Ready for Takeoff: Final Thoughts on the Upcoming Release

Simply put, and as stated previously both here and in other media previewing the film, there is a tremendous amount of pressure on Man of Steel to be a success.  It goes well beyond a studio (in this case, Warner Brothers) wanting the film to garner enough box office receipts to make a profit from such a high-budget project.  It goes beyond the hope to further line the pockets of stuffy corporate executives who are not seldom, but often, out of touch with the audiences to which they are catering.  Man of Steel's possible success would bring a now 75-year-old beloved character back to cinematic relevance for the first time in decades.  It would also help fix the tragic irony that in a modern era where superhero movies are abundant, in demand and consistently breaking box office records, Superman himself, the original and biggest superhero of them all, has barely even been a part of it, the only exception being the lukewarm-received Superman Returns which released seven years ago this summer and is either looked back upon with deserved criticism or is nearly forgotten altogether.

  
Man of Steel's success may not only bring Superman back to big screen prominence, but may finally welcome his DC Comics friends to the party.  Premature buzz on the film has been positive from both media outlets and the studio itself, and in recent weeks Jeff Robinov, president of Warner Brothers Pictures Group, has hinted toward a big announcement regarding the plans of future DC characters on film.  It is safe to say that such a reveal, however, is contingent upon a huge opening weekend for Man of Steel, as they are now hoping to use the world it created to usher in the hero's Justice League colleagues never before seen on film, such as Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and Green Arrow.  Such projects, particularly in the case of Wonder Woman and The Flash, are said to have long been stuck in "development hell," but the first possibly well-received Superman film in 30 years may be the only thing that could finally bring them out of it.  A DC cinematic universe launched by Man of Steel, and most likely an eventual Justice League team-up film (a la Marvel's The Avengers), would prove that Warner Brothers Studio is at last able to have confidence in superhero films directed by people not named Christopher Nolan, and may forever change the landscape of the superhero film genre.

Many years ago actor Russell Crowe (Man of Steel's Jor-El), when filming Proof of Life, was approached by an aspiring British actor who had served as an extra in the film.  Crowe being one of the young man's favorite actors, the young man asked him what it was like to be in the profession.  They talked briefly, and two days later, the impressionable Brit received an autographed picture of Crowe's character in Gladiator with the message, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."  That young man was none other than Henry Cavill, who now dons the red cape as our own Man of Steel.  Years later it is finally time for him to take that single step, to begin that journey.  It is time for Superman to soar to new heights long thought unreachable.  It is time, once again, for Superman to fly.