WB Developing Krypton Movie, Young Superman To Feature

It seems that the box office success of Joker has resulted in a promising change of direction at Warner Bros. For a long time, they tried to replicate the MCU shared universe formula, but ever since that whole thing fell apart in Justice League they’ve become more interested in standalone DCEU movies.

Now, however, they’re going one step further, developing more experimental, director-led films with imaginative and unusual takes on their classic properties. We’ve already heard that they’re toying with the idea of an All-Star Superman adaptation and it seems that they’re eager to make a standalone Krypton movie, too.

Word is that we’ll follow Superman’s family as they deal with the planet’s impending destruction. In a departure from the usual origin story where Supes leaves the planet as a baby though, it’s said that we’ll see a young Kal-El actually living on Krypton. He’ll still leave the planet, from what we’re told, but he’ll do so as a young boy, not a baby. General Zod, meanwhile, is also set to feature, presumably in an antagonist role.

This must be a big director’s pet project or one heck of an elevator pitch, because I don’t think audiences are particularly interested right now in Superman’s family history. After all, the Syfy show Krypton, which covered much the same territory, was cancelled this summer due to low viewing figures.

That said, if they’re trying for more ambitious films in the vein of Joker, we could be in for a radically different Superman origin story than we’ve previously seen. I have no idea what that could look like, but I suppose setting a film on a doomed planet on which scientists are pleading with politicians to take action does have a certain resonance these days.

It’d also be interesting to see a Superman story in which he’s more influenced by Kryptonian culture than the Kent’s raising him, though I’m guessing a movie set primarily on Krypton would naturally conclude with the planet’s destruction.

Tell us, though, what would it take for you to get excited about a Krypton film? Let us know in the comments section down below.