Army of the Dead director Zack Snyder recently sat down for an interview and discussed what his plans would have been if had made a direct sequel to his 2013 Superman film, Man of Steel. In the interview, Snyder talked about his divisive film, actor Henry Cavill's portrayal of the extraterrestrial superhero, and what villains he would have been interested in exploring in a theoretical Man of Steel 2.
Man of Steel was Snyder's first film in the DCEU and was meant to kick off Waner Bros. and DC's shared movie universe. The film was released one year after Marvel's Avengers, so it was clear the studio was looking to catch up with its leading competitor. As a result, the next film Snyder helmed was not a direct sequel to Man of Steel but instead saw two of DC's greatest heroes go head-to-head in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. While Man of Steel certainly had a mixed reaction, Batman v Superman was pretty much eviscerated by mainstream audiences and critics, with only hardcore Snyder fans really being interested in the dour superhero fight movie. Although Batman v Superman kind of serves as a sequel to Snyder's first film, it was primarily focused on building a DC movie universe, introducing both Batman and Wonder Woman as well as Superman's greatest foe, Lex Luthor. But what if Snyder just focused on ol' Supes?
In the interview with BroBible’s Post-Credit Podcast, Snyder says they discussed making a Brainiac movie in the early days of the DCEU. Whether or not Brainiac was intended to be the main antagonist for a Man of Steel follow-up or just receive his own origin movie is unknown, but it would have been interesting to see Snyder's take on this legendary DC villain. Snyder also discussed the need for Superman to have extraterrestrial villains, largely due to how powerful the character is. Other than Lex Luthor, many of Superman's villains are other super-powered beings, such as fellow Kryptonian General Zod. "But I do think that the Kryptonians that are in the Phantom Zone are probably still around," Snyder said, adding, "And there was always a possibility for their return. Faora and whoever’s left. That was a thing that was always out there that we talked about as a possible sequel."
In Man of Steel Faora (Antje Traue) is a Kryptonian and General Zod's second-in-command. Near the end of the film, she was defeated by US air Force officer Nathan Hardy (Christopher Meloni) and sucked into the Phantom Zone, an alternate dimension used to imprison Kryptonians. When asked about the difficulty of portraying a character like Superman, Snyder said he's happy with his version of the hero, saying his intention with Man of Steel was to ask: "What if we really had a Superman?" He also complimented Cavill's performance as the Man of Steel, calling him "A great Superman." While Snyder's Man of Steel sequel will likely never come to fruition, it is possible that audiences will one day see a live-action Brainiac in a DC movie.
In the comics, Brainiac is one of Superman's more formidable villains, an extraterrestrial android who is best known for stealing the Kryptonian city of Kandor and shrinking it. While the character has not appeared in a live-action film, he has been considered as an antagonist for almost every Superman movie made since Superman III. He's also been portrayed by several actors in live-action television, including James Marsters on Smallville and Blake Ritson on Syfy's short-lived prequel series Krypton.
Award-winning writer Ta-Nehisi Coates is currently working on the script for a Superman reboot, but details are sparse at the moment. Will Coates introduce a new villain to the DCEU? Will the famously political author focus on a more grounded and uniquely American antagonist like Lex Luthor? We'll just have to wait until more details about the new movie emerge.
Man of Steel is available to stream on HBO Max.
Source: BroBible