This April Warner Bros. Animation and DC will release the animated adaptation of All-Star Superman on 4K Ultra HD. Based on the graphic novel by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitley, the film was released 12 years ago from animation legends Sam Liu, Bruce Timm and Dwayne McDuffie, being one of the last projects McDuffie worked on before passing away. All-Star Superman will be released on April 18th, coincidently the same day Superman made his debut in Action Comics #1 85 years ago.
All-Star Superman followed the Man of Steel as he was poisoned by his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor and left with little time to live. Before succumbing to his illness, Superman sets out to accomplish as much good as he can before time runs out, going so far as to reveal his identity to Lois Lane, while stopping Luthor’s latest plot against him and the world.
All-Star Superman was executive produced by Timm, who worked on Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, and directed by Sam Liu (The Death and Return of Superman) from a script written by Justice League Unlimited‘s McDuffie.
The cast included James Denton (Good Witch), Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) and Anthony LaPaglia (Without A Trace) as Superman, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor respectively with Ed Asner (The Mary Tyler Moore Show) as Perry White, Frances Conroy (Joker) as Ma Kent, Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds) as Jimmy Olsen and Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me) as Nasty.
The 4K release comes at a pristine time as new DC Studios head James Gunn has cited Morrison’s All-Star Superman, even showcasing Quitely’s cover of Superman sitting on a cloud, as inspiration for the reboot Superman: Legacy which he is writing and may end up directing.
Special features will include:
The Art of the All-star Adaptation (New Featurette) – Go behind the scenes and inside the process of screenwriting, character designing and scoring the animated adaptation of the quintessential Superman comic series, All-Star Superman. This fascinating featurette includes insight from executive producer Bruce Timm, director Sam Liu, character designer Dusty Abell and composer Christopher Drake.
An All-Star Salute to the Silver Age Superman (New Featurette) – Explore DC’s historical inspirations in Grant Morrison’s love letter to the wildly fantastic Silver Age of Superman in comics.
Superman Now (Featurette) – In a moment of inspiration, Grant Morrison was provided an opportunity to revamp the Man of Steel into something modern, something more relevant for today’s audience. This is the story of All-Star Superman – where it all started, and what it came to be.
The Creative Flow: Incubating the Idea with Grant Morrison (Featurette) – A detailed look at Grant Morrison’s original sketches and ideas.
Audio Commentary – Featuring the thoughts of Bruce Timm and Grant Morrison.
Digital Comic Book – All-Star Superman
Grant Morrison’s beloved, Eisner Award-winning vision of Superman’s heroic final days on Earth is brought to exquisite, animated life in All-Star Superman. The film begins as the Man of Steel rescues an ill-fated mission to the Sun (sabotaged by Lex Luthor) but, in the process, is oversaturated by radiation – which accelerates his cell degeneration. Sensing even he will be unable to cheat death, Superman ventures into new realms – finally revealing his secret to Lois, confronting Lex Luthor’s perspective of humanity, and attempting to ensure Earth’s safety before his own impending end with one final, selfless act.
All-Star Superman will be released on April 18th, 2023.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
