrie, who had a robust pitch for Man of Metal 2 (we’ll come again to that).
Movies have been rushed. There was no time to mythically construct out this world the way in which Snyder and Nolan had initially envisioned. The main target shifted from storytelling to appearances—what number of characters can we cram into this film? How briskly can we get to Justice League?
We ended up seeing Batman in 5 motion pictures (most of them subpar) and by no means even bought a correct standalone Batman-in-Gotham movie.
DC was scrambling: Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, Marvel Girl, and eventually… Justice League.
If this was the DCEU’s “Phase One,” yikes.
The rushed timeline and strain to compete with Marvel led to sloppy continuity, a Superman “trilogy” that killed him off earlier than we noticed actual progress, and a Justice League film haunted by private tragedy and a mid-production takeover by Joss Whedon. It appeared like all hope for a Man of Metal sequel was gone. Even Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Males: First Class) was introduced in to write down a sequel that by no means made it previous the strategy planning stage.
After which… Black Adam occurred.
By this level, Cavill had principally moved on from Superman. However he’d turn out to be shut mates with McQuarrie on the set of Mission: Unimaginable – Rogue Nation (and its sequels). In the meantime, Dwayne Johnson had been pushing for almost a decade to play Black Adam—and when the studio lastly gave him the inexperienced gentle, he had one situation: Henry Cavill should return as Superman.
The post-credits scene in Black Adam teased precisely that. Cavill made a public announcement that he was again.
The plan?
McQuarrie’s pitch for Man of Metal 2 reportedly included Superman dealing with off towards a member of the Inexperienced Lantern Corps. The studio, nonetheless, wished Brainiac and extra connections to the escaped Kryptonians from the primary movie.
McQuarrie stated his pitch was “so f***ing good,” and defined that the film would’ve opened with a scene that instantly outlined Superman—what he feared most, what made him tick, and why he made the alternatives he did. “In five minutes,” he stated, “the scale of the movie would have been extraordinary.”
We will solely assume McQuarrie’s film would’ve adopted the prevailing DCEU continuity, which—let’s be sincere—was already a little bit of a large number. Between McQuarrie’s Mission: Unimaginable workload, the DCEU’s string of field workplace bombs, and studio politics involving mergers and regime modifications… the undertaking died. Together with Cavill’s much-hyped Superman return.
And now? James Gunn and Peter Safran have taken over DC Studios and are rebooting the complete franchise—closing the guide on Man of Metal as soon as and for all.
However hey—we did get to see Cavill play Wolverine… wait, no we didn’t. (But.)
Look, I do know a few of you aren’t offered on Gunn’s tackle Superman, however let’s be actual—Deadpool stated it greatest:
“We will treat you so much better than those f***s down the street.”
I’ve bought tickets to see Superman this Thursday, so subsequent time we discuss, I’ll have seen it—and I’ll fortunately share my ideas. See you then.
