Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Superman Related Man of Steel sequel

Here is a link http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162...uperman-director-drops-sequel-bombshell/ about the announcement that Batman will be in the Man of Steel sequel.

I have major reservations about this. I guess my main hope is they do not try a Batman/Superman/Lois love triangle. That is my biggest fear, and I just do not want them to do it.

On the other hand, it will be interesting to see if Lois can bust Batmans's identity as quick as she figured out who the Super-powered alien was.

Ugh. Not happy. I don't want Superman v. Batman where there's a "winner" and I wouldn't want Bats to be the winner if that did happen. And I certainly don't want a love triangle. I hate love triangles.

But even beyond that, I don't want Batman there. I want a Superman sequel. If they wants World's Finest or Justice League, I'd rather they be made in addition to Superman movies, not instead of.

Right now, I'm really hating this.

Edited to add: I'm seeing talk elsewhere that there's going to be a World's Finest in addition to a MOS sequel? Well, that's better, but I still hate the tone - of Batman as a victor, judging by the quote (haven't read the comic). I don't buy it. Besides that, I think the MOS sequel needs to pick up very soon after MOS and not have time for some other sequel between them. And what version of Batman will this use? A new one? Or same continuity, just with a different actor?

Well, for what it is worth, since it appears the story is not written yet, the Batman as a victor quote was just part of the introduction, and there is no evidence that it has anything to do with the film.

I have reservations about this, but on the other hand, it could be a MOS sequel with Batman just appearing somewhat. As long as Lois and Clark are the main focus of the story and action, I won't mind Batman coming in.

As far as I can tell there are really no details yet beyond that Batman will be there.

They will have the roles of Perry, Lois and Martha with the same actors as in Man of Steel. Not that that really tells us much.

I liked how Marvel allowed each of their franchises to breathe separately before bringing them together in one large film (i.e. Avengers). I think the idea of bringing in Batman well before he has his own film within this uni is jumping the gun by a large margin.

Hmmm.

I guess my reaction is that I am cautiously pessimistic. I say that because I think it's too soon to do a crossover like this, but it could work. (Unfortunately, I believe it's more likely to be an unentertaining mess of a battle-fest.) There is still WAY too much to establish for Superman on his own before you bring in Batman. I had hoped that this would be the movie where we see Clark establish his – and Superman's – identity in Metropolis. The things that they should do before bringing in Batman:
1. Establish Clark and Lois's relationship
2. Introduce Superman
3. Setup – at least publicly, the Lois – Clark – Superman triangle
Lois and Clark know it isn't a triangle, but there could be some fun with the rest of the DP members wondering about Lois's relationship with the two men and Clark's feeling about Lois's obvious relationship with Superman.
4. Bring in Lex and give him a reason to hate Superman

Bringing Batman into he mix means that some or all of these elements is going to get the short-shrift. Almost certainly to the detriment of the story and movie.

Now, that doesn’t mean that they can't make a good Superman – Batman movie, but I have to believe that the likelihood of this being a particularly good movie just took a HUGE hit.

Someone needs to shake these people and yell, “It's the STORY, Stupid!”

Bob

I agree with bobbart -- it's the story, stupid! One thing that bothered me in MOS was the lack of story through about the second half of the film. They just used special effects and banked on the destruction of Metropolis scene. It sounds like they are including Batman for the 'thrills' rather than for story purposes. I think they are afraid of making a relationship movie about Lois/Clark/Superman, afraid it will turn off the fanboy base. Unfortuneately, I think by just trying to 'entertain' everyone, they miss the point entirely...

I have to admit that I haven't seen MoS. What I heard about the story didn't really appeal to me and I couldn't have spared the time anyway. Maybe as a rental. So, that said...

Based on what we've seen in the previous Superman movies, suppose Gotham existed as it was in the Batman movies. Would Superman actually leave it that way? He's involved in rescues, forest fires, earthquakes, etc. throughout the whole world--why wouldn't he spend time cleaning up Gotham?

Needless to say, I don't like the idea of a crossover. Besides, I don't know if DC could do it "justice".

I agree with Christina's comment about Marvel letting each storyline breathe. But they could do it and still have crossovers. I don't know if DC has ever had a unified universe. Marvel has one universe so they didn't have to make story or character changes in order to bring them together. Even the Justice League stories seem to be independent of those of the individual heroes. For example, could DC marry the Batman and Green Lantern storylines? Marvel Comics could and I'm happy to see that they are making the movies the same way.

Going off at a complete tangent, that LNC episode where Metropolis was getting awarded a 'safest city in the US' award, always made me chuckle. Well, yeah, if you have Superman to help you out there... I could imagine all the other cities' mayors grumbling into their cornflakes about the unfair advantage.

LabRat

Given that Batman is in the sequel, I'd like to see Bruce Wayne show up in Metropolis and have Lois and Clark meet him. He could be helping with the redevelopment. There could be rumors of Batman being seen in Metropolis at night, and Superman could run into him. Maybe they don't hit it off at first, but by the end Superman could decide that Batman is more or less a good guy. If they keep Lois and Clark the point-of-view characters and minimize Batman's screen time, I think it could work, even while doing all the other things that the sequel needs to do, like establish Clark at the Daily Planet and establish Superman's relationship with the public.

Do I think they'll pull it off effectively? Nope. But I can hope....

My favorite Superman Meets Batman story is World's Finest - the three-episode crossover between Superman the Animated Series and Batman the Animated Series. I don't want them to just use that plot, but I hope they draw some inspiration from that for their relationship.

Incidentally, World's Finest has Batman throw Superman across a room and then expose him to Kryptonite the first time they meet. It wasn't a prolonged fight, but it could count as Batman beating Superman. So if the quote from the article means that they're going to have a fight in the movie, I hope it's more of a short altercation when they meet like World's Finest did. (Though I'm not sure movie makers are physically capable of having Superman and Batman fight each other without overdoing it.)

All in all, I would prefer to have the sequel, then bring in Batman for the third movie. We could have a separate Batman movie before they combine, but I don't think it's needed given that we just had a Batman trilogy showing his origins. I don't think that Batman being in the sequel is necessarily a disaster, though.

It appears that the quote was just meant as the best hook for the idea they could come up with, and it seems it does not reflect anything directly about the story.

We really have no clue how much Batman they will use. They already had a Wayne Enterprises Satellite in MOS, so bringing in Bruce Wayne is not exactly shocking.

I really hope they do not show Batman at all until near the end of the film, but we will see.

Actually, on one level I am encouraged by this. Before this announcement I was afraid they would try to make MOS2 and even bigger fight movie than MOS. As much as I loved MOS, I am not at heart a super huge fan of unending action. So Batman being there gives me hope they will keep up the excitement in a different way. We shall see.

I really hope it is a Superman movie with batman appearing. The return of Lois, Perry and Martha gives me hope for that, but having those three in the film and giving them significant roles are different stories.

The Superman Homepage editor, Steve Younis pretty much boiled down my reaction pretty succinctly. I do recommend reading it. He (like me) is cautiously nervous considering the fact they didn't give Superman his own film before adding Batman in.

Well, "Superman vs. Batman" (or "Batman vs. Superman") might not be just a description of some potentially small part of the movie; it looks like one of those phrases might actually be the new movie's title. Neither is a promising title, in my book. Here is one reference for this. It doesn't look definitive, fortunately. But even so, I would say that the confrontation between the World's Finest will likely be a major part of the movie; so much for any hopes of a team-up, at least in this movie.

I had been withholding judgment on the movie since, after all, it won't be released for nearly two years. I'm still open to the possibility of seeing it, and I hope that it turns out to be fantastic, but I'm not terribly sanguine about the likelihood of that.

"Bumped,"
Lynn

I don't understand how it could be a Superman sequel if Batman gets equal billing. IMO, that makes it a different franchise altogether. (Just as Avengers is different from Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, or Capt America.) I followed the link that Lynn gave and there was another article which stated that "Batman vs. Superman" would be the title of the "next" MoS movie and that it would be taking off where MoS left off. Clearly, Batman must consider Kal-El a risk to his planet. :rolleyes: So much for the Lois Lane's PR machine. I'll try to remain my skeptical... er... positive self, but this grain of salt will soon need a home out in Utah (i.e. near "Salt Lake" City).

So Superman is getting second billing in his own movie? I understand the marketing behind that, given "Batmania" and the fact that Superman hasn't been as much in favour with the general public, but to say that this news dismays me is an understatement.

I watched about five minutes of one of Nolan's Batman movies (I can't even recall which one it had been), and that was as much as I wanted to see. If this movie goes the way I fear it will, I probably won't even bother renting it online, much less watch it in the theatre.

Again, it is still early and the final product may well be very different than what I am fearing will be the case. Even so, I think I might need an acre or two of prime Utah land myself at this rate.

,
Lynn

I've long wanted to see a live action team up between Superman and Batman, so I'm pretty excited about the possibilities for this new movie. Despite the fact that a lot of superheroes made guest appearances on the show "Smallville," Batman is one of the few who didn't appear, so this will be new territory.

I've read that a movie about the DC Comics character the Flash is also in the works, as well as a Justice League movie, which would presumably feature Superman, Batman, and the Flash. So far, there's been no word yet on a Wonder Woman film, though, which is a surprise to me since I'm almost sure that she'd be included in a Justice League movie. She is, after all, the most well known female member of the team.

I'm going to have to agree with you in just the fact that I couldn't see 'The Dark Knight' version of Batman ever being friends with this Man of Steel's Superman. Actually, I couldn't really see him being friends with anyone besides Catwoman and his butler. He wasn't a fun Batman like Michael Keaton, who I frankly *loved* as Batman, so I'm hoping they re-invent Batman (with another actor) too if this is truly the direction they go.

There was a Flash movie I heard about when people were talking about ComicCon on the web, but it was an (adult) animated movie which was so good it blew everyone away. I haven't heard about a live action version.

Later... I went in search of the name of that animated movie (which BTW is "Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox") and stumbled across this:
2 points for LLF for breaking it, here. After the disaster that was to be the Wonder Woman television show and the luke warm reception of New 52s, I'm guessing DC is staying away from a movie version of WW.

To ease a couple of fears...

Christian Bale (of Nolan's Batman trilogy) has outright refused to play Batman again. (Then again, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill et al. also said that about Star Wars, and now look....) But barring that-- no, it isn't going to have anything to do with those movies, unless they--

*SPOILER*
*SPOILER*
*SPOILER*
*SPOILER*
*SPOILER*
*SPOILER*

-- bring in Joseph Gordon-Levitz to be the new Batman. Keep in mind that MoS is still a Chris Nolan film, and he loves re-using actors (you'd be surprised to find how many times JGL is in his different movies, along with many others). If however they do have him take up the mantle of "Batman" it would not be Bruce Wayne's Batman, which throws a kink in the whole World's Finest arc. Meaning, in my opinion, THERE WILL BE NO CONNECTION WHATSOEVER TO THE LAST 3 BATMAN FILMS. In fact, I would expect them to go with a relatively unknown actor to play the caped crusader. ( Fun Brackets for you to choose the next Batman! )

That said... I was expecting Bruce Wayne to be in the next MoS, just because of the little easter eggs that hinted at Wayne Enterprises (same goes for Lexcorp), and everything that can be read on screen is supposed to be important. I'm actually fine with them even using the World's Finest arc-- loved it in the cartoons. I can even be okay with a Clark-Lois-Bruce love triangle (IIRC, Lois actually dated Bruce Wayne for a brief period of time in one of the cartoons). In fact, I would appreciate it, since they already eliminated the triangle-built-for-two option in the first film, and it would give a little bit more interest to the romance department. Will Lois choose the man with powers or the man with the means?

I can even be okay with Batman existing in this movie (aside from Bruce Wayne). As MoS is basically (from what I understand) restarting the DC movie franchise, and Superman is the first superhero to come out of it, I can see slowly introducing future Justice Leaguers on the scene through the MoS series. (Kinda like what Marvel did with Ironman, branching out to other Avengers films before dropping them all in one.)

My problem comes in where they make the entire movie about Batman fighting Superman. First of all, sure, there can be a little conflict. There is. But if they turn each other into villains, I'm gonna ask for my money back. I also have a problem if they decide they're going to make this all about Batman and not Superman-- in a Superman movie sequel!! Include him, run a quick backstory on him-- but don't lose sight of what's important, and that's Superman. And Clark. I still want to see Clark adjusting to life as a reporter, and trying to date Lois, or whatever. We need more Clark or else nothing will make sense. And finally, I need a real villain. I love the ideas that come with Lex Luthor. Maybe he doesn't even get caught in the end, maybe he escapes prison, like he always does, maybe he's got Bruce Wayne on his side to start. But in the end, it CANNOT be just Batman versus Superman. It will not work. I hope the studios are smart enough to realize that.

Fun fact: the actor who voiced Superman in this film is Sam Daly-- son of Tim Daly, the man who voiced Superman since the 1996 cartoon aired.
The Daly Supermen with Dean and Brandon-- Funny!

I've heard whispers about a Flash movie but nothing concrete until then. Also, I've heard rumors of a Batman reboot movie to occur *after* the Batman/Superman team-up movie (supposedly going to release 2017-- which would in fact make the JL movie farther down the road which would only make things better). Wonder Woman... I don't know. I don't want them jumping into that movie because unless they do it perfectly right it'll hit the fan. I think they should introduce WW in the midst of another hero's film (i.e. World's Finest or something or rather) and then make her movies once the people have already grown to like the character. Otherwise I'm concerned for what they'll do. And the best thing for the Green Lantern universe would be to kill off Hal Jordan in the first 15 minutes (or less) and replace him instantly with Jon Stewart's GL (who happens to be my favorite GL anyways-- although I love that Nathan Fillion voices Hal in the recent GL animated series).

Unfortunately, it is not likely that the powers that be in the DC franchise are going to listen to my advice, even though I'm about 75% sure I could fix the mistakes they're planning on making....

Am I the only person out there who liked the Green Lantern movie? (Fear Monster, not withstanding.)

Sorry, they'd have to do a different GL than "Jon Stewart" because whenever I see that name, I think this guy:


(and not the Jon Stewart from the Justice League cartoon). And as much as I think he's hilarious, he's not Green Lantern material (Sorry, Jon).