In between anticipation for 2012 superhero films like The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, there’s been question about the next big comic book blockbuster on the way, which is Zack Snyder’s (Watchmen) reboot of the Superman movie franchise, Man of Steel.
Set photos and official images aside, what we’ve learned about Man of Steel so far has come primarily from the words and opinions of the cast and crew – and today continues this trend. Check out what Dylan Sprayberry – the actor who plays of the younger version of Clark Kent – had to say about the Superman reboot’s tone, and how it compares to DC/Warner Bros. other big superhero property, namely Chris Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
According to Sprayberry:
When Zack [Snyder] and I were talking about it the first time, he was saying how Superman, they want to give it a more edgy feel like The Dark Knight but also make it more realistic and emotional so it’s not just the all-American superhero that saves everyone. He has dilemmas and love and struggles throughout the whole movie, especially when he’s a kid.
Regarding the scope of the film:
I didn’t even really notice how big it was until I finished shooting. It was so overwhelming that it was crazy, I was like “I can’t believe I just did all that.†In the moment, I was really focused on the work and the acting.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard Man of Steel being compared to the dark and edgier tones of the Nolan Batman films – star Michael Shannon (General Zod) said the same thing a few months back. The “danger†of making such comparisons is that they tend to rile up those fans who either A) don’t think the Nolan Bat-films are as great as millions (upon millions) of people think they are, or B) don’t think that a bright and shining hero like Superman should be in any way similar to a dark and brooding guy like Batman.
In the latter case, some fans would likely say that it’s Hollywood and the ‘people making the film who know nothing about Superman’ who are trying to blindly emulate the success of the Batman movies at high cost to the identity and legacy of Superman – but that’s not quite the case. Superman, the character, was just re-invented by DC Comics’ “New 52″ reboot, in which the iconic hero is presented as being, well, edgier than before – complete with scaled-down powers that also make him more vulnerable.
The idea behind these changes is to create a Superman more fitting for our current times – less idealistic and invincible, more complex and vulnerable – and while the rebooted comic books have been doing fine in terms of reception and sales, whether or not the wider moviegoing public is going to embrace this new rendering of a classic icon remains to be seen…
Man of Steel flies into theaters on June 14, 2013.
