Strike Coming to an End, Singerman Sequel still Dead

Just checking in for the first time in a little while. Finally there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel with this whole Writer's Guild strike business. According to The Hollywood Reporter and various other sources, the WGA leadership in an impromptu press conference today revealed that they are encouraged by a proposed agreement from the AMPTP and that if all goes as planned, the picket signs could be put away as early as sometime on Monday. In our opinion, its about damn time, as the thought of endless months of reality television were starting to make my skin crawl. I have a feeling the AMPTP will really be the one to have "won out" this time around.

But that's not all the good news we have for you today. Well it's not really "news" since we've been saying it for a good long while, but its always nice to see it in print nonetheless. According to yesterday's Hollywood Reporter, the strike's impending resolution has heartened studios, specialty divisions and mini-majors that a host of development projects could suddenly be jump-started. They then go on to give a few blurbs about some of the upcoming WB projects:

The consensus from industryites seemed to be that Warner Bros. had the most immediate need on both the development and spec script sides. The studio's offerings for 2009 are light, with "Watchmen," based on the graphic novel; the children's fantasy "Where the Wild Things Are"; and "Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins."

There are at least nine more projects that are not dated but could be slated for 2009, according to one source. But one studio tentpole, the sequel to "Superman Returns," is not so lucky. There apparently are no current plans to add the project to the slate, according to a studio source.

Yup, still as dead as ever. Sorry, Restart there will be no Singerman 2 in 2009, and god willing, never, ever again. Oh yeah and they do also mention the JLA film:

Meanwhile, productions with known script issues such as Warner Bros. tentpole "Justice League" are expected to get fast-tracked once writers return to the scene.

Let's all pray to whatever deity you choose that by "get fast-tracked" they mean "gets tweaked, rethought, and recast. " As bad as that last update got we sounded, WB is still more confident in it than going forward with another Singerman film. This should hopefully put to bed those silly rumors that another Singer film was only being delayed due to the strike.

JLA is Not Looking So Good

Hey, at least that Superman can fill out a suit...

It appears WB's ineptitude with it's superheroes knows no bounds, as recent reports in both Variety and the Hollywood Reporter are now suggesting that the much ballyhooed film has been put on hold until at least the end of the WGA strike or it possibly could even be joining Singerman II in the scrap heap. It looks like the project encountered a myriad of issues from casting, to the inability to do rewrites, to a lack of necessary tax incentives from the Australian government.

But my friends, that is just the tip of the iceberg! Wait until you hear who they were going to cast in this film. It appears that the "WORST CAST LIST EVER!" that was posted on Superhero Hype! a few months back was pretty spot on. The Hollywood Reporter details the carnage:

The decision to put the project on hold now frees up the actors who had been cast in the roles of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the Flash. D.J. Cotrona, Adam Brody, Anton Yelchin, Common, Teresa Palmer and Megan Gale had been cast in the movie in November, with their holding deals extended at least once as the studio tackled the script problems. The extensions expired Tuesday, after which a pay-or-play situation would have taken effect.

"Justice's" delay is considered good news for Christopher Nolan's camp. Nolan is in post on "The Dark Knight," the sequel to "Batman Begins," and is said to have been unhappy with the "Justice League" movie because its version of Batman (to have been played by Armie Hammier) clashed with his (Christian Bale).

Holy shit on a stick does that list suck! Sure the delay is good news for Nolan's camp.. and anyone who hasn't ever wiped their ass with a JLA comic. What the hell is WB thinking? They were going to make a gazillion dollar film and have a nickel and dime cast? The only name on that list that doesn't make me cringe is Common, but he's a decent supporting actor, he's not good enough to carry a cast of soap opera rejects. Please tell me the man who gave us Mad Max is not responsible for this and that some suits foisted them upon him? Otherwise I've lost a ton of respect for George Miller. D.J. Effing Cotrona was going to be their Superman??? He's 5'9" for Christ's sake! The Baking Soda kid who was to play Batman is 6'5", Cotrona would've looked like his god damn side kick and together they've got the acting resume of Paris Hilton. The "casting issues" the article speaks about have to have something to do with someone in the studio with at least a modicum of common sense looking at this cast list and saying "WTF? Are you serious?"

Regardless, for anyone who thought that WB was starting to come around and get any kind of handle on their superhero properties, if Singerman wasn't enough then this should convince you that Batman Begins was a complete fluke occurrence.

Now on to something I feel I need to address: the whole "Uncle Bingo" fiasco. As I've always said to you, be careful to ever believe ANYTHING you read on internet messagboards. Someone ALWAYS has some kind of agenda. And once again I was proven correct as Uncle Bingo's was either to mess with people or spread false hope. It's clear now that he, and those who were singing a similar tune, were DEAD wrong. I was really surprised by some emails I'd gotten showing me just how far it had spread too.

The thing that does piss me off about it is not so much that he came on here and did that, its because since his comments were posted in the comments section here, some people (a few even with their own websites) have attributed them to this blog. Why? Hell if I know. Another chance to badmouth the blogosphere and make themselves feel superior perhaps?

Alright, So Who the Hell is Going to be Superman?

S.S.S. here, checking in from an undisclosed location as I prepare to stuff myself until I pass out tomorrow. Anyway, not much going on recently except a continuous stream of bullshit casting rumors about who's going to be donning the "S" in George Miller's Justice League, and each media outlet seems to be winding up with more egg on their faces than the last. In the wake of the "Tom Welling fiasco" that IESB caused you'd have thought they would've learned.

Let's recap, shall we?

First on 11/16, Scott Porter from Friday Night Lights was TOTALLY going to be Superman. Only one problem, he apparently wasn't aware of that. In fact, he tells us two days later while at Wizard World that he never even tested for that part. That next day, 11/19, Superhero Hype! gets a hold of what looks like the WORST CAST LIST EVER and it says that 5 foot 9 inch D.J. Cotrona "might" be playing Superman! WTF? Who????

Then all of a sudden on the same day JLA apparently doesn't even have a shooting script and NONE of the actors are even signed according to The Hollywood Reporter. The following day, Clint from Moviehole calls "bullshit" on that and reveals that the film is "still definitely on track" regardless and that "The cast is a lock as of today''. They then go on to say that the "cast is expected to be announced tomorrow" which was actually today, 11/21, but as of 10 PM EST there still hasn't been any kind of announcement. Shocking I know.

Here's a tip in case you haven't learned this yet. NO ONE KNOWS A FRIGGEN THING ABOUT THIS MOVIE. Outside of the fact that George Miller is directing it and that the plot is "loosely" based on the "OMAC" and "Tower of Babel" storylines, nobody knows anything about how the strike might impact this film or who is going to be playing the roles. The trades don't seem to know, Moviehole doesnt know, super secret "insiders" from random messageboards don't know, and IESB sure as hell doesn't know. It's best just to sit back and wait for the word from the proverbial horse's mouth to come down from on high and then deal with it then.

For the record, both Porter and Cotrona SUCK as choices for Superman. Although Porter would've been a much better choice for Flash than Adam friggen Brody. And that SHH! cast list is BEYOND HORRIFIC with the exception of one or two people. It reads like the list of dead body extras for an episode of CSI. George Miller can't possibly be that stupid. I hope.

Miller's Justice League Sucks?...Or Not?

Wonder Twin powers ACTIVATE! Form of... a giant piece of shit!

Yeah ummm, I'm just at a loss for words here. Apparently Clint over at Moviehole got a hold of a sizeable portion of the JLA script that was set aside for the effects guys and let me tell ya, it ain't good. Well, at least it won't be for those of us who are out of the 6th grade. For those of us who were expecting something along the lines of Bruce Timm's animated series or something out of the many epic JLA comics, we're going to be SORELY disappointed. Clint reads through the carnage:

"So what are they working with? Well, not a lot. Not to say the film reads terrible, it doesn’t, it’s just that it reads more like a Saturday Morning ‘Superfriends’ cartoon than anything else – like, say, something that’ll appeal to the over twenties crowd - and basically, WETA need only look at the old cartoons to seek inspiration for their whizbang dressings. Having said that, maybe that’s exactly what they’re going for – a family-friendly toon-esque romp; like say “The Rocketeer” or “Sky High”.

The film introduces the main characters very quickly – as if they’re a 42-minute TV show and have to get it done quickly. You don’t get to know much about any of our central heroes before they all unite."

Sounds great doesn't it? Clint then goes on to briefly explain the introduction of the main characters which seem so utterly cheesy, I expect them all to be winking into the camera. He then finishes up the awful news with:

"Look, the film seems pretty underwhelming, sure, but what I think might’ve been their motivation here is to distance themselves from any of the “Superman” or “Batman” films already in existence – which is something the fans will be thankful for – and as this is merely light and fluffy cartoon adventure-stuff, without any of the dark undertones of those other films (largely “Batman”), they’ve definitely succeeded in that. This will definitely appeal to a much younger crowd than those that say, loved “Batman Begins” – it’ll be one the twelve-years-olds go ga-ga for.

Great! Sounds like a 2 hour toy commercial that will sell many a happy meal and action figure.

"So all-in-all, “Justice League” won’t be our film – and when I say ‘our’ I mean, commonly anyone considered of adult age – but it will probably be right up the kids’ alley. It’s essentially a live-action version of “Superfriends” – in terms of pace, story and set-up."

Well, there you have it. Part of me thinks it funny that this type of schlock is whats going to be replacing Singer's franchise at WB. Another part of me wants to once again run up to Singer and punch him in the nuts for screwing the pooch so badly that he scared the studio so shitless that they've gone completely off the other end of the spectrum in terms of the balance between action and story.

Christian Bale, Tom Welling, and Brandon Routh should be thanking their lucky stars that they won't be involved with this thing. (We think.)

But dont push the panic button, just yet. Like most other things with this movie we could find out tomorrow that this is all really bullshit, but Clint at Moviehole is pretty good with this stuff so this is more than likely the case.

Looks like we may have our next crusade on our hands. Stay tuned.

UPDATE 10/18: Well it appears, as I mentioned a few paragraphs up, that yesterday's "news" from Moviehole was yet another in a long line of the total clusterfuck of rumors that surround this project. Apparently Clint was sent a bogus script, according to Dirty Sanchez over at IESB, although given his recent track record who the hell knows if he's right? The Moviehole article has since disappeared and we're seemingly back to no one knowing much of anything. How fun!

UPDATE 10/19: So it looks like this rumor may be true again now? Someone stop this AWFUL ride. I want off.

Superman vs. The Shitstorm of Casting Rumors

SSS here, just checking in since I've been away for a bit as real life sometime dictates. When last I left you, the confirmation that JLA was a go, and that Singerman 2 was going into carbonite had just come through. And boy does it look like some fun has ensued! Especially with regards to casting the new Superman in the JLA movie.

It looks like IESB has been at again with the Tom Welling will, oh wait no he won't thing. And now from the emails we've been getting today it looks like they're back on the, "oh maybe he will" kick again. Guys, make up your freaking minds already, either Tom Welling is one of the most indecisive actors in Hollywood, or your sources need to learn how to read contract negotiations better. As cool as it would be to see Welling finally get the hell out of Smallville and don the tights, I really think it's wrong that they're leading people on like this without more concrete info.

In the process of debunking Welling (before they um "rebunked" him?), it looks like IESB also managed to kick up another mess of rumors involving the transition of Brandon Routh to the JLA Supes role, simply because someone reported that he had a meeting on the WB lot one day. I can say without a doubt this is one of the more ridiculous rumors we've heard. The team at WB behind JLA led by V.P. of Production, Dan Lin, may even rival the great "ApologistPuncher" in terms of their dislike for Singerman. Those guys are the ones who convinced Alan Horn and Jeff Robinov to proceed with a JLA film and let Singer go off to do films about Hitler and gay mayors. To think they'd then turn around and use the frontman of Singer's failure as one of the leads in their movie is preposterous. I'm sure those guys would rather piss on an electric fence then use Routh in their movie. As I've said before, he seems like a decent enough guy but he added nothing significant to the part the first go around, and now he's saddled with Singer's baggage. Why the hell would they tie themselves to that?

The other option for casting would of course be anyone who isn't Routh or Welling. And a lot of people seem to knock that idea because they "don't want 3 Supermen (Supermans?) running around." To which I say "nonsense!" JLA is due out in Summer 2009. Even if they were to drag Smallville out for 8 seasons it's over by May 2009 so Welling's tenure, assuming he's not in JLA, would be over. And honestly, if JLA is a big huge hit and a new guy nails it as Superman, do you really think they're going to resume the Singerman franchise with Routh? And if JLA is a terrible financial failure, do you really think WB is going to touch another big budget superhero film not named Batman for another decade? I don't, so either way you don't have Routh "running around" anymore either, and it will be over 3 years since Singerman stunk up theaters so its not like he'll be fresh in too many people's minds in the general movie-going audience anyway. The new guy would be the only current Superman or no one would be.

Other recent rumors are suggesting that casting may already be finished for the most part and that an announcement is imminent. Hold on to your hats folks, its sure to be a wild ride, and in the words of Jigsaw "oh yes! there will be blood!"

JLA Confirmed, Singerman Taking a "Back Seat"

Well it looks like today the official word finally came down via Variety that George Miller will indeed be helming the JLA movie, and our old friend Singerman is being put on indefinite hiatus. Of course anyone who's read this blog over the last few weeks already knew that was the case anyway so this really isn't much of a surprise. Ok maybe to everybody except "Restart Mel" that is.

According to the article:

Warner Bros. is moving aggressively ahead with the bigscreen adaptation of DC Comics’ “Justice League of America,” with George Miller on board to direct.

Project, which is the initial phases of casting, is a pre-strike priority for the studio, which needs a superhero tentpole in 2009.

Still, making all the pieces fit has been complicated by overlapping superhero projects in the pipeline, since “Justice League” features a pantheon of superheroes, including Superman and Batman.

Batman and Superman are active properties for the studio, though the next installment in the Superman franchise has taken a backseat to “Justice League” in part because Warners is so keen on the “Justice League” script by Kieran and Michele Mulroney.

“Justice League” will likely feature the characters of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash and Aquaman.

Warners is in the preliminary phases of casting for “Justice League.” Several sources close to the project said that Christian Bale, star of the revived Batman film franchise, and Brandon Routh, star of Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns,” would probably not appear in the movie.

Again, obviously all things we've heard before, but still nice to hear it from one of the industry trades as opposed to websites who's credibility everyone is always calling into question. Exactly, what "taking a back seat" means for Singerman I can't say for sure, but I would think that if JLA is a big success and the guy who plays Superman nails it, I'd have a hard time believing WB would have any interest whatsoever in returning to Singer's mess.

Oh and for all of you guys who've been emailing me asking this, I'd be fine with Tom Welling taking up the mantle in this film. He seems to have all the prerequisites for the part in addition to 7 some odd years of training for it, literally. The key thing above any actor though will always be the script and the director's vision. If those two are in line with the Supes we know and love, then everything will be alright. If we get another Singerman situation where the characters are marginalized and the source material is ignored, then it doesn't matter who we've got in the title role.

Finally, although we may have been ragging on the guy for a while we are men of honor here and we will give credit where credit is do, "Dirty" Sanchez from IESB called this one almost a month ago.

UPDATE 9/21 - Well just when you give IESB some credit for getting a scoop right it seems they've served up a big "shit sandwich" on their "big scoop" from last month about Tom Welling being the JLA's Man of Steel. Nice job, go on TV to declare to the masses that this is going to happen and then a few weeks later back away from it with the infamous "I have no idea what happened." Like I said if they were wrong on this they're going to get fried regardless of the Miller thing. They've likely now succeeded in pissing off a seemingly overwhelming amount of fans of Welling/Smallville who because of this may now have some vitriol against the JLA film when before they probably would've cared very little. Add this to the half dozen girls left on BrandonRouth.com that still care about him and feel as if he's getting replaced, and it's going to be UGLY when the new guy is announced. Way to go IESB!

Tom Welling in Talks to be the JLA Superman

Take this with a BIG grain of salt but "Dirty" Sanchez just reported on G4's "Attack of the Show" and also over on IESB that Warner Brothers is in talks with Tom Welling and the Smallville producers to get him as the Superman for the JLA movie, which is a live-action film BTW with CGI motion capture in it. (Kudos to the fine gentlemen at CHUD for calling that one a few days ago.) Again, it's IESB so take it with a grain of salt since they've spit the bit on more than one occasion recently. He also said he thinks it will have no bearing on whether Singerman II gets made or not. How that works? I dont know.

UPDATE: Here's a clip of the interview:


UPDATE: Apparently SMHP called "BS" on IESB after, for some unknown reason, asking Al Gough and expecting him to give them an honest response (Hey Younis, ever hear of an NDA??). Then IESB just called BS right back on SMHP. It's like a battle to see who can be the least credible. Grab your popcorn folks.

UPDATE: 8/25 - IESB is STILL pretty sure of themselves. Boy, are they going to get burned if this doesn't pan out.

UPDATE: 8/30 - The KryptonFan Podcast interviewed both Dirty Sanchez from IESB and Steve Younis from SMHP about their "nerd off" last Friday. Sanchez still seems pretty darn sure of himself, and seems to able to at least speak "somewhat" intelligently about the situation. He also mentions a certain "blog" that dislikes Bryan Singer, although I don't think we've EVER said we had anything against the X-Men movies?
Steve Younis on the other hand, adds virtually nothing other than reiterating how he ran to Gough and Gough told him "no." Not once does he even breach the possibility of Gough not being able to talk to him.

UPDATE: 9/2 - Looks like you can score an early one for "Dirty" Sanchez as they appear to have announced casting directors for New York, Toronto, and, strangely enough, Vancouver, where incidentally, a certain actor films a Superman TV show. They've also posted script sides for some lesser roles in the film.

More on this as it becomes available.

JLA Movie Confirmed? Routh is One and Done?

Wow! Talk about a film coming together fast. I'm not sure if I should be excited or scared about this? Apparently while we were all busy arguing about just how BAD Singerman was, it appears WB was busy with their big Plan B. Just into us tonight, Moviehole reports that the proposed Justice League film is in fact confirmed to be just as "full speed ahead" as we've been hearing recently and it should be up and running by next year. And that's not all, they've got a few other goodies regarding casting. They go on to say:

A casting director for the movie will be onboard next week and it's then that they'll be going after their tighted strongmen.

Director George Miller ("Mad Max") has some ideas who he'd like to cast as Batman and Superman but naturally, they mightn't be the same faces the WB want. Either way, doesn't sound like Christian Bale or Brandon Routh will be involved in the film. I assume that's a financial thing.

(Update : We have been informed by another source at Warner Bros that it will be an all-new cast and that Bale and Routh will NOT be back.)

So within the next month we should start seeing a few announcements about the movie.

I'm not surprised really, I told you in the earlier post that Bale's Batman just didn't fit into the world of the JLA, and that most likely they wouldn't want Routh anywhere near it since he could only hurt the film by dragging over Singerman's problems with him.

Not surprisingly, IESB does a follow up to this report (completely ignoring their prior "Singerman II is coming come hell to high water!" stance BTW) and add this bit (take it for what it's worth):

"Let me clear some confusion, Batman and Superman are the central characters of the Justice League film that will now be played by different actors.

WB is looking for a complete new cast for the multi-hero team up and that casting will begin as early as next week.

The IESB has been told that early meetings have already taken place for certain key roles and to expect announcements very soon. Just in case there was any doubt, George Miller is 100% locked in as the director.

Once again, the confirmed heroes are Superman, Batman, the Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern.

We are working on a couple of leads that are indicating what actors may be up for a couple key roles.

They also have a really brief interview with Bale from today's 3:10 to Yuma press junket where they surprisingly didn't swear at him. Then again , he probably would've kicked their asses if they did.

Is this the death knell for Singerman? Or is it just delaying it? In our opinion here, the whole reason this film is being fast-tracked for Summer 2009 is to fill Singerman's slot because WB doesn't have the confidence in it. We'll stick around until we hear the official announcement and see Singerman's bloated corpse. Stay tuned.

Now Where Have We Heard This Before???

Remember back a couple months ago when we told you that Warner Bros. was fast-tracking a Justice League of America film that would either take the place of or delay a possible Singerman sequel? And certain "Pro-Singer websites" then ran around screaming "All is well!"? Well it appears one of those sites, IESB, is starting to see the light, now that the train is right on top of them. Better late than never I guess.

Take it for what it's worth, well because it's IESB, but their "sources" who don't have the best track record on these things are now finally acknowledging that the proposed Justice League of America film is now more of a reality than they first thought. The self-serving carnage is below.

"When the news broke that JLA (Justice League of America) was moving forward with a script written by Kiernan and Michele Mulroney, speculations began that the follow-up to Superman Returns, The Man of Steel, would be delayed or even completely scrapped.

WB studio sources quickly said that was just mere speculation and The Man of Steel was still planned for a first quarter 2008 start date. Even recently, Brandon Routh told us the same thing during a quick red carpet interview at the premiere for Transformers."

I think Routh would've said anything at that point to get a way from you. He didn't exactly look comfortable with you dropping the "F bomb" in front of him repeatedly.

"At the same time, we are hearing some execs over WB were not happy with the way Superman Returns performed regardless of the $390 million plus worldwide box office take and that’s why Justice League is being pushed through the studio at a record pace."

At the same time? We've been hearing that for almost a year. Where have you guys been?

"The JLA script has been received with open arms by Warners and the goal is for the film to be the launching point for The Flash, Wonder Woman, The Green Lantern and Aquaman as well as rejuvenate Superman.

When do the powers-that-be want to start production on Justice League? Apparently, as soon as the first quarter of 2008, that’s right, WB sources have informed the IESB that execs behind the Justice League of America want it to be in production as early as February/March 2008 to be ready for a summer of 2009 release."

Now would these be the same sources who just a month ago said any talk of a delay in a Singerman sequel was "horse shit?"

"Some questions arise. What will happen to The Man of Steel film that Bryan Singer has already signed on to do?"

I'll give you 3 guesses.

"Would Warner Brothers be willing to lose the money they would have to pay to Singer regardless if he directs the film or not? Will Christian Bale and Brandon Routh reprise their roles as Batman and Superman?

Some rumors indicate that studio execs have considered recasting Superman and a few names have popped up. But the honest truth is that the studio just does not know at this time whether Routh will return or not. We’ll just have to wait and see."

It wouldn't be the first time WB has lost money on a pay or play deal with a director on a Superman movie. Something tells me based on their past experiences with Tim Burton, Bret Ratner, Michael Bay, and McG that WB covered themselves a bit more when they negotiated with Singer.

As for Routh returning: sorry Brandon, you seem like a nice guy, but you bare the mark of the beast, the scarlet letter "S" of Singerman, and with you comes all the continuity and issues of Singer's film. Even if you completely ignore the events of Singerman, the general public will identify you with it, and that could condemn this movie. Your performance, while not a huge issue in the film, was nothing that a hundred other actors off the streets of L.A. couldn't have done.

"I want to be very clear about this, I want to see a JLA film very badly and I am pretty certain that George Miller will direct. The problem that I have is I can’t foresee the Nolan camp, including producer Charles Roven, to lose the third stand-alone Batman film by allowing Bale to JLA instead. Maybe Warners should bring a few of the Batman/TDK producers on board the JLA production to keep that camp happy."

The concept of something like the JLA is pretty much absurd in the gritty, realistic world that Nolan and Co. have created in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. That was the whole reason they took on the project in the first place. I can't see them wanting to have anything to do with a JLA film. Honestly, if I can only have Bale as Batman 3 times, I'd rather see a Batman film trilogy.

"I have to wonder if they are willing to pay the huge amount of money to Bale to keep him for possible future JLA and Batman films. I definitely think he’s worth it but it’s not my checkbook.

Routh’s price tag is no where near Bale’s and I’d bet he’d be willing to do possible future JLA and Superman films."

Routh would most likely wash your car at this point if you were going to give him $10 to do it. The "next big star" burned out before he ever had a chance to shine.

"Finally, what about Singer’s The Man of Steel? At this stage in the game, yes, it appears that the Man of Steel will be pushed back to accommodate Justice League.

Does that mean that Singer is out and the sequel to Superman Returns scrapped? Not likely.

As I mentioned earlier, Bryan Singer has already signed on to do The Man of Steel and his team is reportedly already working on the film. I find it hard to believe that the studio would be willing to lose the money that will have to be paid to Singer if they decide to drop the project. I just can’t see that happening."

Yes, you keep saying these things but yet the evidence keeps mounting against it. You said a lot of things were "reportedly happening" that weren't. And what's riskier for WB? Coughing up a couple million max to pay off Singer for good? Or missing the mark by $100 million again on another Singerman film?

"It would be a mistake on Warner Bros. part to recast Superman, Brandon did a fine job and under Miller’s direction he could do great, besides I hear that Warner Bros. really dug Bryan Singer’s take for the sequel and Michael Dougherty is already working on the new script."

I knew I could count on you guys to get that one little last barb of unabashed fanboyism in there so you dont have to completely eat crow. Of course, you heard WB "really dug" Singer's take on a sequel and that they're working on a script. I wouldn't have expected any less.

JLA Film on the Fast-track?

While fans await news on the uncertain future of Singerman, Warner Bros. appears to have moved another property to the front burner.

On February 22, 2007, Variety reported that Kiernan and Michele Mulroney [pictured] were hired to write a preliminary script for a future Justice League film.

Now it seems less than four months later, a first draft has been submitted, and even Variety is speculating that the "superteam" might eclipse Singerman.

Here is the latest article on the film, as posted in Variety this past Friday, June 15th:

One of the more ambitious projects around town - the bigscreen adaptation of DC Comics' "Justice League" - cleared a major hurdle last week.

Husband-wife writing duo Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney turned in a first draft that had Warner Bros. suits actually smiling - no small feat, considering "Justice" follows a half-dozen of the best-known superheroes working together, including Batman and Superman.

But the accomplishment raises a tricky question for Warners: Should it release "Justice" before its "Superman Returns" sequel?

Christopher Nolan's next Batman pic "The Dark Knight" bows in July 2008. Bryan Singer's "Superman" follow-up had been expected to play in 2009. But there's no script yet for that pic, while Singer is busy getting ready to shot Tom Cruise starrer "Valkyrie" for UA.

The question now: Will a souped-up "Justice League" prove to be Kryptonite to Superman?

Superman fans know how much Singerman was 'teh suck.' We can only hope this news about a JLA film means Warner Bros. has finally realized it too.

Singerman 2 to be Shelved in Favor of the JLA Movie?

Take this one with a BIG grain of salt, but Moviehole has an article up today quoting "inside sources" close to W.B. Studios saying that they may be shelving any plans for Singerman 2 to move ahead with the Justice League of America movie featuring Superman as a lead character.

"I heard from a pretty reliable source this weekend – who, has some top contacts himself – who essentially confirmed that the WB are thinking of putting the next “Superman” movie into turnaround, and instead will just use the character in the new “Justice League” movie. (Funnily enough, Batman would not be involved in the new film – he’s too big to waste on a film like this, apparently).

Having now heard the same from about half-a-dozen reliable insiders, I checked in with a couple of sources near the Water Tower itself, who wouldn’t confirm nor deny the reports, but definitely haven’t dismissed that it’s a possibility. One of them would only say that there “could be something in [that]”

If true, that's quite interesting. The evidence would also seemingly be starting to mount against Singer getting the chance to have another go at the rotting corpse of Superman he left us or at the very least delaying it.

It seems they'd be taking Superman for the JLA film as a way to help try to drum up support for the Superman character after the lackluster box office from the first Singerman film. If the JLA film was a monster hit, the article muses, they might then go ahead with a Singerman 2. But does that make much sense? If someone is able to make the JLA a monster hit using Superman (hopefully, correctly this time) why would W.B. then want to turn around and hand him back to the guy who screwed it up the 1st time? Unless of course they mean, they'll go ahead with another Superman film perhaps not with Singer attached to direct again, but that's not really clear.

The article also states that they think Brandon Routh would most likely be donning the tights again in the JLA film, but I'm not too sure about that. If you believe some of the rumored script ideas for the JLA movie Routh's Superman wouldn't exactly be in continuity with it, although let's face it his Superman wasn't in continuity with ANYTHING. Another thing to consider is that he might have the stigma of being part of Singerman attached to him, and if WB's unhappy enough with the Singerman franchise to bale on it, or at the very least delay it for a while, why would they want to risk the public associating the two films by having the same star in the same role?

UPDATE: IGN has admitted hearing the same rumor over the weekend.