The dark side of Superman

Christopher Reeve
as Evil Superman in 'Superman III'Witnessing the enormous commercial success of "The Dark Knight," Warner Bros. now wants to explore Superman's dark side in a forthcoming franchise reboot.

Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Rabinov recently told The Wall Street Journal his studio is planning a revamp of the Superman film series as part of a new slate of upcoming DC Comics movies. Time Warner, the studio's parent company, owns DC Comics.

The 2006 film "Superman Returns" was more of a long-delayed sequel to 1980's "Superman II" than a franchise reboot, and it generally pleased neither fans nor critics.

"It didn't position the character the way he needed to be positioned," Rabinov told the WSJ. "Had 'Superman' worked in 2006, we would have had a movie for Christmas of this year or 2009. But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman ... "

The gritty tone of "The Dark Knight" points the way for the future cinematic incarnations of DC Comics superheroes, according to Rabinov. "We're going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it," he said, even in the case of the notoriously nice Superman.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)