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Faster than a speeding bullet!

Zach Snyder “Pleased” that Nobody Cares Enough to Figure Out the Secrets of Man of Steel

by Susana Polo | 11:47 am, March 18th, 2013


The secret is that this is the hairiest Superman adaptation to ever see the silver screen. (That’s not actually the secret.)

(We don’t know the secret.)

Zach Snyder, director behind the upcoming Superman reboot Man of Steel, says he’s “genuinely pleased with how much secrecy we’ve been able to maintain.”

Now, I don’t want to say that nobody cares about Man of Steel, because, seriously, it’s a Superman movie. It’s a comic book movie. It’s a movie that might have genderswapped Jimmy Olsen. There’s clearly interest there. But do with think that perhaps that when Snyder compares his experience keeping secrets on the Man of Steel set to “something Chris [Nolan] tried hard to do with the Batman films,” that it has something to do with how the Nolan Batman trilogy was a cultural juggernaut, and yours, so far, only has the arguable potential to become a cultural juggernaut? I’m just saying, I bet it was a lot easier to keep secrecy on the Batman Begins set compared to the Dark Knight Returns set as well.

But go ahead, Snyder, what can you tell us about your Superman? “Relatable and realistic doesn’t necessarily mean dark. I think it would be inappropriate for us to approach a Superman film as if we were doing The Dark Knight… The Batman films are a lot more nihilistic; Superman has always been a story about hope.” Great! Because I’m a giant Batman fan and yeah, some times The Dark Knight just makes me want to lie in bed face down for a while and not talk to anyone.

Do any of your actors have things to say about the film? “[General Zod is] not a villain,” [Actor Michael] Shannon said. “He’s not a villain any more than any other general fighting to protect his people… He’s focused on being successful at his job.” I want you to know I’m being absolutely sincere when I say this, Zod: You go, girl.

(Total Film via Digital Spy.)

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  • http://www.facebook.com/KozmikPariah Ryan Colson

    But…but… John Kent tells Supes to practically let the kids die, that’s dark!

  • TKS

    Perhaps when he says things like “dark” he means the visual aesthetics. Pappa Kent may be telling Superman to look out for number 1, but it will LOOK bright and cheery?

  • Scott Hill

    I’m still convinced he wasn’t actually saying that. The editing leads me to believe Pa Kent didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. We heard “Maybe…” but I bet it’s followed up with “…Maybe Not.”

  • Anonymous

    In defense of The Dark Knight (like the Batman needs my help or anything…), I think there is certainly a thread of hope in that film – and the series as a whole. Specifically, the finale of TDK, where civilians and convicts refuse to murder one another to ensure their own safety, is one of the most powerful statements for morality, shared humanity, and optimism we’ve seen in superhero films. Just because the series is dark doesn’t mean it lacks hope, as Snyder seems to misunderstand (Watchmen, on the other hand, is a true nihilist story to the nth degree, born from the paranoia and despair of the Cold War and the Nuclear Arms Race, and maybe where he gets the idea of seemingly always equating “dark” with “nihilist”). Courage only happens in the face of fear, and hope only exists in the face of despair. Can’t have hope without some darkness somewhere.

    Supes, though, while lighter and more ostensibly trading in terms of hope and optimism, hasn’t connected as much with contemporary audiences in part because the hope linked to Superman is inextricably tied to the Christ/savior qualities inherent to the character: powerful, supernatural being is sent to us, judges us worthy of his utter devotion, commits his life to protecting/redeeming us. The world being a little more secular than it was during Superman’s early days – combined with recent issues including terrorism, gun violence, and violence against women – have dimmed (but not eradicated) our reliance on ideas such as divine providence and miracles as a source for hope and optimism and pushed us more toward humanism and heroes such as Batman, Jason Bourne, and (the new) Lara Croft (and this idea can even be seen in the new Man of Steel as the filmmakers have gone out of their way to describe the film/character as more grounded and realistic – code words for humanist take). This isn’t an indictment of Superman (or religion), but a refutation of the idea that he represents a truer, purer form of hope in comics or film because he isn’t as dark as some other characters. And because the idea that everytime Susana watches TDK she goes dark herself makes me sad. :(

  • http://wrongsirwrong.blogspot.com/ Magic Xylophone

    Also, Batman stories tend to involve more mystery than Superman stories. The only thing that about Man of Steel that mystifies me is what the hell they were thinking with that suit.

  • Betty Windsor

    Yeah, it’s also the 1st in a probable series, so I think most people are just waiting to see how the feel about the film. I can’t recall too much hype over the first film (i mean with spoilers that is) in a lot of trilogies.

  • http://www.facebook.com/slaudano Scott Laudano

    Waiting for this film is like having to wait to take a breath when I’m about to run out of air. That’s how excited I am for it. I’m hoping it’ll be good, I like what I’ve seen so far. They’ve put him in a very sharp, dignified, and proper costume finally. No more of those silly red crotch hammock trunks, best thing of all ever to happen to Superman in the past 75 years.

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