300 director to tackle Superman reboot
Warner Bros.’ reboot of the Superman franchise has found its director, and it’s Zack Snyder. Snyder, best known for his adaptations of Frank Miller’s 300 and Alan Moore’s Watchmen, will direct a script written by David Goyer from a story by the film’s producer — and Batman director — Christopher Nolan.
General Zod, previously played with aplomb by Terrance Stamp in Superman II, will be the bad guy, and it is unlikely that Superman Returns star Brandon Routh will return as the Man of Steel.
On one hand, it is easy to see why Warner Bros. choose Snyder. 300 made a lot of money at the box office, and Watchmen, although not as successful, was a very true adaptation with little deviation from the source material. However, he does not really seem right for the job. Superman is not some hulking character good only for action scenes — Superman works best when stories deal with his emotional struggles, not his physical ones. That is part of why Superman Returns was so effective, especially Brandon Routh’s performance.
Snyder’s washed out, ultra-stylized visual style seems at odds with Nolan’s penchant for realism and non-CGI effects. It will be interesting to see how Snyder’s action and flair style of directing mixes with Nolan’s cerebral and plot-heavy sense of storytelling.
I am looking forward to this film. I believe Snyder has a very good visual style akin to making Superman’s fights interesting for once. Granted, while writing and character is not his strong suit (Well, we shall see with Sucker Punch), I think that with his great visual strength matched with Goyers writing and Nolans skill-set for developing new characters and plots, it should be a grand compilation of talent, turning superman from a dull protagonist to an actually exciting and quality film.