‘Man Of Steel’ Writer Pleased With First Cut Of Film

Man of Steel writer David Goyer has seen the first cut of the new Superman film, and he is pleased, according to a recent interview with Collider.

Goyer didn’t go into too many details, but, when asked if he had seen the film, the frequent Christopher Nolan collaborator claimed that he had and offered this very short review: “Yes, yes. I was very happy.”

Most of the interview centered on how Goyer, whose most notable credits include story development and writing work on Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises, became involved with the Metropolis savior.

Goyer claimed that he and Nolan had hit a wall on The Dark Knight Rises and decided to take a break from things. It was during this break that Goyer revisited his Action Comics collection, and that’s when the ideas began to flow.

(Just not for The Dark Knight Rises.)

“He [Nolan] said, ‘Have you worked out the problem on The Dark Knight Rises?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘What have you been doing?’ And I said, ‘Well, I had this idea for Superman,’ and because Chris likes to procrastinate as well he said, ‘Let’s hear it.'”

Whatever Goyer told Nolan, it was enough to get The Dark Knight director on board as a producer.

Early buzz has been quite positive on Man of Steel and Goyer’s satisfaction with the finished product will only add to the anticipation.

Nolan’s decision to tap 300 and Watchmen director Zack Snyder for the production gave the project some street cred with comic book fans, who hold the respective works by Frank Miller and Alan Moore in high regard.

Fans worn out by heavy CG animation in their action films may not share the enthusiasm however. Viewers responded poorly to Snyder’s recent effort Sucker Punch, which captured a 23 percent from critics and a 47 percent from fans on Rotten Tomatoes.

Even Watchmen, which is considered “fresh” by the review aggregator, failed to earn above 68 percent for the critical and user community.

However, some stellar casting additions and the guidance of Nolan may make this an effort worth seeing. Particularly encouraging is the decision to choose fan favorite General Zod as the villain instead of long-time nemesis Lex Luthor.

Michael Shannon will take over for Terence Stamp, who played the character in director Richard Lester’s Superman II. Stamp’s Zod was a menacing, irredeemable villain, and the same may prove true for Shannon’s interpretation, though the actor disagrees.

In recent comments to Total Film, Shannon said Zod “is not a villain.”

“He’s not a villain any more than any other General fighting to protect his people. He doesn’t like to just hurt people and steal diamonds; he’s focused on being successful at his job,” Shannon said.

Are you excited for Man of Steel? In case you missed it, here’s the trailer: