“Man of Steel” promises audiences a Superman story unlike any they’ve ever seen before — and from the material unveiled thus far, it’s pretty obvious that fans aren’t in Smallville anymore. A new featurette released Tuesday (June 4) offers even more insight into the amazing world that director Zack Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan reinvented.
“It’s about the potential for every person to be a force for good,” co-star Russell Crowe explains of the film. Snyder hopes the project will allow audiences to “participate in the experience of being Superman without breaking the things that make him Superman.” Meanwhile, according to David S. Goyer, “Man of Steel” aims to create “a more realistic Superman — a Superman that exists in a real world.”
MTV News pored over the 13-minute featurette and assembled a list of highlights that fans might want to pay attention to when watching
David Goyer Co-Wrote, But It’s Zack Snyder’s Baby
According to the featurette, Nolan and Goyer began working on the story while Nolan was directing “The Dark Knight Rises.” But when Snyder joined the project, he was evidently the one who gave it real shape. According to his cast, the filmmaker’s attention to detail and specificity of vision gave them confidence as they embarked on reviving the hero for a new generation of fans.
Filmmakers Couldn’t Justify Those Red Undies
In the process of reinventing the character, every part of his iconography came under scrutiny — including his costume. Zack and producer Deborah Snyder observed that Kal-El’s trademark drawers were the byproduct of a different era, and so they endeavored to create a costume, or uniform, more befitting of this generation. Specifically, they not only redesigned Superman’s costume from the materials on up — jettisoning the spandex — but outfitted all of the Kryptonian characters with the same sort of garb in order to highlight that this is how all of his people dress.
Alien ‘S’ Is A Family Thing
The featurette reminds us that Superman is an alien, and consequently, having a giant ‘S’ emblazoned on his chest feels a little out of place if the rest of his attire originated on Krypton. But Snyder and his costume and production designers came up with a very good reason for him to have that ‘S’ — amely, that it’s a family crest of sorts, a symbol of his family, just as other Kryptonians have other crests (or glyphs, as the filmmakers call them).
Are You My Mother?
The origin story for Superman is 75 years old, and it’s just about the closest thing we have to a modern myth. But in “Man of Steel,” there’s one guy who hasn’t heard about where Superman came from — namely, Superman. The filmmakers characterize the story as a “quest to find out who he is and where he came from,” highlighting the fact that he’s “lost in the world and doesn’t have a place.” At the same time, the film examines the character from the point of view of being “a son of two worlds.” Kevin Costner says it best: “He got his DNA from another galaxy, but his character from Jonathan and Martha Kent.”
Michael Shannon On ‘Man Of Steel’ Workout: ‘It’s All About The Squats.’
The Action Is Fierce And Fast
For the last decade, filmmakers have promised never-before-seen portraits of flight, superpowers and all of the other stuff that makes characters like Superman special. The makers of “Man of Steel” utilize his powers not merely as metaphorical explorations of our own heroic tendencies and aspirations, but in order to create some of the most visceral, down and dirty fight sequences in movie history. Highlighting the speed with which Superman can respond to enemies, threats and other danger, Zack and Deborah Snyder talk about how physical and high-powered the battles are.
Lois Lane Is Plucky, But She’s Also Pro-Active
Lois Lane has always been more than a love interest for Superman. She’s a plucky reporter whose pursuit of great stories regularly lands her in hot water, which Superman saves her from. But in “Man of Steel,” Lois is more thoughtful and more empowered when it comes to getting herself in and out of scrapes. Amy Adams brings intelligence, sensitivity and strength to the role, ensuring she’s much more than a damsel in distress.
Zod Can Justify His Badness
Since “Superman II,” General Zod has been an iconic villain in Superman mythology. But “Man of Steel” may be the first time he’s had not just an understandable, genuinely sympathetic motivation for fighting the first son of Krypton. Fiercely loyal and devoted, Zod has committed his life to protecting and preserving Kryptonian heritage, and Kal-El is his last hope for saving the planet of Krypton (for reasons we won’t spoil here). The battle between the two of them that erupts isn’t just one between good guy and bad, but between the prospects of giving birth to a new Kryptonian culture and saving humanity from certain extinction.
Check out everything we’ve got on “Man of Steel.”
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