MAN OF STEEL gets expanded synopsis

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Legendary Pictures, who are producing Man of Steel with Warner Bros., have expanded the official synopsis on their page for the film:

In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time. Clark Kent/Kal-El (Henry Cavill) is a young twenty-something journalist who feels alienated by powers beyond his imagination. Transported years ago to Earth from Krypton, a highly advanced, distant planet, Clark struggles with the ultimate question ‘Why am I here?’ Shaped by the values of his adoptive parents Martha (Diane Lane) and Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), Clark discovers having extraordinary abilities means making difficult decisions. When the world is in dire need of stability, an even greater threat emerges. Clark must become a Man of Steel, to protect the people he loves and shine as the world’s beacon of hope – Superman.

And that’s not all! You can also view a larger, higher resolution version of the film’s official banner which recently popped up on the movie’s official Facebook page.

So let’s talk about this synopsis. We’ve known all along this would be an origin story, but I like the angle of Clark trying to change the world as a journalist before realizing he’s going to have to do something bigger when Zod (Michael Shannon) shows up to remind him he’s not the only survivor of Krypton.

I remain ever ready for June 14, 2013.

Marvel sets CAPTAIN AMERICA 2 for 2014

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Marvel announced today that Captain America 2 will bring the Red, White, and Blue back to a theater near you on April 4, 2014.

Marvel and the Walt Disney Studios have announced a release date for Marvel Studios’ sequel to the blockbuster “Captain America: The First Avenger” on April 4, 2014. The second installment will pick-up where the highly anticipated “Marvel’s The Avengers” (May 4, 2012) leaves off, as Steve Rogers continues his affiliation with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., and struggles to embrace his role in the modern world.

One would have thought the release date announcement would have arrived with a director (or directors) attached, but Marvel must still be sorting through their options of how many seats they’ll need behind the camera.

Marvel’s news came with this brand new Captain America photo from The Avengers, which is now just weeks away on May 4:

Take note of the “struggles to embrace his role in the modern world” bit, which indicates we won’t be getting another WWII adventure. I wonder how much the script will draw from the excellent Cap comics written by Ed Brubaker. Hopefully a lot.

Marvel narrows down directors for CAPTAIN AMERICA sequel

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Vulture reports that Marvel is closing in on a director for the Captain America sequel … and that there might be two of them.

F. Gary Gray (IMDB), George Nolfi (IMDB), and the sibling team of Anthony (IMDB) and Joe Russo (IMDB) are in the running for the gig, with an announcement arriving as early as mid-April.

Between Gray and Nolfi, I prefer Nolfi, whose Twilight Zone-esque romantic thriller The Adjustment Bureau was one of my favorite films from last year. He also did script work on The Bourne Ultimatum, which could inform his work on Captain America quite nicely.

The wild cards here are the Russo brothers. Anthony has directed 24 episodes of NBC’s Community, including “Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism” in the third and current season. The Annie/Troy/Abed story heavily involved The Dark Knight and featured the return of Abed as Batman, while the Jeff/Shirley foosball plot shifted into outrageous anime segments that were wildly imaginative and hilarious. “Basic Rocket Science” found the study group trapped in a mock spaceship; “Remedial Chaos Theory” explored six alternate realities. Joe’s 19 Community episodes include the pilot, “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons,” and the instantly classic two-parter “A Fistful of Paintballs” and “For a Few Paintballs More.” These are some pretty crazy half hours of television with lots of humor and tons of heart, making me very interested in what these guys could do if turned loose on a big-budget superhero film.

The Russo brothers also directed multiple episodes of Arrested Development (including its pilot), which never ceased to astound me with its visual and comedic creativity. Their feature films Welcome to Collinwood and You, Me and Dupree may not have any action or adventure, but their body of work is brimming with wit, energy, innovation, and variety.

Of course, this means that Joe Johnston is out of a job, following in the footsteps of Jon Favreau and Kenneth Branagh (not to mention the shady dismissal of Branagh’s temporary Thor 2 replacement Patty Jenkins) as Marvel directors not returning for the next installments of the franchises they started.

If chosen, the Russo brothers would join new Thor 2 helmer Alan Taylor (IMDB) as primarily television directors given the keys to the further cinematic adventures of Marvel heroes.

More news as it happens. Captain America will be seen in The Avengers on May 4, with his next solo film arriving in 2014.

It’s a banner day for fans of MAN OF STEEL

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Not to be confused with the several existing pages created by fans, Warner Bros. launched the one, true, official Facebook profile for Man of Steel yesterday — and unveiled the glorious banner you see above.

Sean and Josh and I discussed it last night on the new Modern Myth Media podcast, and you can also read about it on the MMM site here.

I love it. Remember when costume designer Michael Wilkinson discussed the “neo-medieval” aesthetic of Krypton and the costume worn by our new Superman, Henry Cavill? The new banner is right in line with that and, like Cavill himself, is equally regal and rugged. Everything we’ve seen from this film so far hits a handsome balance between classic and space-age, and hopefully we’ll see more soon.

As Sean and Josh and I discussed last night, we’d love to see a teaser soon, a trailer before The Dark Knight Rises on July 20, and an IMAX prologue before WB’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in December.

After all, our friends at Think McFly Think reported in December that special effects work was already underway, which means there’s bound to be some finished footage for the studio to show off when it’s ready.

Please be sure to “Like” the official Facebook page. I hope Warner Bros. uses it to its full potential and gives us some news soon. Perhaps we’ll even get some new photos. Russell Crowe, who’s playing Kal-El’s father, Jor-El, posted on his Twitter that he participated in a Man of Steel photo shoot on March 25 involving a fog machine that set off the fire alarm. (Is he sure it wasn’t the presence of Amy Adams that did that?) With any luck, we’ll see some of those photos soon.

If I were Warner Bros., I’d also get an official site up soon. ManOfSteel.com already points back to WB’s main hub. Just put up the new banner, the shot of Cavill in costume, and a link to the official Facebook, and you’re good to go. That would also cut down on the chances of people accidentally hitting “Like” on one of the fan sites rather than on the official one.

Man of Steel takes us up, up, and away on June 14, 2013! And that’s way, way, way too far away.

Digital design summit gives insights into MAN OF STEEL’s costumes and Krypton

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Last week, movie reporter Bill Desowitz wrote a superb article about a digital design and world building summit hosted by 5D at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Among the guests was Michael Wilkinson, whose costume designs have appeared in such films as TRON: Legacy, Terminator Salvation, and, for director Zack Snyder, Sucker Punch, Watchmen, and 300. Wilkinson designed the new Superman costume for Snyder’s Superman relaunch, Man of Steel, which is set to take flight on June 14, 2013.

Wilkinson briefly discussed the meaning behind the film’s costume and touched on its depiction of Superman’s home planet of Krypton:

Wilkinson explained that since they created a “neo-medieval” back story for Krypton (which included the creation of a new language), it made sense to utilize the suit design as part of the mythology. “Everyone on Krypton wears this suit,” he suggested. Using ZBrush and rapid prototyping, Wilkinson came up the blue/gray color and chainmail look. “It has function and purpose and a logic to this fantastical world.”

I love the sound of this. Russell Crowe is going to be an awesome “neo-medieval” Jor-El, and the creation of a new language for Krytpon indicates a great deal of care and thought in making the planet feel unique on film.

The costume itself is handsome and ridiculously cool, combining an old-school “S” emblem with space-age design elements and materials for a look that’s both classic and alien. Here’s a closer look at it on new Superman actor Henry Cavill from Just Jared:

Everything we hear about this film continues to be aces, and next summer can’t get here soon enough.

(You can also find this article on Modern Myth Media, where I briefly mentioned it on last week’s podcast.)