It seems that the mastermind behind the success of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight could be overseeing a huge reinvention of DC Comic's other iconic franchise player (no, not Booster Gold.) According to a story broke by Deadline, efforts to revive the Superman film franchise are apparently underway and whoever will be tapped to helm this monster of a film will have Nolan's expertise at his/her disposal.

The prospect of another reboot Superman always seems to have its up's and downs. Coming off the lukewarm reception for Bryan Singer's 2006 effort, Superman Returns, the folks over at DC Comics (now DC Entertainment) and Warner Bros. pictures have been scratching their heads for the past 4 years as to how (or if) they would go about giving another shot with the Man of Steel on the big screen. There seemed to be little progress, as even Diane Nelson, the president of the newly-christened DC Entertainment had announced that there just were not any plans lined up for Superman. So, what could have suddenly motivated this surprising second-wind for the project? Apparently (in a very familiar scenario,) it may have to do with "legal issues." 

Some may recall the recent lawsuit from the estates of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, which sued for damages incurred from alleged "sweetheart deals" between Warner and DC over licensing fees that were below fair market value, depriving the estates of their respective cuts. While the judgment was ultimately not in the favor of the estates, the Court did lay down some conditions on the status of those rights. A new Superman film had to begin production by 2011, or not only would the disputed damages be awarded, but the exclusive rights to the Superman franchise would revert back to the Siegels and Shusters. (Who already own half.) Unfortunately for Warner and DC, they did not believe that anything could get off the ground until 2012 at soonest.

That was the state of the "Superman Sequel/Reboot" project LAST SUMMER. Here we are in February of the next year, and suddenly, this (still unconfirmed) news is dropped. It seems that after nearly a year of giving off an "ah, screw that, it's not worth it" vibe, some folks over at DC or Warner decided that this project was worth fighting for, and put it into overdrive. Perhaps this was motivated by the ultra-quick last-minute effort by Sony to maintain their rights to Spider-Man, with the clock looming over them in a similar situation. Sam Raimi was abruptly out and newcomer Marc Webb was brought in to get the reboot going ASAP.

As of now, "Superman 3.0" (as it has been unofficially dubbed,) is in early stages of development. The idea of it being a complete reboot and NOT a sequel to Superman Returns was also reaffirmed.

That brings us to Christopher Nolan. We know that he's not likely to occupy the directors chair, since his schedule is pretty much set with the third Batman film seemingly underway (as evidenced by scribe, David Goyer's abrupt exit from the creative team of FlashForward.) So, one might have to surmise that Nolan will simply be hanging around the set, Yoda-ing it up, providing guidance and wisdom for the film's still unnamed director. According to Deadline:

"Our insiders say that the brains behind rebooted Batman has been asked to play a "godfather" role and ensure The Man Of Steel gets off the ground after a 3 1/2-year hiatus. Nolan's leadership of the project can set it in the right direction with the critics and the fans, not to mention at the box office." Further explaining: "Superman 3.0 would test Warner Bros veteran executive Diane Nelson, the head of DC Entertainment Inc, that new company founded to fully realize and integrate the power and value of the DC Comics brand and characters across all media and platforms into Warner Bros Entertainment's content and distribution businesses. Nelson especially was charged with suping up Superman again because it's way too valuable to leave dormant like this. Besides, the clock is ticking."

What do you think? Is there finally some hope that we'll get a truly great Superman film that finds the delicate balance between pure pathos and mind-blowing action? While I kind of shudder at the possibility of enduring Superman's origin yet again, it may be nice if it could be done with Braniac incorporated into the destruction of Krypton, following Kal-El to Earth to battle him after he has come of age.

Source: Deadline