Mark Millar Set to Pitch Superman’s ‘Magnum Opus’

Posted by Adam Sweeney (adam@filmschoolrejects.com) on November 6, 2008

Comic book writer and creator Mark Millar has big plans for Superman on the big screen. How big? Try The Godfather big.

Millar, who brought us “Wanted” and “Kick-Ass”, has been working with a big-name Hollywood director to pitch what he called “the Magnum Opus of all Superman stories.” He spoke with Empire Magazine about the idea, which he wants to be an 8-hour saga split into 3 films, much in the vain of Lord of the Rings. Each film would be released one year apart.

“It’s gonna be like Michael Corleone in The Godfather films, the entire story from beginning to end, you see where he starts, how he becomes who he becomes, and where that takes him,” Millar explained. “The Dark Knight showed you can take a comic book property and make a serious film, and I think the studios are ready to listen to bigger ideas now.”

Millar also discussed the issues he had with Superman Returns. “The problem with Superman Returns was like releasing Star Wars in ‘77, The Empire Strikes Back in ‘80 and then waiting 28 years to release Return of the Jedi. It wasn’t relevant. I understand what Bryan Singer was trying to do, to pay homage to Richard Donner’s original vision, but I think you should pay homage by doing something completely different.

Millar’s story is, without a doubt, epic in scale. To just hear a snippet of the scope reveals that. “I want to start on Krypton, a thousand years ago,” Millar said, “and end with Superman alone on Planet Earth, the last being left on the planet, as the yellow sun turns red and starts to supernova, and he loses his powers.”

If this trilogy gets made, mark me down for a ticket to the midnight screening on opening night. I admire Millar’s ambition and would be amazed to see a series of films that could match what director Christopher Nolan is doing with the Batman franchise. The Dark Knight raised the bar in terms of what we could expect in superhero films. It would only make sense that the Man of Steel would try to soar above it.

I have always felt like Superman could become a perfect tragic character. Anyone familiar with the story “Tuck Everlasting” knows that being invulnerable isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The main complaint I have with Superman is that he is almost too powerful. But if Millar can show the conflict that comes from his inability to relate to humans, along with an story grand in scale that would make us understand the sacrifice he has to make to protect our planet, it could go down as one of the greatest superhero films of all-time.

What do you think of Mark Millar’s plans for Superman? Who would you want to direct it?

Read more articles by Adam Sweeney