Now, this is an interesting one.
In a Twitter exchange between Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and Mark Millar, it has been revealed that Warner Bros. have plans in place for a movie based on Millar’s Superman: Red Son. After the tweets came out, Den of Geek UK‘s sources (who they say are very reliable) told them this will be a live-action movie, and not animated.
Did you hear WB pitching directors Red Son? Two diff pals in last 2 months. This truly is Putin's America.
— Millarworld (@mrmarkmillar) June 27, 2017
Wait, really? Because I pitched it to them months ago and was told no. It's the most punk rock thing the DCEU could do in my mind.
— (((Jordan Vogt-Roberts))) (@VogtRoberts) June 27, 2017
100% agree – in the excitement for shared universes I think people forget the fundamental potency of cinema is a beginning, middle and end.
— (((Jordan Vogt-Roberts))) (@VogtRoberts) June 27, 2017
In some other tweets, Vogt-Roberts revealed his pitch was for a spin-off movie that wasn’t connected to the DCEU, and wouldn’t star Henry Cavill as Superman, or Ben Affleck as Batman.
Millar’s Superman: Red Son was a short-run comic series in 2003 which depicted an alternate reality where Kal El landed in the Soviet Union rather than the United States. The comic charted Superman’s entire career, and his battles with Batman, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, the Green Lantern Marine Corps and Wonder Woman. It was incredible well-received upon its release, with Cavill revealing in an interview that it was one of four comics that inspired his performance in Man of Steel.
UPDATE: Millar has released a statement to Den of Geek playing down his comments that the movie is in development:
“Is this something they’re genuinely planning? I have no idea. I’ve got pals at Warner Bros but never discussed it with them. I think they’re just going through their back catalogue of big books and hoping to lure in good directors as opposed to any particular interest in developing Red Son. There’s always 50 conversations for every comic book movie that gets made and as far as I know this is something that is very much just at conversation stage.”
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Would you like to see a Superman: Red Son movie? Do you think spin-off movies can exist outside of the DCEU timeline?
Originally published June 27, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
