Earlier this week when it was announced that Warner Bros would be taking pitches for the Superman Returns sequel, comic book writer Mark Millar self nominated himself to be considered for the job. Millar, who had always wanted to do a Superman comic book, had years of research, and was excited at the prospect of revamping Superman. One big problem: They won’t let him. Here is Mark to explain why:
“…for about fifteen minutes things were looking very sweet. I had a massive three-picture epic in mind, cribbed from notes I’ve been putting together for the last five years for a Superman comic-book revamp and the people I spoke to absolutely loved it. Everyone said this was very, very exciting, but…
Well, sadly, I’m a Marvel guy and we were surprised to find out that WB couldn’t hire me for a DC property. They were incredibly nice and superbly apologetic about it, but when they discussed the matter seriously DC explained just how associated I am with Marvel Comics at the moment and it’s against company policy to hire the competition. It’s absolutely nothing personal. I spoke to some friends at DC and they explained this has happened with a couple of big Marvel writers in the last couple of years and I absolutely respect that. It’s a business after all and to have a guy writing Fantastic Four, 1985, Kick-Ass and another super-big project for Steve McNiven this year which would be mentioned in every article about a Superman movie is not only an insult to their own writers, but makes bad business sense. I have nothing but respect for the DC high-ups and, though obviously disappointed, can absolutely appreciate their position. They’re the custodians of these properties and they obviously know what they’re doing.
So no Millar-penned Superman movie at this stage, I’m afraid. That situation may change, of course. As a Warner chum said to me last night, the last Superman movie had a number of starts and stops and who knows what will happen over the next couple of years, especially after my Marvel contract expires. In the meantime, I’m keeping my 200 pages of notes and sketches on a slow boil, just in case. As for the next movie, I wish whoever does land this gig nothing but the best of luck. I wanted to bring my vision to the screen out of nothing but pure love and hope to be as thrilled as everyone else. They’re talking to a couple of guys with a better screen-writing track record and, like the rest of you, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that this sequel to Bryan’s first picture all works out great.”
I can imagine a few scenarios where Millar could be reconsidered for the job, but they are probably unlikely. What if Bryan Singer doesn’t walk from this project like most people expect him to? What if instead he says he wants to give Millar a try? It’s a big IF, especially considering the fact that Millar is excited to do a complete reboot of the franchise, and Singer is probably still attached to his first film.
October 24th, 2007 at 11:48 am
I call bullshit.
WB hired Brian Singer…who is BEST KNOWN to the public as the guy who directed X-Men and X-Men 2…why would things be different for someone who is, after all, just a writer? and from a business point of view it’s a called a ‘coup’…”He writes your little comic books? that’s nice…but he’s writing our FEATURE FILM”
oh and David Goyer anyone?…
October 24th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
“It’s against company policy to hire the competition.”
Sounds like bullshit to me too. Goldfarb you’ve got some great points. Bryan Singer went from X-Men to Superman. David Goyer went from Blade to Batman.
Is WB looking for pitches in case Singer doesn’t want to do the next one? Because I haven’t heard where Singer has left the Superman franchise.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Maybe WB just isn’t taking pitches from people who want to revamp the series like Millar obviously wanted to.
October 25th, 2007 at 7:26 am
a lot of you guys are calling bullshit for something you’ve missed the facts on. It is 100% different with Singer and Goyer going from one to the other with the movies… It’s the comic aspect that is causing the problem. Goyer hasn’t written a comic in years so he has no affiliation and Singer has never written one. Millar is currently Marvel’s top comic writer. He’s so involved with their books and the major story lines currently in play or in the works. THAT’S why he can’t go to DC. THAT’S what they mean when they say they can’t hire the competition. It would be like Marvel hiring Geoff Johns from DC Comics to write the next Spiderman movie. Because they’re involved in so much stuff, the top comic writers get so entrenched within their company they they can’t skip around. The only movie example I can think of that would do this even a little justice would be, imagine StarWars and Star Trek both in-between sequals at the same time… then imagine George Lucas switching over to Star Trek to write their next movie (provided Lucas was only the writer of starwars)
October 27th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
I’d like to have the deal that Bryan Singer has with Warner Bros. if they do not make the next Superman film with him. It is to Warner Bros. benefit if they do not have to act on this.
July 8th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
SUPERMAN RETURNS has the potential to ruin Superman. However, this is wishful thinking to say the least for Millar. Millar may know some director, but in order for anyone to get excited, THAT is who would have to be talking.
@ goldfarb: you’re probably right, but Warners can’t be as excited about making ANY Superman film as they let on. It didn’t even earn back its budget domestically. It did well in the foreign and DVD markets, but so have a lot of other films that either never got sequels or whose sequels were disappointments.
@ Pat: Unless Millar has an EXCLUSIVE contract with Marvel (in which case, it’d be Marvel that prevents him from writing the film, not DC) he CAN do a DC film. Most of these writers and artists are freelance. B.S. himself was best known for a series of films about Marvel characters.