Missing from Anne Thompson’s article relaying Kevin Spacey’s plans to reprise his role as Lex Luthor in the sequel to Superman Returns, currently titled Man of Steel, are a number of things: 1) a budget, 2) a credible explanation as to how Bryan Singer will begin production on Supes 2 next year after completing the as-yet-uncast The Mayor of Castro Street (which won’t go before cameras until 2008), and 3) a statement from Bryan Singer’s psychiatrist averring that he is mentally competent enough to helm three films (two of which are major studio productions) back-to-back-to-back.
It’s all well and good for Singer and Spacey to grab dinner and reconfirm their intent to make a bunch of money together on a Superman sequel. I doubt, however, that WB honcho Alan Horn was sitting at the same table with the corporate checkbook open, pleading for the boys to recapture the magic of the franchise reboot that turned Clark Kent into a restraining order waiting to happen. To be honest, I don’t know what Legendary and WB are going to do with the next Superman movie; the smart money’s on holding the character for a Justice League spin-off. Fine by me. I think Singer, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris are as wrong for Superman as they were right for X-Men; they seem to worship Lois Lane while holding Kal-El in contempt for being unwilling to own up to… stuff. I’m not getting into that because the film ain’t good enough to be worth the trouble.
For those of you who want Man of Steel in 2009, you better hope that Singer discovers his inner Spielberg and speeds through Valkyrie and The Mayor of Castro Street. For those of you who just want Man of Steel period… why?