One of the greatest things about movies is they can make us feel heroic in times of despair.
We all know Superman and Batman can’t really rush in and save us when things go horribly wrong, but superheroes can be icons of hope, and great role models for young, impressionable kids.
Where the Christopher Nolan Batman films have taken us to some pretty dark places, which in its own way can be a great refuge from real life darkness, Superman is a whole different ballgame. In fact, he’s been called the Jesus of superheroes, and the subtext of this was pretty obvious in the first Christopher Reeve Superman, especially the first ten minutes with Marlon Brando is preparing to send his only son to earth.
While screenwriter David Goyer has been out promoting his new series, Da Vinci’s Demons, he told Access Hollywood, “I’m happy the movie is coming out this summer, because I think it’s the kind of movie that the world needs right now. He’s an unabashed hero.”
And indeed, Superman doesn’t have anywhere near as many shades of gray or as much baggage as Batman does. If they went to high school together, Superman would always be the prom king, while Batman probably would have been the moody goth kid.
Yet even though Superman is nowhere near as complicated as Batman. “He’s trickier,” Goyer continued. “It’s kind of easier doing a dark character who doesn’t have any superpower.”
Oddly enough, as much as Goyer’s been steeped in the world of superheroes for many years now, he admitted, “I never thought I would be doing a Superman film. But I think the only way to top myself, or ourselves on Batman, is to tackle Superman – who’s kind of the Granddaddy of all the superheroes.”
It’s certainly not easy going right to the top two guys, Batman and Superman, in the superhero business. As much as this may seem like a safe bet, it’s actually very risky to take one a superhero this iconic, and there’s probably just as much riding on this reboot as there was with the Batman reboot.
As Goyer told IGN, “The more well-known the figure is, the harder it is.” But as Goyer also told Access Hollywood, “I’m really proud of what we’ve done and I can’t wait for people to see it.”
