Zack Snyder's 'Superman' Won't Be Tied To Any Previous Movie

When Bryan Singer made Superman Returns, he was very specific in making a film that felt in many ways  like a sequel to the original 1978 Superman by Richard Donner. The titles, the music, the costume — all were chosen to reflect the '78 film. That became one of many discussion points for the movie. For some the homage to Richard Donner was a great thing; for others it was one of several big missteps in Bryan Singer's movie.

Now Zack Snyder says that we should expect his Superman, which stars Henry Cavill as the man from Krypton, to be tied to no previous film featuring the character.

The director tells the LA Times,

Literally, the one thing that everyone can start to think about is that we're making a movie that finally goes with the approach that there's been no other Superman movies. If you look at  'Batman Begins,' there's that structure, there's the canon that we know about and respect but on other hand there's this approach that pre-supposes that there haven't been any other movies.  In every aspect of design and of story, the whole thing is very much from that perspective of respect the canon but don't be a slave to the movies.

Zack Snyder also says something that may perk up the spirits of Superman fans who thought the Bryan Singer film didn't have enough action:

Our Superman, he's got things to figure out but he's a physical cat.

Not that we'd expect anything else from the guy who made 300 and Watchmen, the latter of which featured more violence than some people expected.

Other than a seeming confirmation that Kevin Costner will play Jonathan Kent, the article offers no new casting info (the director says it will be "consistent in its ... awesomeness") and there is no word on the costume, though we can expect to see an official shot before shooting starts, so that spy photos won't get to scoop that reveal. He praises Christopher Nolan as a collaborator, and seems to suggest that this vision of Superman will go beyond what we've seen before:

You know that if you do Superman right — or at least if you do him with respect — you know you end up with something great.... [but] in some ways [beyond] that is virgin territory. No one knows what that is. In some ways Superman is the most recognizable superhero on the planet but also the most unknown. Just what he can be? People have preconceived ideas about him but probably all of them are wrong.