Batman vs Superman flick greelighted! (UPDATED: Jude Law no longer to play Superman!)

[Space Pirate Roberts]

...according to AICN.

Wolfgang Petersen's SUPERMAN & BATMAN Film Green To Go?

Hey folks, Harry here... Given SPIDER-MAN's meteoric rise at the box office, the high profile successes of all of Marvel's recent film endeavors, one has to be a tad curious why Warner Brothers has had its Superheroes in Cold Storage. Well 'The Captain' floated to me the following story about a project called ASYLUM - featuring both BATMAN and SUPERMAN... Now in reality, this project is the BATMAN VS SUPERMAN movie being written by Andrew Kevin Walker for Wolfgang Petersen. You can bet that since mid-May that project has been kicked into overdrive. The following is a rumor, and ASYLUM would be the codename for the project, much like LORD OF THE RINGS famed JAMBOREE title. Of course now that it appears here, you can bet it'll become something like LILLARD'S DISDAIN or something. If this film starts filming February 2003, that means they'll probably be aiming to launch this sucker for July 4th, 2004 - that'd be my bet. Let's see if it comes to be...

hey harry,

i work for a _____________ that gets info on upcoming movies straight from studios. apparently a coworker talked with someone at warner bros. today and was told that a green light was given to a movie with the working title "ASYLUM", a film featuring both batman AND superman, which would begin filming in february.

the other part, which i'm hoping is NOT true, is that this project is taking the place of BATMAN: YEAR ONE... but i'm crossing my fingers that they'll both get made in due time.

thought you'd be interested.

--the captain.

[Riisuke]

I have two things to say

1) Stuuuuuuuuupid.
and
2) If this replaces "Maybe we should make a good Batman flick" Year One movie, then I am going to personally build a webpage about how AOL/Time Warner is the single most evil organization in existence, far surpassing any clandestine Satan worshippers or obscenely brutal crime syndicates.

I mean it's just a stupid concept for a movie. "Batman...AND Superman!"

and?

"...Aaaaand that's it"

RIIIIIIIGHT.

[Green]

AICN has reported in the past that (and right now it is a rumor reported two or three times, god help us all if it becomes fact) JOHN TRAVOLTA is in line to play Superman. They also said George Clooney has signed on to play Batman in 2 more movies, so I guess it will be him as Batman.
Personally, Superman makes me puke. Frank Miller's Batman is MY superhero.

[Space Pirate Roberts]

Well, they've put up some more news on the topic here:

Wolfgang Petersen comes out about SUPERMAN VS BATMAN!!! Plus lots of info on ENDER'S GAME!!!

"We are very pleased that Wolfgang Petersen is bringing his considerable talent to this newest episode of two of our most important franchises. In his hands, 'Batman vs. Superman' will carry forward the Warner Bros. superhero tradition."
Lorenzo di Bonaventura
from Hollywood Reporter

Let's hope not. Hey folks, Harry here. I believe that Lorenzo wasn't talking about SUPERMAN IV and BATMAN & ROBIN, but the better Warner titles... and since he said 'carry forward' that would mean being better than what came before.

Variety and The Hollywood Reporter both are running stories this morning concerning BATMAN VS SUPERMAN. Well back on June 25th, we learned that the film had been given a greenlight to move forward according to our spy, the captain. Click Here To Re-Read That Story! What we found tonight was that Wolfgang was spilling some details over at Hollywood Reporter to Zorianna Kit - she did a great job! Here ya go:

First we learn that there will be '3 great parts for women', that the film will take place in both Metropolis and Gotham City. Apparently the tone of these two cities are the principles of the movie, "which reflects what life is all about." Next Zorianna's story said:

"There will be a conflict between the heroes. "Superman stands for what is powerful, clear, bright, noble and just; Batman is dark, obsessive and vengeful," Petersen said. "Because they are so different, they will inevitably end up clashing. It will be a battle of the titans."

Although the two crime-fighters will team up against evildoers, each will experience his own inner conflict. "They both go through some kind of a crisis," Petersen said. "Superman has an unwavering belief in what is right and wrong and it's just not that simple anymore in today's world, while Batman is on a path of self-destruction. He reacts to an act of incredible violence in a way that almost puts him over the edge." "

Meanwhile, over at Daily Variety, Dana Harris got Wolfgang to say:

"It is a clash of the titans," Petersen told Daily Variety. "They play off of each other so perfectly. (Superman) is clear, bright, all that is noble and good, and Batman represents the dark, obsessive and vengeful side. They are two sides of the same coin and that is material for great drama."

Now, in both articles they state that while they are aiming for a 2004 release date, but that the film doesn't have a start date, our spy told us the plan inside Warners is to start shooting in February 2003, and with Wolfgang asserting that he'd have the two heroes cast in the next 2-4 weeks, and saying that he isn't after stars as much as he is after the RIGHT ACTORS for the parts... Well, that sounds potentially pretty cool.

The articles also state that this is not a part of either franchises' established history, but an entirely new franchise. It also stated that Warners is continuing to move forward with Aronofsky's BATMAN YEAR ONE and McG's SUPERMAN. Due to the listening devices around the Warner lot, I know that they are planning on a Batman film as the first offshoot from this BATMAN VS SUPERMAN. Andrew Kevin Walker's script for BATMAN VS SUPERMAN is now my number one wish to read!

Meanwhile, some have been asking about Wolfgang Petersen's committment to ENDER'S GAME, well I got the following in on that as well...

Hi Harry, I don't have a lot of news, but I thought I would pass along some of the movie related news that Scott went over at Endercon (convention celebrating 25 years since Ender's Game the short story) this past weekend.

As is well known Wolfgang Peterson is attached to the project, but what is not as well known is how he became involved. He didn't get the script that Scott and company were shopping around, instead one of his assistants happened across the novel, fell in love with it, brought it to the office and had everyone else read it, including Wolfgang. Needless to say Wolfgang loved the novel and is now attached to direct (though it was ambiguous as to whether or not he has signed a contract yet), and it was Wolfgang that made Warner Bros. pick it up.

Scott is currently writing the third draft of the screenplay, and nothing else, right now. One of the key differences in this draft is instead of trying to focus the film solely on Ender's conflicts (which are largely internal) it will instead merge elements from both Ender's Game and the parallel novel Ender's Shadow. This creates a conflict/camaraderie between Ender and Bean that easily parallels the manipulations and conflicts of the adults that pushing for one or the other to be the final commander. Hearing Scott discuss this is a real treat, he is very passionate about the project, and there was no question in anyone's (at the con at least) mind that it would not be extraordinarily faithful to the spirit of the novels, although it will not be faithful to the exact text of the books.

There were a handful of interesting tidbits handed down about clauses Scott tried to get into the contract. I'll start with the positive.

One clause he did get into the contract is that there will be NO novelization, no kidís books, pared down versions of the novel, or a novel version of the script/film EVER. Scott is the only person who will ever write a book/story in the Enderverse and it is going to stay that way.

A second clause he did not get in was this; the races/nationalities of the children in the battleschool reflect, approximately and proportionally, the races/nationalities of the world. In other words only about 25% white, if that; it is after all a worldwide school, taking only the twenty brightest children, culled from the entire world, about every 3-6 months. He was flat out told "Not a chance in hell. There will be a handful of token characters from other races but every other child will be white." As the studio execs pointed out, if there are too many background characters that aren't white, white people will be afraid to go see it.

This sore point brought on a five-minute rant on Hollywood's racism. Interesting here is how he has had execs tell him that Mazor Rackham or Graff (main characters, and in one draft the same character) had to be white because they are the key adults, and no black actor can carry a big budget film alone. He tried to bring up Will Smith, but they smugly pointed out that Will Smith films only, ONLY, work because he is paired with a white guy for white people to go see. As OSC told them and us, people go to a Will Smith summer blockbuster to see Will Smith, not Jeff Goldblum! .

The other film related highlight came out of one of the scheduled events from the con. Stephen Sywak, a mechanical engineer, and Ethan Hurdus, a MIT aerodynamics student, put together an extensive and extraordinary presentation on the real life physics of the battleschool complete with 3D models and concepts of the most feasible design for the battleschool. OSC was so impressed with the presentation that he said about their brilliant idea for moving from the rotating station to the non-rotating battlerooms "In fact it's much better than any idea I came up with." He then proceeded to put them directly in touch with Wolfgang Peterson and his crew. He certainly knows how to take care of his fans. It would be a real shame if the film didn't use these designs as they are a perfect conceptualization of the school, and as scientifically and physically correct as the science displayed in 2001: A space odyssey (more so in fact, because the school has a non rotating hub for ships to easily dock to, as Steve put it, it's ridiculously difficult and time consuming to force every supply and personnel shuttle to have to spin or rotate to match the rotation of the school, as the ship that docks with the space station does in 2001).

Satyagraha,

locke

Racism at Warner Brothers? Couldn't be.....

Well, considering the angles they're pushing with the characters, I don't see Clooney returning as Batman, I just can't see him playing the dark, nigh-psychotic version of the character. I could see Travolta as Superman though...

[Despair]

Here is some info from Darkhorizons:

Batman vs. Superman: The Hollyood Reporter just ran an article in which Director Wolfgang Petersen spilled a LOT of details about the superhero face-off flick. What can we expect in terms of tone? Petersen says: "Superman stands for what is powerful, clear, bright, noble and just; Batman is dark, obsessive and vengeful. Because they are so different, they will inevitably end up clashing. It will be a battle of the titans. They both go through some kind of a crisis. Superman has an unwavering belief in what is right and wrong and it's just not that simple anymore in today's world, while Batman is on a path of self-destruction. He reacts to an act of incredible violence in a way that almost puts him over the edge". The casting of the roles is going to be for 'actors' rather than 'stars' but Petersen mentioned he was impressed by Matt Damon's action & acting skills - the decisions will be made in the next month. The project seems set for a Summer 2004 release, indicating an early 2003 start of shooting looking likely with the script being penned by Andrew Kevin Walker ("Se7en"). The story starts with the two as allie before eventually turning on one another, with both Metropolis and Gotham City featured and three 'juicy' female roles. Once work on this is complete, Petersen is likely to develop either the "Ender's Game" adaptation or the "Trojan War" project. Both Aronofsky's "Batman: Year One" and McG's "Superman Lives" project still seem to be on the drawing boards eventually. Thanks to 'Spacemonkey', 'the Samurai' & 'FanHalen'

[Regus]

I'm going to try to say optimisitic on this one.

*Watches WORLD'S FINEST!*

Now that's Batman and Superman.

[FirstBlood]

... that's the most moronic match-up i've ever seen...

... Super-Man would rip Batman apart...

[EvilMog]

SUPERMAN AND BATMAN in one movie. Could be cool but... Its Batman VS Superman! WTF!!! Thats pretty fucking gay. It just SOUNDS stupid. Make different movies for each character for christs sake. Having them fight each other is just moronic. Them teaming up would actually be cool. If anything will make this movie good is that its made dark. None of that Batman and Robin gayness.

[Green]

Originally posted by FirstBlood
... that's the most moronic match-up i've ever seen...

... Super-Man would rip Batman apart...

Never read The Dark Knight Returns? It'll make you think the opposite.

[Space Pirate Roberts]

More info from AICN:

MTV.COM Gets Petersen To Spill More BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN Details!!

Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.

Nice article over on MTV.com today regarding Wolfgang Petersen’s BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN project.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY!!

Among the new revelations in the story:

* No Robin!!

* Matt Damon was just mentioned as the type of actor Petersen was interested in, not as any sort of firm choice.

* Petersen’s a big fan of the first two films in both the SUPERMAN and the BATMAN franchises.

* The film takes place in a post-September 11th world, something grounded in near-reality.

* And did I mention No Robin?!?

Nice work by Ryan J. Downey on this one. Just based on the e-mail I’ve gotten the last few days, this project has geeks fully revved up and excited, and I’m sure people are going to be curious as each new piece of the puzzle is snapped into place. Right now I’ve got my best guys in LA working on getting this script. I’m wicked curious.

And what the heck, I may as well post the MTV article:

In what could be the biggest cinematic battle since King Kong wrestled Godzilla in 1962's "Kingukongu tai Gojira," the Caped Crusader will square off against the Man of Steel in "Batman vs. Superman."

"[It's] never happened before," said Wolfgang Petersen, who plans to direct (or is that referee?) the movie. "You had it in some of the comic books, but never on the big screen. They're so different. ... It sets up great material for drama."

Petersen's no stranger to drama, as the German-born director helmed "Air Force One" and "In the Line of Fire." He's now working on a story by "Seven" scribe Andrew Kevin Walker that pits the two iconic heroes against each other during a time of crisis. And though Petersen is reluctant to spill many secrets, he has promised that "Batman vs. Superman" will contain villains, lots of action and absolutely no Robin.

"I cannot tell you what really gets them together. I can say that much of [the conflict] is because of the different philosophies that they represent," the director said. "Superman represents sort of everything clear and bright and noble. He represents our hopes and ideals. Batman, on the other hand, represents the dark and obsessive and vengeful side.

"The plot is structured in a way that these two very different sides basically of the same coin have to clash at some point because they handle situations totally differently. ... For a large portion of the thing they are at each other's throats. But then, of course, because they are both crime fighters, they join forces again and fight evil."

Petersen, who has yet to cast anyone, said he wants serious actors and not action stars to assume the title roles.

"We have a script that really very, very much concentrates on the characters," he said. "It's really material for two great actors."

Though he mentioned Matt Damon in an interview with Variety, Petersen said he only cited the "Bourne Identity" star as an example of what he's talking about — "Someone where we so far did not really think of as a big action hero [who] turned out be a great actor who can also do great action. ... He's one of these kind of guys, but there's a lot of these guys out there."

And a lot of guys, including Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney, have previously portrayed Batman on the big screen. Christopher Reeve, of course, played Superman in four well-known films. Petersen said "Batman vs. Superman" will steer clear of the conventions laid down in each film series, though he admitted some degree of influence from the DC Comics series "World's Finest."

"I love [the Batman and Superman films] very, very much," Petersen said. "Especially in both cases the first two. I saw them over and over again. ... ['Batman vs. Superman'] is part of the lore of the Superman films and the Superman comics and the same with Batman, but it's also different. First of all, the dynamics are different because if they are in one movie together it changes a lot of things and it gives you a new perspective on superheroes. ... You have also the look and feel of Metropolis, the bright golden city, and the feel of Gotham, which is a shadowy, sinister city, in the same movie. This is Superman/Batman of the time after September 11th, also. It takes place in today or tomorrow's world."

"Batman vs. Superman" has long been one of many projects involving the two titans in development at Warner Bros., which owns the rights to all of DC Comics' heroes. The "Superman Lives" project, which had Tim Burton ("Batman"), Nicolas Cage and Kevin Smith ("Clerks") all attached at various times, has long been dormant. But a spokesperson for Darren Aronofsky ("Requiem for a Dream") has confirmed the filmmaker's plans to make "Batman: Year One." There is also a "Catwoman" flick in the works with Ashley Judd in the lead role, and there's talk of a live-action movie based on the "Batman Beyond" cartoon (see "Sequel Mania — The Other Attack Of The Clones").

Although those movies — as well as other comic-inspired flicks like "Daredevil" (see "Affleck, Garner Open Up About 'Daredevil' ") and "The Punisher" (see "Punisher Is Next Comic Hero Headed For Big Screen") — have received a boost in the buzz department thanks to the $400 million box office success of "Spider-Man," Petersen said "Batman vs. Superman" will be very different from Tobey Maguire's record-breaking blockbuster.

" 'Spider-Man' has a very sweet and light touch to it and is very romantic with Kirsten Dunst and Tobey," Petersen said. "Ours will be more dramatic. What 'Spider-Man' did quite good was the swinging Spider-Man through New York. Our thing, with Superman flying, will be an unbelievable, amazing new experience that you've never, ever seen before, because it's a long time ago with the 'Superman' films."

Petersen is eyeing a 2004 release for "Batman vs. Superman."

Personally, I think this is shaping up to be a damn good comic flick. And to those saying Supes fighting Bats is a bad idea... shut yer piehole and go read The Dark Knight Returns.