Matthew Vaughn shares his potential vision for Man of Steel 2

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

MAN OF STEEL wasn’t met with immense praise when it came out in 2013, but it did well enough to kick-start the DCEU. We’ve seen Superman (Henry Cavill) in BATMAN V. SUPERMAN and (hopefully) November’s JUSTICE LEAGUE, but there’s still a lot of speculation around MAN OF STEEL 2. Right now it’s all about getting a director, and current frontrunner Matthew Vaughn recently spoke about his approach to the movie – that is if he decided to do one.

While talking with Collider about this Friday’s KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, Vaughn was asked about MAN OF STEEL 2 – which he has been linked to for months with no official confirmation. The director admitted he’s had talks about the project, and said his take would be to take the character back to his roots and delivering something akin to what Richard Donner did in 1978.

Weirdly if I did do Superman—and I made the mistake of telling someone yesterday I have spoken about it and then wallop (laughs)—I think my main take would be, it’s really boring but make a Superman film. I just don’t feel a proper Superman—I think Donner did it to perfection for that time. Just doing the modern—I wanna do a modern version of the Donner [version]. Go back to the source material… For me Superman is color, feel-good, heroic. He’s a beacon of light in darkness. And that’s what I think Superman should be.

Donner’s SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE is still hailed as one of the best superhero movies ever, as it brought the Kryptonian to the big screen in a colorful, exciting way with Christopher Reeve in the lead role. Since then that film has been the standard to which other SUPERMAN movie directors have aspired. Bryan Singer tried to do the same thing with SUPERMAN RETURNS, and though it achieved the goal in one or two areas, the movie was ultimately too sappy and, sadly, dull to make an impact.

The current DC Superman has been placed into a more grounded world, with Zack Snyder imagining the character in a more realistic environment like Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT trilogy. Doing something lighter and more Donner-esque may require a bit of a shift in style, but given WONDER WOMAN’s success at delivering something lighter, this may be an angle Warner Bros. and DC are keen in exploring. On that note, WOMAN director Patty Jenkins also expressed interest in taking on a Superman movie.

If anyone can deliver a vibrant, fun MAN OF STEEL sequel that also stays true to the source material it’s Vaughn. Between X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, KICK-ASS and KINGSMAN Vaughn has proven himself an expert at creating comic book movies that feel familiar yet unique, and that always manages to be endlessly entertaining. I hope Vaughn gets the gig and brings his voice and style to the DCEU, which for a long time has been too morose and needing of some energy. Believe it or not, it's okay for Superman to crack a joke every now and again.

Catch KINGSMAN 2 this Friday and JUSTICE LEAGUE November 17.

Source: Collider

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