News > Singer Confirmed for Man of Steel?

Written by David Morgan

There has been a lot of uncertainty regarding whether or not director Bryan Singer would be returning to helm Man of Steel, the sequel to his troubled film Superman Returns. IESB claims to have heard directly from studio sources that the Valkyrie director will be back to direct the follow-up after all, with actor Brandon Routh.

The writing department is still up in the air, however. Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris opted not to continue as writers for the franchise a few months ago. IESB claims to have some intel on that as well:

Word is Transformers/Star Trek scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are considering being behind the project. This gives Superman fans hope after Returns' mild disappointment amongst fan boys. The pair are apparently in talks and have had "several meetings" regarding the film. No need to worry about a lack of action from these two!

While this is interesting news, I don't know that it necessarily alleviates many fears amongst fans. Orci and Kurtzman have thus far collaborated on the following feature films:

• The Island
• The Legend of Zorro
• Mission Impossible III
• Transformers
• Star Trek (in production)
  

The Island is notable for being Michael Bay's biggest flop financially, and it didn't fare much better critically. The Legend of Zorro didn't really connect with audiences or most critics either. Mission Impossible III is actually a shining spot in their careers as it did pretty decent business and was liked or at least given a pass by most critics. And then there's Transformers. More Michael Bay, but this time an enormous financial success that had its admirers as well as detractors in about equal proportion. Does this track record really inspire confidence for their potential work on Man of Steel?

Then again, maybe IESB is right, and their style of action-oriented drama mixed with Singer's (usually) capable direction is just what the franchise needs to push itself forward. I'm at least willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. How about you?