Mark Millar Readies Superman Pitch

By Will Reynolds / June 25, 2011

I've come to the conclusion that Mark Millar's Superman: Red Son is the greatest Man of Steel comic book story ever written. Yes, even better than Alan Moore's!

I can't quite put my finger on why, but I think I love it so much because Millar totally reinvisons the character - by crashing his space ship into Soviet Russia instead of the American heartland - yet still manages to keep him inherently Superman in spite of the Commie surroundings. Millar is pretty active on his message forum, where he often regails readers with tales of punching foxes and meeting Jessica Alba. With news breaking that the Bryan Singer helmed Superman sequel is looking for new writers, Millar has posted on his forum about getting in touch with his big shot American agents to try and get his pitch in the door at Warner Bros.

"It's 8.58am right now, my guys at CAA get into the office in about seven hours and my call will be waiting for them to talk about this. I want to revamp Superman like Hillary wants thin ankles. Revamping this franchise is what I as given fingers for and so, invited or not, I'm putting my plan together now. I've been asked to work on half a dozen screenplays lately, but this is the only one I have ever truly wanted. As most here know, I have literally hundreds of pages of notes and sketches just waiting for this opportunity. This would be my dream gig and, as a fan, I know exactly what this project needs to work. This has to be Superman for the 21st Century, keeping everything we adore, but starting from scratch and making the kids love it as much as the 30-somethings. I would honestly write this thing for free. Anyway, my treatment is being polished as we type. Wish me luck. I want to do that Superman movie we all want to see."

The original Variety article that broke the story is slightly vague. It states that Warners have been considering rebooting the franchise ala The Incredible Hulk yet also claims Bryan Singer is still onboard and it will be a direct sequel starring Brandon Routh. Personally I think the writing is on the wall for Singer, it looks as if the studio are maneuvering to get him out of the door with as a little fuss as possible and the fact that it is them - not Singer - that are taking pitches from writers is telling. The writer's strike is all set to go ahead within the next few days so the studio will have to make a deal with a writer quickly and then hope the guild issues are resolved soon so they can get to work on a new Superman film. Mark Millar would be an excellent choice for a revamped Man of Steel but I would like to see him paired off with a top screenwriter or writer/director so they could develop together - I'm thinking of a Goyer/Nolan type of relationship here. source - millarworld