I always thought that Mxysptlk would make a Superman movie that only I would see...

But I disagree about bringing the aliens into the canon. Let's work with non-Lex villains, though. I think Toyman and Metallo would make nice fight scenes and create an interesting plot together.

See, I actually LOVED Brandon Routh as Superman. I thought he was the best part of the new movie. I'd always thought Christopher Reeve was the weakest part of the original movies. Routh was more believeably awkward in that he appeared awkward because he was always hiding his true self and fumbling with maintaining the facade. Reeve was just a straight-up pussy.

I also thought Brandon Routh played Superman quite admirably. The deepest flaw was Kate Bosworth and the plot surrounding Lex. Kevin Spacey was an excellent choice, but his story was weak. Otherwise the plot was quite good.

Good lord, Chris Nolan? That's gonna suck. Heath notwithstanding, The Dark Knight was a borefest. He'll make sure the girls don't show up for Superman.

I'm sure what you mean is that Reeve's Superman was a pussy. Christopher Reeve himself was pretty damn awesome.

I liked both Reeve and Routh as Superman. What I didn't like was the retread of the original movie--we wound up with something that was much too in love with its special effects. Much as I liked Singer's X-Men movies, his Superman was too reverent--and yet somehow managed to be the only Superman movie in which I sat there in the theater and questioned the physics of Superflight. (And for how long did we watch him lift that island? It felt like three days.)

Kate Bosworth was tremendously miscast as Lois Lane, and Kevin Spacey only delivered as Lex in two lines. I even think it hurt to cast James Marsden--he was able to make his throwaway character strong and compelling, and made me wonder why you'd consider leaving him for someone who is always away saving the planet (compounded by the fact that Marsden's character actually saves everyone, including Superman). Lois's last article would have been better titled "Why the World Needs Richard White."

I liked the "son" storyline of superman. Maybe they should do a "Son of Superman" run of movies and totally free themselves up to make a new mythology.

Superman: Red Son would be amazing also, but they'd never make a film with Communist Superman.

Bradley Cooper sounds like a good choice. Anyone else think Jensen Ackles for Daredevil too"

I thought Phillip Seymour Hoffman was actually pretty spot on as a terrifyingly amoral/violent arms dealer.

And, really, can we just put a bullet in the Riddick series? Pitch Black was good, but still almost funny due to Vin's attempts at 'acting'. He hasn't been believable since Boiler Room.

I actually liked Routh's Clark Kent/Superman, for the non-demanding role it was, but the story was crap. Padalecki is bland and has no acting depth. I could see him as Conan, Hercules, or any other beefcake type, given the job to stand around shirtless and flip his hair, but not in a role that really needs some chops. The other guy on that show has the chops, and then some, but not the build or age that the studio will likely want for this role. I trust Nolan will find the right guy for the part. He worked a miracle with his reboot of Batman, I think he can do the same with Superman.

Ding ding ding ! Soporific got it, mentioning the "Superman: Doomsday" direct-to-DVD. Plenty of the things folks are asking for/HAVE been asking for for years/decades out of a Superman film have been done extremely well in animated form. Between "Superman: Doomsday" and the DC Animated Universe franchise, fans of superheroes or just damn good action-adventure on screen have been treated to some fine storytelling. Yes, in cartoons, but cartoons that were as much for adults as they were for kids (and sometimes really not ALL that much for kids, since some of the depth/complexity would've flown way over kids' heads).

From Batman: The Animated Series, which started in 1992, through about four more different series in between, culminating in Justice League, which ended in 2006, we had one giant, tightly-knit mega-continuity of a franchise, overseen entirely by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini.

Stop waiting for them to get it right in live action form. They're not gonna go above a PG or PG-13 for a Superman film anyway, so it's not like they're gonna DO more or get any more ambitious about the plot than they already did in the animated shows. I dunno why everyone's so in love with live action adaptations of comic books, animation makes a hell of a lot more sense. Watch the animated shows, and marvel at how satisfied you are.

Brainiac is clearly the villain of choice for a Superman reboot. Particularly if they go with the animated series/ Smallville recasting of Braniac as a Kryptonian AI. This doesn't mean no Luthor - far from it. A film with both Luthor and Braniac as villains could work without running into the usual problem of overloading a movie with villains, since the two play off each other in a way that (for example) Penguin and Catwoman don't.

All excellent points, except one thing: a Daredevil reboot is NOT good news, so long as Fox still owns the rights.

You want an alien menace for Supes to fight in his next film?

How about Lobo? He's been hired by an unknown alien presence (who may or may not be revealed as Brainiac to set up the next movie) to bring in the Last Kryptonian alive.

Cast Hugh Jackman, since Lobo seems to have been originally conceived as an over-the-top parody of Wolverine anyway...

So I'm sure I'm alone in this, but I really liked Superman Returns. And I liked Routh in the big man's role. And I liked the kid.

I wish more people had taken to it but I suppose with comic-book films, you're just dealing with too many purists who have certain expectations and aren't down with alternatives and producers need to reach a certain "geek quota" or something.

Shame.

Sorry Kristin, but it has nothing to do with comic book purists...it has to with quality. The kid was lame, lame, lame, and while I liked Routh as Clark Kent, his Superman was lacking something...

Then again, I liked Jennifer Garner as Elektra, despite her not looking Greek at all. I thought she was the best thing about Daredevil...which made the Elektra movie all the more disappointing.

Add another woman to the list who liked the Dark Knight and Batman Begins...I've been a fan of Nolan's since Memento, and was excited when I read he would be helming a new Superman film. I also liked Brandon Routh in the role, although Kate Bosworth's Lois Lane was flat and I agree Katenonymous, James Marsden's character was great...He is always getting passed over in movies for the other guys- I'd rather be with Richard White or Scott Summers than Superman or Wolverine! Someone should cast him as the superhero!

Also, I think some of the issue with developing new plotlines (at least for Superman) is the relative obscurity of the other villains- A lot of people think of Lex Luthor as the only villain in that franchise, so introducing a character from the comic books as the new villain in the films would have to be done right. It can't be done like the latter Batman/Spiderman films- the ended up cramming too many villains in those last few movies and it was not good.