I’ve been chewing on this one for a while.  Recently IGN reported that Warner Bros. has decided not to make a sequel to Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, instead opting for a reboot of the series to make a “darker and more edgy” Superman film.  This decision was reportedly based on the disappointing performance of Superman Returns at the box office compared with the record-smashing success of The Dark Knight.

Before I go any farther, let me clarify.  I grew up a comic book fan.  Batman is the hero for me.  He was, is, and always will be my favorite character.  Batman is dark.  He is edgy.  He’s a dichotomy and that makes him infinitely interesting to me.  The Dark Knight was also a masterfully crafted movie and I have nothing but praise and respect for Christopher Nolan’s latest.

But, I’ve seen this mistake before. 

Frank Miller wrote The Dark Knight Returns in 1986 and ushered in one of the most powerful visions of Batman as a dark, brooding, tragic character.  It is a brilliant Batman story, and my personal favorite.  If I have to point to a depiction of Batman that is ultimate, it is Frank Miller’s Batman.  But there was a downside.  The popularity of The Dark Knight Returns, coupled with the popularity of Alan Moore’s Watchmen caused comic books to turn towards dark stories.  For the better part of the next ten years every comic book hero suddenly had to have a dark side, a hidden secret, or just be unlikeable. 

I’m not criticizing dark stories, or stories that are geared more towards an adult audience.  What I am criticizing is decisions that are made across the board.  Just because The Dark Knight is hugely successful, that does not mean that every comic book movie made at Warner Bros. has to be made in the same image.  How many wonderful films could be made that are (gasp!) different than The Dark Knight?  This reminds me of the Disney decree that from now on all animated Disney films will be 3D computer animation and no hand-dawn 2D animation will be allowed.  Thankfully John Lasseter tore that barrier down as soon as it was his decision to make, allowing filmmakers to make their films in whatever format suited the story.  That’s all I’m ultimately asking for:  If the story doesn’t depict a dark and edgy subject, then please, don’t make it dark and edgy.

Superman as a character is perhaps uniquely suited to this conversation.  Superman is one of, if not the most wholesome characters ever written.  Superman is, by design, the best of us.  He fights for truth, justice, and the American way.  He stops super villains, but will also take the time to help a cat stuck in a tree.  He wears a bright costume and sees the world in black and white terms of good and evil.  He is not dark.  He is not edgy.  He’s Superman.  It is this core component of Superman’s character that Bryan Singer recognized and used brilliantly in Superman Returns.

As an audience member Superman Returns is a work of genius.  Singer completely captured the wonder and awe of Richard Donner’s original Superman:  The Movie.  Singer brought an innocents and emotion to the story that in all seriousness moved me to tears (perhaps I take my superhero movies a bit more seriously than the average guy).  Superman Returns hits all of it’s marks and challenges you to care about these fantastic characters as if they were your neighbors.  I simply cannot praise Superman Returns enough.  Any time I watch it I’m suddenly eight years old again, and I believe that a man can fly.  I’m fully aware that it underperformed at the box office, but that doesn’t change the majesty of the film.  What it does change is the likelihood of a sequel. 

Since the 2006 release of Superman Returns I have been hoping beyond hope that Singer would be back for another Man of Steel movie.  Warner said “yes,” then said “maybe” and then said “probably not, but you never know” and now they’ve said “we want an edgy Superman.”  Frankly if I want to watch The Dark Knight, I will go watch The Dark Knight.  When I see Superman on the marquee I want daylight.  I want a man in blue tights.  I want morality and clearly defined good and evil.  I want to feel like a kid again and forget about corruption and betrayal and duplicitous motives.  Those are not the building blocks of a Superman story.

But this decision by Warner Bros. speaks on a level that goes beyond the ravings of someone who has been reading Batman and Superman comics for over twenty years.  It speaks to our entertainment as a whole and essentially says “The viewing audience only wants to see more of the same.”  And as such, studios want to protect their investment, and assure their rate of return, and will make what we’ve already seen.  As a business owner, I understand this.  If you have Movie A that has worked in the past and Movie B that could be a niche film, but is original and untested, then from an investment standpoint you make Movie A.  As an artist, however, this breaks my heart.  For every big budget sequel there are strikingly good small pictures that never get a chance.  Every once in a great while lightning strikes and one of those small pictures that struggled to get made on the shoestring budget that could be raised for it makes it big and everyone cheers!  Until the next week when they’re just looking for Movie A again.

Oh well.  They’ll make their edgy Superman movie and it probably won’t do well and somewhere someone will scratch their head and think “Huh, The Dark Knight made a Jillion dollars, wonder why this edgy Superman movie didn’t.”  And then the phone will ring and they’ll go on about their day.  Mean while if I ever get the chance to meet Bryan Singer I’ll give him a hug and tell him how much Superman Returns means to me and that I’m sorry I never got to see the sequel.

Christopher Johnson, Director, Easy Water Films, L.L.C.