According to sources close to WGTC – the same ones who told us a Green Lantern show is coming to HBO Max and Diana will have her Golden Eagle armor in Wonder Woman 1984, both of which are now confirmed – WB is interested in doing a live-action Death of Superman movie. This sinister comic book storyline, which was already adapted into an animated feature back in 2018, is beloved by fans and from what we understand, if this new take on it gets off the ground and comes to fruition, it would be a standalone effort and not connected to the DCEU. Meaning it wouldn’t star Henry Cavill.
The actor, who recently found unlikely acclaim as Geralt of Rivia in the Netflix hit The Witcher, hasn’t been so lucky when it comes to Superman. What could have been the role of a lifetime became instead a sporadic intermission in his otherwise prolific career, starting off with an average debut in Man of Steel, followed by a lackluster sequel in Batman V Superman and ending with an outright box office bomb in Justice League.
With such a bad track record, it’s no wonder WB is looking at ways to produce additional stories featuring the hero but without Cavill in the role. And The Death of Superman is a good one, too. The original comic had a tremendous influence on the rest of the industry while the animated film received universal acclaim and continues to be regarded as one of the best animated features DC has ever produced.
Of course, parts of the story itself, which sees Lex Luthor unleash Doomsday in order to destroy Superman’s reputation as Metropolis’ savior, were already worked into Batman V Superman, which ended in the hero’s supposed death and did not see him return to the big screen until his unsurprising revival in Justice League. So, how it would serve as the basis for a whole new feature film remains to be seen. And with the project only in the early development stage, and plans still coming together, it may be a while yet before we find out.
From what we understand, though, Warner Bros. want to redo it since the reception to BvS was pretty frosty and besides, the movie only adapted parts of it. This new pic, on the other hand, would be a complete adaptation of The Death of Superman and as soon as we learn more about it, we’ll be sure to let you know.
