Superman: The Man of Steel (DC Movies)

Superman: The Man of Steel is a 2012 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of Superman. The film was produced by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures, who also distributed the film. It is also the first installment in the DC Comics Movie Universe (or DC Movies). It was directed by Rian Johnson from a screenplay written by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt, and stars Wes Bentley as the titular role of Superman, as well as Bethany Joy Lenz Lewis Black, Roshon Fegan, Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Mark Strong, Tyler Mane, Peter Capaldi, Sam Witwer, and Alex Pettyfer. The film follows investigative journalist Clark Kent who, after discovering he's from the destroyed alien planet Krypton, decides to become the hero Superman to spark hope in the people of Metropolis, which has been overrun by crime and corruption.

Work began on the film in 2008. Warner Bros. had heard the then relatively recent news that Marvel was working on a connected universes of movies and decided to take their own shot at it to compete with Marvel. They initially planned on using Christopher Nolan's Nolanverse as the start of the franchise but Nolan refused, claiming that it would go against his vision for his franchise. After this, Warner Bros. decided to start off with a Superman movie for their universe and eventually chose a screenplay by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt for the film's story.

Superman: The Man of Steel was released in theatres on February 13, 2012, in 2D, 3D, and in IMAX. The film was meant with a positive reception from audiences and critics, with it grossing approximately $586 million in the box office.

Cast

 * Wes Bentley as Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman
 * Pierce Gagnon as Young Clark Kent
 * Bethany Joy Lenz as Lois Lane
 * Lewis Black as Perry White
 * Roshon Fegan as Jimmy Olsen
 * Brandon Routh as Jon Kent
 * Kate Bosworth as Martha Kent
 * Mark Strong as Lex Luthor
 * Tyler Mane as Bruno Mannheim
 * Peter Capaldi as Winslow Schott
 * Sam Witwer as Albert Michaels/Atomic Skull
 * Alex Pettyfer as Rudy Jones/Parasite

Production
On September 9, 2008, Warner Bros. found out that the then recently released Iron Man and Incredible Hulk films were the starting point to a series of films based on Marvel Comics characters all set in the same universe (later dubbed the Marvel Cinematic Universe). Deciding to make their own cinematic universe to compete, Warner Bros approached director Christopher Nolan, whose critically acclaimed film The Dark Knight had come out not long ago, and asked if he was interested in spear-heading their universe, using The Dark Knight as the jumping off point. Nolan refused, however, believing that it would contradict the vision he had for his universe.

After this, Warner Bros. took pitches from many different writers, including comic book writer Grant Morrison, occasional Firefly and Lois & Clark writer Tim Minear, and writers of Hancock, Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt. Eventually, Berg and Vanderbilt's scrip won out, with them pitching an idea that leaned into Superman's identity as an alien. Rian Johnson was picked as the director of the film, which was seen as quite controversial at the time due to his then lesser known status.

Release
Before the film's release, hype was built up for the movie with the "Believe Again" tagline, which was put on several posters for the film, a reference to the 1978 Superman film's tagline "You Will Believe A Man Can Fly". Photographs of the cast as their characters with their characters' names written below them were slowly released in the weeks leading up to the film's release. Eventually, the film officially premiered worldwide on February 13, 2012.

Reception
The film was a box office success, earing $150.9 million dollars in its opening weekend and increasing from there. Overall, the film grossed $728 million dollars worldwide, earning more than any of the other Superman movies released up until that point and one of the highest grossing films of 2012. Critics were also favorable to the film, with it earning a critic score of 87% and an audience score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes with the website's consensus reading "While too fast-paced in areas, Superman: The Man of Steel shows that Superman is alive and well in cinema". On Metacritic, the film received a score of 91% from a total of 66 critics, indicating "generally positive reviews".

Possible Sequel
On May 16, a few months after the film's release, Rian Johnson told Vice in an interview that he was more than open to return for a sequel to the film. Wes Bentley also showed interest in returning as Superman for a solo-film. Bentley later returned as Superman in the DC Movies' Justice League film and during an interview before the film's release once again said he wished to come back as Superman in a solo film. It was announced after Justice League's premiere that a currently untitled Superman: The Man of Steel sequel as in the works.

Notes & Trivia

 * Author's Note: Man of Steel does not exist in the made up reality that DC Movies exists in.
 * Read the transcript here: Superman: The Man of Steel/Transcript.