Christopher Nolan Meets with Puzzling Short List of Potential Superman Directors

superman_comic_body.jpgChristopher Nolan, who will produce yet another reboot of the Superman franchise that might or might not star John Hamm, is now meeting with a short list of potential directors for the film. The list makes you wonder: Does Nolan have any idea what direction to take this project yet? We've got two directors with distinct, completely opposing styles, two who haven't established any distinct style, and one intriguing wild card. Check out Movieline's breakdown of the list and chime in with your thoughts after the jump.

1. Tony Scott

If Scott did this, I'm hoping he'd bring the insanity of his recent efforts like Man on Fire and The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. Regardless though, expect a grittier take on the series with tons of cuts, over-the-top action, and Denzel Washington in some sort of role.

2. Zack Snyder

Or hey, what if the entire movie unfolded in slow motion in front of green screens? To be fair, Snyder played it relatively straight for Dawn of the Dead, but the trailer for Sucker Punch suggests that he's crossed some point of no return since then.

3. Jonathan Liebesman

Huh? The guy who directed the sequel to the remake of the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? I missed that one, but I did somehow see his earlier effort, Darkness Falls where an evil demon version of The Tooth Fairy terrorized a small town. It sadly did not live up to the ludicrous premise. Maybe Nolan has seen some of Liebesman's upcoming alien invasion movie Battle: Los Angeles and knows something we don't.

4. Matt Reeves

Tough call. Based on Cloverfield and the trailer for the apparently very good Let Me In, it seems like Reeves is indeed talented and able to adjust his style to what a film calls for. But with only these two very different films under his belt, it's anyone's guess as to how he'd handle the man of steel.

5. Duncan Jones

Interesting choice, and probably my favorite. Comic book movies have had good luck bringing in directors of small indie films, and Moon showed that Jones has enough visual panache, intelligence and storytelling skills to keep an audience engaged through a one man sci-fi show. Maybe his dad, David Bowie, could write a song for the end credits?

[via Deadline]



Comments

  • Satria says:

    1. Tony Scott's ADD shooting & cutting is rather hit and miss. Can be fun, but can also bore you to tears. Then again, Denzel as a drunk, down on his luck man of steel, intercut with flashy imagery of John Travolta's overacting Lex Luthor and Keira Knightly's underfed Lois Lane could be interesting.
    2. Zack Snyder is very talented in the style department, but his storytelling is mostly naive & more or less borderline fascist brain mush. Well, okay let's wait for that owl version of Happy Feet and the anime girl fight orgy. They both look gorgeous...
    3. DARKNESS FALLS was fun. Also very short. I remember it to have a close to ten minute end credit sequence just to get it to full feature length. Well, here's to brevity. Who needs Supes flying around for three hours!
    4. CLOVERFIELD was okay. LET ME IN remains to be seen. But you must never forget Matt Reeves also directed the god-awful Graduate-wannabe David Schwimmer vehicle THE PALLBEARER. Ugh!
    5. MOON was brilliant! So much so that I wish for Duncan Jones to do something more intriguing than SUPERMAN.

  • DKnight007 says:

    I'm for Reeves and Snyder....easily!
    I hope Nolan "recommends" Reeves or Snyder.
    The others just don't cut it IMO and Scott is past his prime!
    I wouldn't be surprised if Jones gets the gig either, since Nolan may have a soft spot for smaller indie guys like him with no big time film experience.
    I think with Nolans' producing and storytelling abilities mixed with Snyders' visuals and intense action sequences would make for a DYNAMIC filmmaking team that can execute the type of Superman film we have been waiting to see for many years!
    Imagine the marketing for the The Man Of Steel film announcing: "From the Creators of the Batman Trilogy and the Director of 300 and Watchmen"
    Also, if Zack wants to take his filmmaking to the next level, then collaborating with a talent like Nolan is the way to go.