Coinciding with the release of today’s rather splendid action-packed fourth theatrical trailer for Man of Steel, The New York Times has posted an article featuring interviews with director Zack Snyder (Watchmen), producer Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises) and screenwriter David S. Goyer (Batman Begins), as the trio discuss how they intend to make ‘The World’s Greatest Superhero’ relevant for the 21st century.
“When they try to dress him up, put him in jeans and a T-shirt or a leather jacket with an S on it, I go: ‘What? Guys, it’s O.K. It’s Superman. He’s the king daddy. You should all be bowing down to him,'” states Snyder. “He’s a really cool mythological contradiction. He’s incredibly familiar Americana and alien, exotic, bizarroland, but beautifully woven together. All of us, in a weird way, are that same kind of contradiction — no one’s that simple. If you follow him back logically and try to understand him you end up at a sci-fi solution.”
“If he really were an alien when the world finds out that he exists, that in itself would be the biggest event in human history. That would change the world forever,” said Goyer, referring to the emphasis on Superman’s status as an extra-terrestrial, before going on to explain how his own experiences have helped to shape his approach to the script: “There’s a scene in the movie where a younger Clark basically says to Jonathan Kent, ‘Why do I have to listen you? You’re not my dad.’ Which is exactly what my stepson said to me.”
Nolan, who has contributed the story for Man of Steel as well serving as producer, offered a few thoughts on the reasoning behind Snyder’s appointment as director: ““[Zack has an] innate aptitude for dealing with superheroes as real characters. That was what a new approach to Superman required. He understands the power of iconic images, but he also understand the people behind them… You’re dealing with a filmmaker who has deconstructed this mythology [with Watchmen] and now has to reconstruct it. That’s a fascinating challenge for him.”
And finally, with regards to the speculation that the reboot is intended as the start of a wider DC universe, Snyder reiterated that any future movies are dependent on Man of Steel achieving box office success: “This movie needs to come out, before any bigger questions could be addressed. If you start thinking, like, I need to set up a giant franchise for the studio because they’re out of Harry Potters, you can’t do that. You’d just stay in your house and curl up in a fetal position waiting for ‘em to take you to the insane asylum.”
If you missed the new Man of Steel trailer, you can check it out here:
Man of Steel hits cinemas on June 14th with a cast that includes Henry Cavill (Immortals) as Clark Kent / Superman, Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire) as General Zod, Amy Adams (The Fighter) as Lois Lane, Kevin Costner (Hatfields & McCoys) as Jonathan Kent, Diane Lane (Secretariat) as Martha Kent, Laurence Fishburne (Contagion) as Perry White, Antje Traue (Pandorum) as Faora and Ayelet Zurer (Angels & Demons) as Lara Lor-Van.
Originally published May 22, 2013. Updated November 29, 2022.
