This week Variety announced that Will McG, the director of Charlie's Angels, had been signed to direct the next film in the Superman franchise.  J.J. Abrams, who created Felicity and the new hit series Alias will write the screenplay.  McG, who will direct the sequel to Charlie's Angels this summer, has indicated that the new Superman film will be his next film after the Angels' sequel.  The signing of McG and Abrams appears to be another step in the franchise-building program announced by Warner Bros. studio heads Alan Horn and Barry Meyer.  Buoyed by the enormous worldwide success of the Harry Potter film, Warner Brothers is working hard to revive its DC Comics franchises with multiple films in the works for Batman and Superman as well as Wonder Woman and Catwoman projects.

 

Warner Brothers reportedly spent millions on scripts for 'Superman Lives,' a mid 90s project that was to have starred Nicholas Cage.  The studio commissioned screenplays from Kevin Smith, Bill Wisher, and Dan Gilroy, but the film, which had a $140 million price tag, never got made.  But now Warners management team is determined to revive both the Superman and Batman franchises and has authorized multiple teams of screenwriters and producers to develop separate movies featuring the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader as well as a Superman vs. Batman film where the two heroes confront each other.

 

Given director McG's commitment to Charlie's Angels, it appears unlikely, even under the best of circumstances, that a Superman film could debut before late 2003, or more likely summer of 2004.  Marvel may have the momentum on the big screen now (see 'Marvel's Monster Movies Mash the Screen'), but with all the emphasis that the current Warner Bros. brass has placed on reviving the Superman and Batman franchises, the situation could alter drastically by that time.