It’s official. Supervillains breaking into our TV feeds to deliver sloppily edited messages to the masses is something we have to deal with in our summer comic book blockbusters now. We saw The Mandarin do it continually in Iron Man 3, and apparently he gave Zod the log-in codes, because the Superman baddie is interrupting your Sports Center rerun in this new trailer for Man of Steel. What to say at this point? By now we’ve all seen a half dozen trailers for the Zack Snyder movie coming June 14th, and you probably already know whether you’re buying a ticket for opening weekend or not. It’s doubtful that anything in this new look will convince the unconvinced or suddenly shock the true believers (no matter how many punches they line up with musical beats). On the other hand, it’s great to see a movie finally have a villain ransom a superhero’s identity/capture against the well-being of society at large. Check out Zod’s demands for yourself:

Michael Shannon has explored a great deal of history in the past few years: he got rowdy as Kim Fowley in The Runaways; stern as hell for Boardwalk Empire; and, who could forgot, supplied comic relief for Michael Bay in Pearl Harbor. He once again plays period in The Iceman, based on family man contract killer Richard Kuklinski, a.k.a. “The Iceman.” Shannon can be seen donning old man sweaters, thick mustaches, and, best of all, dancing to a Blondie song. If there were any reason for a period piece to exist, it’s for Michael Shannon to groove to “Heart of Glass.” Besides showing off some moves on the dance floor, Shannon infuses a surprising amount of empathy into a man who takes lives for a living. The movie and performance never approve or sensationalize his actions, but, for a guy who killed over 100 people, Shannon’s portrayal paints a portrait of a guy who isn’t pure evil at his core. He’s human, and a genuinely good family man. That dichotomy is the heart of The Iceman, and according to Shannon, that’s what convinced him to sign on. Here’s what else Shannon had to say about the film’s focused narrative, invoking period, and why us talking in our underwear wouldn’t make for a different conversation:

Harmony Korine and friends already gave us a taste of sand, sun and heavy weaponry, but it doesn’t quite feel like summer yet. Maybe that’s because global warming is making everything so cool or because President Obama keeps delaying all of our vacation planes, but the hugeness of the season still hasn’t fully descended. That’ll change this weekend when Iron Man 3 drops an arc reactor into theaters. Then, the parade of unbelievably massive summer movies commences with buddy cops, mischievous teens, people probably named Khan, bald Matt Damons, super men, and the end of the world itself in tow. It’s a tight race this year. Optimism runs high, and the next few months are packed full with studios and indie outfits hoping to entertain and score big, so the task of naming the 13 most-anticipated summer movies was a tough one. So instead of hurting our brains over it, we let math do the work by putting the question to the whole staff and tallying up the results. It’s a slightly eclectic mix, displaying the powerful potential of cinematic storytelling to bring us into the cool, dark room with a single light source. As luck would have it, we found a fittingly seasonal place to start:

Amazon is now accepting pre-orders for the Man of Steel soundtrack from Hans Zimmer, so they’ve made a track listing and a few samples available. There’s nothing breathtakingly surprising here. Zimmer is that rare combination of artist and workhorse, and his style is set in synth stone even if it hasn’t completely ossified. That’s a relevant issue considering that he’s effectively taking over the baton from the legendary John Williams — a man who produced dozens of iconic songs but who has become a bit static after, you know, seven decades of writing movie music. Zimmer brings a bit of freshness here. The percussive intensity that we heard in Inception, the lilting tones of metal on metal, some bombastic brassy moments. The only question is how much of it will be copied by trailer editors. You can find the track listing below, and those that are super sensitive about story beats as spoilers may want to steer clear:

On tonight’s rousing edition of Movie News After Dark, we make stops in the TARDIS library for books, Westeros for tough women, South Florida for spring breakahs, Facebook for some nerdiness and the trailer park for a fan-made Man of Steel credits sequence that will blow your mind. Don’t worry, I hear there’s a cream for that.

The first teaser for Warner Bros. Pictures’ Man of Steel — from the director/producer duo of Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan — failed to inspire a number of us, especially those who had been burned before by a new, modern Superman movie. The second trailer didn’t do much either, beyond showing off Clark Kent’s life on the run. This third trailer, released today in conjunction with WB’s presence at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, is pretty major. In one fell swoop, director Zack Snyder answers a number of questions. Will it be set on a grande scale? Yes. Will we see the destruction of Krypton? Yes. Will the flying and fighting scenes be fast, in-focus and at normal speed? Mostly, yes. Does this film deserve a place at the top of Summer’s Most Wanted? Absolutely.

Fair warning to anyone who thinks they can avoid a certain piece of information regarding who exactly Michael Shannon plays in the upcoming Superman film Man of Steel… this new teaser confirms something that’s been rumored for a while. So stop reading now if you’re still hoping to steer clear of that reveal. WB has released a new teaser for Zack Snyder‘s darker-looking continuation/reboot of the Superman films, but instead of including new footage (or any footage at all) they’re going the viral route a la Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight marketing. But just because we’re not seeing anything doesn’t mean there isn’t something to hear. Check out the teaser for Man of Steel below.

These pictures will make you believe that a man can fly. Except he’s not a man. He’s an alien, and he’s got some other crazy powers as well. The new issue of “Entertainment Weekly” is all about Supes, and alongside a bunch of information about Man of Steel, they’ve got seven new images that give us a great look at all the major characters. From an airborne Superman to a Zod that looks like he’d be welcome fighting alongside Master Chief, there are some pretty cool looks here.

This probably comes as no surprise, but according to Variety, the Justice League movie over at Warners will depend on Man of Steel‘s box office performance. It’s encouraging (if not obvious) though, because it’s the first sign of level-headedness the studio has displayed regarding the superhero omnibus project. Before this, they’ve talked a big game all while planning to follow the Marvel method without laying any popular, systematic groundwork. Without Christian Bale, the branding game on Batman changes a bit (although there’s no denying the character’s ability to draw a crowd), and it’s not clear if anyone at all cares to see Green Lantern back on the big screen, so slow-playing the potential 2015 release until Zack Snyder’s Superman movie has a chance to succeed or fail is a smart move. The only question at this point is how much success Man of Steel will need in order to get Warners to pull out the giant check book (seriously, it’s comically large) and push Justice League out the door. How much will it have to earn worldwide? $600m? $800m? Does it have to cross the $1b mark or break records? The original Iron Man earned $585m, but it also wasn’t the sole launching pad for a giant, caped ensemble event movie. It had help where Man of Steel doesn’t, so it’ll be interesting to see following the latter’s release whether Warners will go ahead and place their big gamble on the table. But barring all the smart business, do you even want to see

There’s a ton of inspirational philosophizing in the new trailer for Man of Steel, and damn does it also look awe-inspiring. Massive in scope, potentially intimate in its character arcs, terrifying use of Michael Shannon‘s eyes. All excellent notes (even if the song choice is a bit too cloying). If trailers can be trusted, this one yells from the cold mountaintops that Zack Snyder‘s take on Superman will be a thing of wonder. It’s exhilarating. I think I need to catch my breath. Man of Steel hits theaters June 2013.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly thing about movie things, mostly dedicated to rounding up the best uncovered news of the day, with a few nice caveats thrown in for good measure. Tonight, it’s all business, baby. Nolan on Superman – “Superman is the biggest comic book character of them all and he needs the biggest possible movie version which is what Zack’s doing. It’s really something.” That’s pretty big there, Mr. Nolan. 

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly column that falls in love with you all over again, five nights a week. It’s also a movie news column that’s debuting a new element this week — the MNAD Mini-Review — a chance for its author to deliver even more commentary, but in short, capsule review style bursts. Look for these all throughout awards season (and perhaps beyond). DJANGO! – We begin this evening with the hottest story of the weekend: people have seen and reacted to Django Unchained. It was a slow weekend, what can I say? Alas, there was great praise for the latest of Quentin Tarantino. But more on him later. For now, there’s Django buzz, and /Film is recapping it like a motha… 

If you were asked to design a poster for a new Superman movie, probably the first few images that popped into your head would involve the big guy flying through the air, majestic and free, or possibly lifting some sort of impossibly large object, muscles bulging – something to show off what an impressive guy this super man really is. The latest poster for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel is taking things in a different direction altogether though. This poster, which debuted earlier today on the film’s Facebook page, gives us a passive and solemn Superman, handcuffed and being taken into custody by what looks to be some sort of military squad. Not exactly the kind of image you’d expect to represent the world’s most beloved and powerful superhero, is it? It would seem this is an early glimpse of that studio-mandated “grit” that’s meant to help this new franchise-launcher duplicate the success of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight series. Grit…yuck.

For those of you clamoring for a Robin movie after the underwhelming ending of The Dark Knight Rises, your dreams may have just been dashed. However, a new dream may have arrived as its replacement: Joseph Gordin-Levitt as our new Batman. That’s right, boring cop John Blake may takeover as the cape crusader. This news comes as one of first pieces of casting rumors for the upcoming Justice League movie, and while we should never take those rumblings too seriously, Hitfix’s Drew McWeeny seems pretty confident in his exclusive. McWeeny says, according to his sources, Levitt will “absolutely” be playing Batman in the Justice League picture. That’s not all, as Warners Bros. is apparently locking down deals not only with Levitt, but with one other actor from Nolan’s Batman universe. More than likely, it’s Lucius Fox providing the team with gadgetry and such or Alfred to help pick Blake up when he’s down.

“We approach the film as a single endeavor,” he says. “There are a lot of gears that have to turn in the world of commerce and the world of the mythology we create to facilitate more adventures for this character. We’ll see what happens.” That’s Zack Snyder telling the New York Post about the kind of loose coordination that goes into planning Man of Steel and two following Superman movies, but he could just as well have been talking about the Justice League universe itself (although that film seems a bit more definite). Warners has made no secret that it plans a Marvel-style omnibus for 2015, but right now, Supes is the only speeding bullet in the chamber with no concrete plans to bring Wonder Woman, Flash, a rebooted Batman, a rebooted Green Lantern, Aquaman or Elongated Man to the big screen before the big event.

There’s been this prevailing notion for a while now, that director Zack Snyder will be going for a far more gritty, realistic look at Superman in his upcoming reboot Man of Steel. It’s a notion only enhanced by the fact that Christopher “I Made Batman Real, Yo” Nolan was brought in by Warner Bros. to serve as producer and shepherd for the project. Nolan’s Batman Begins is the  go-to for Hollywood producers who want to make superhero stories for the second, third and sometimes fourth time. Now Snyder is doing something similar with Superman. He’s taking the character seriously. And he’s just begun to talk about how that’s all going to work.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s working on writing its own epic climax, but it’s still wallowing in a very slow, methodical first act. Luckily, there will be news to report along the way. We begin tonight with a look at the first table read for the upcoming season of Community, which was tweeted out by the show’s official account early this evening. Noticeably absent is show creator Dan Harmon, who has since been let go from the cult sensation he birthed. All the same, it will still be nice to see the Greendale gang back in action.

The trailer for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel recently made it online after rolling in front of the related DC property The Dark Knight Rises. Reactions have been mostly positive to the somber looking film, with words like “restrained” being laid upon it. Many have chosen to highlight the apparent effect that Batman producer/director Christopher Nolan has had on the Superman story. The trailer for Supes does seem to harken to a more Batman Begins esque story rather than say, Superman Returns or Green Lantern. Hey, the Batman movies were good for the most part right? Having Christopher Nolan involved is a great idea, right? Well, not if you want your universe to do anything other than implode.

Superman doesn’t look all that happy in these first two (near identical) teasers for Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel. If you thought Bryan Singer‘s Superman was an unbearable mope, wait until you get a peak at Snyder’s, who has apparently made one of our greatest heroes in the galaxy a bearded, lonely and sad fisherman. You can’t get more “gritty” and “real” than that shocking transformation. Check both teasers out below, one with Kevin Costner narrating and one featuring Russell Crowe’s melodic grumbling.

Guillermo Del Toro with his ‘giant monsters vs. giant robots.’ Zack Snyder and his fresh take on one of the most iconic superheroes in history. Peter Jackson returning to Middle Earth. There’s a reason why fans stood outside Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center for hours-on end, many not getting in after waiting 9-hours in the sun. Today was the big day of movies at Comic-Con 2012, and the Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures panel was its centerpiece. To get you up to speed with everything that happened, we take a tour around the web with our favorite blogfriends to see what everyone had to say about the high-expectation pieces and the big surprises alike.