George Miller might direct the next Superman film
Could the Man of Steel be going a little mad in the near future?
The rumor mill is starting to turn towards George Miller, famous for writing and directing seminal hits Happy Feet and Babe: Pig in the City (and some low-rent 2015 movie called Mad Max: Fury Road), with reports stating that he’s in line to direct the inevitable sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel.
pictured here: a mad superman
As it is, DC almost has its behind-the-scenes team fully mapped out for the foreseeable future, with Zack Snyder’s (Man Of Steel, Sucker Punch) name tied to the upcoming Justice League films, James Wan (Saw, Furious 7) attached to 2018’s Aquaman, and talk of Ben Affleck (Argo, Gone Baby Gone) directing and starring in a future Batman film. While Warner Bros. and DC may not have its cinematic intentions as thoroughly mapped out as Disney’s done with Star Wars and Marvel, it’s clear that they have a singular vision going forward judging by some of this talent.
Snyder, Wan and (to a lesser extent) Affleck imply that DC really wants a focus on action over characterization. Snyder’s films typically manage to do well in the box office, despite the fact that the adaptations in his filmography are often vetoed by fans for their inaccuracies and lack of subtlety. One could argue that giving Snyder access to DC’s more action-oriented franchises is better suited to him, as opposed to something nuanced like Alan Moore’s Watchmen, but with Man of Steel Snyder once again managed to miss the fundamental point of the central character. Wan, along those lines, has made a career on making high-testosterone action films and jump-scare horror films that happen to make good money. His attempts at cerebral writing in his early career were always the weakest element of his projects (Saw was really only successful in spite of itself), with subtlety once again thrown out the window in favour of hamfisted philosophy.
So where does George Miller fit in with all this? Naturally one of the strengths of Fury Road was its kinetic action; Miller managed to deliver an action experience this year that managed to genuinely wow people who were otherwise in a CGI-induced coma. While it obviously wasn’t made entirely with practical effects, Miller has an understanding of filmmaking that created proper tension and excitement. Yet there were also moments of tenderness amidst the chaos, something that the last several DC efforts have been lacking. While I can only imagine that DC saw dollar signs when they looked at Miller and the kind of cash that Fury Road did, it’s entirely possible that his old-school approach to directing could render Supes on-screen as a three-dimensional character for the first time since Christopher Reeve palmed in a hair curl and put on some polyester.
Hopefully we’ll get an official announcement in the coming months. Stay tuned for more.
