David Goyer says Man of Steel will be a realistic take on Superman

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Many of us assumed the involvement of David Goyer and Christopher Nolan with the Superman reboot MAN OF STEEL would result in a product similar to that of THE DARK KNIGHT trilogy. Even the teaser did not completely rule out a grittier and darker take on DC Comics’ signature hero. Well, Goyer has decided to set the record straight and tell us what we can expect from Zack Snyder’s movie.

Goyer says he wanted MAN OF STEEL to be a “genre story without the cartoonish element.” Similarly to what he brought to THE DARK KNIGHT, Goyer wanted the movie to have “a naturalistic approach, we want our stories to be rooted in reality, like they could happen in the same world we live in.”

Okay, with Batman you can set your stories in universe ruled by logic. Sure, there were fantastic elements to the Nolan films, but overall they operated in a “real” world. With Superman, you have a flying alien with powers from the son fighting other aliens and super-villains. How can you make that realistic?

Per Goyer: “It’s not that easy with Superman, and actually this doesn’t necessarily mean we will make a dark movie. But working on this reboot we are thinking about what would happen if a story like this one actually happened. How would people react to this? What impact would the presence of Superman have in the real world?”

So, maybe not realistic but rather a real world setting clashing with an unreal character. I can see that. It truly depends on if the movie treats Superman as if he were an alien that could not be trusted rather than truly embracing him as a savior.

It is difficult for me to tell how MAN OF STEEL is going to play based on the limited footage we have seen. The teaser appears very un-Snyder. I am waiting to see how much slow motion the movie has before I make any final judgements.

MAN OF STEEL opens June 14, 2013.