With a record-breaking U.S. box-office this past weekend, with $125 million or so in the bag as well as a huge £11 million opening in the UK, Superman truly has soared back into the public domain. Man Of Steel, which stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne and Russell Crowe, has had a mixed reception from critics (8.2 on IMDb, 47% on Metacritic and 56% on Rotten Tomatoes). I for one enjoyed it immensely, despite its flaws, and found it to be a hugely enjoyable reboot with some great action and a uniformly excellent cast. So with word already coming through of immediate work on a sequel, with screenwriter David S. Goyer and director Zach Snyder already on board, here are some ideas that would make a Man of Steel 2 truly soar. Could we see a more fleshed out, character-driven sequel? Will Mr. Luthor appear? Will we see a few more Justice League nods/set-ups and a few more Batman tidbits? Here are just 5 of the possibilities that we could see in the sequel
5. More Jor-El
One of the more surprising aspects of Man of Steel is its use of Supermans father, Jor-El, played here by Oscar Winner Russell Crowe. In the previous incarnation played by Marlon Brando, it was a performance that filled many a magazine or newspaper page due his extraordinary contract ($2 million for 2 weeks, unheard of in 1977) and rather less for his appearance. Famed for reading Jor-Els heartbreaking speech off of the baby Kal-Els diaper, Brandos cumbersome, drab portrayal was perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Richard Donners soaring 1978 epic, and the rehash of his unused film for 2006s Superman Returns. Even in TVs Smallville, we only heard Jor-Els voice (portrayed by Terence Stamp). Here, we get Jor-El like never before: a strong, powerful man, whose primary objective on Krypton is to ensure the safety of its inhabitants, even in the face of the planets demise. He even gets to lay-down with Zod during the opening exchanges, proving himself a true warrior. But the biggest strength of this version is that Crowe performs alongside the other actors, particularly Cavills Kal-El even after his demise, rather than rehashing the floating head portions of the original. Through some Kryptonian science, Jor-El is able to inhabit the same space as Kal-El, lending the film more pathos and sincerity as he explains Krypton and Kal-Els extraordinary powers. Crowes undoubted power is evident throughout here, and thanks to Goyers smart writing of the character, that power is felt throughout the whole film, rather than its first 20 minutes. Sure, Jor-Els purpose through the latter portions of the film is to guide Kal-El, and for the most part he succeeds in his after-life quest, but because of the frenetic pace of the film, as well as Crowes superb portrayal, you cant help but want to see more.