While patiently waiting for The Hobbit to premiere in 11 days, what’s a nerdy girl to do? Scour the internet for tidbits on all the other awesome movies coming out next year. When The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theaters December 14th, it brings with it a 9 minute look at Star Trek Into Darkness (before the IMAX screening) and a new trailer for Man of Steel. I suppose if the Mayans are actually right and the world ends on December 21, we’ll at least have those sneak peaks to bring us joy in the midst of the apocalypse. Considering most of the information on these films is being kept under lock and key, any little sneak peak is cause for a geek freak out. Which is why seeing the latest posters for these two films is causing such a fuss. Because these pictures are worth a thousand words to speculating fans. Christmas has come early for fantasy fans. Check out your presents below.
Man of Steel
With the Dark Knight trilogy successfully bringing back the Batman, and Marvel killing it will all their superheroes, it’s high time that Superman makes his presence known. After the disaster that was Superman Returns, Zack Snyder is seeking to cleanse the palate of fans and give them something spectacular. And when you have Christopher Nolan as a producer and writer on the film, that’s entirely possible. They’re already turning heads with their teaser trailer (shown below), which features Lord of the Rings music, grim and gritty settings, and only one shot of the super part of the man (flying through the air at the end of the trailer). It’s more reminiscent of Nolan’s own Dark Knight rather than Christopher Reeve’s more colorful version.
The latest poster also does an excellent job of breaking tradition. Christopher Nolan has talked (via Shockya) saying that, “We tried to approach this as though there’s never been a Superman movie before, but at the same time respecting the canon and mythology. There are the pillars that you have to respect, and I’m not about to break them. But it is fun for me to bend them and mess with them.” But will fans truly be happy with where Superman is going? Especially since in this version, it looks like he’s going to jail. Check it out here:
We all know the general story of Superman: boy gets sent to Earth from dying alien planet, boy grows up on a simple farm, discovers he has special powers, man uses extraordinary powers to save the human race from evil. This picture is a definite departure from that whole story. Why the hell would Superman be under arrest? And more to the point, who would even be strong enough to take on SUPERMAN? The man has super strength, laser vision, and can fly. There’s no gun in the world that could even hurt him, how are military men putting handcuffs on the MAN OF STEEL? And of course there’s no explanation given along with the picture, so we’re forced to just wonder. But in terms of challenging our preconceived notions about Superman, this does an awesome job.
Nolan did the same thing with Bruce Wayne/Batman back in 2005 with Batman Begins, bending the story to create something that all fans, old and new, can appreciate. Now it seems that Clark Kent will be getting the same “human” treatment. Nolan states, “traditional Superman fans know what it’s all about, and they will hopefully love and associate with the character anyway. But the people who aren’t die-hard Superman fans still need to associate with the character, and that needs to have some realism in today’s world, certainly, in sense of a science as opposed to mythology attached to it as well.” The question is, do we really need the Man of Steel to relate to the average human? And with so much of a comparison between them, can Superman really out do the Dark Knight trilogy?
Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill (The Tudors, Immortals) as Clark Kent/Superman, Amy Adams (Enchanted) as Lois Lane, Kevin Costner (Waterworld, The Bodyguard) as Clark’s adoptive father Johnathan Kent, Diane Lane (Unfaithful) as his wife Martha Kent, Russell Crowe (Gladiator, Les Miserables) as Superman’s biological father Jor El, Laurence Fishbourne (The Matrix) as Perry White, and Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire) as the villain General Zod. It premieres June 14, 2013.
‘Man of Steel’ Trailer
Star Trek Into Darkness
After waiting what feels like forever for this sequel to get off the ground, it’s a little frustrating that we still have next to no idea about the main plot. While everyone and their mother is raving about Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance as the villain, we still have NO IDEA who he’s playing. Which makes the fact that he figures prominently in this new poster all the more frustrating. At least, I think it’s him with his trench coat and his path of destruction. Once again J.J. Abrams is keeping things to himself. Well played you secretive little man. I suppose I should just trust him, he’s already made an awesome Star Trek re-boot. He simply has to continue the tradition. But will that actually happen, especially when you have such a vague and generic poster? See for yourself:
If you remember the poster for The Dark Knight Rises, you’re probably realizing it’s basically the exact same concept. But instead of the Bat signal, we’re given the symbol for Starfleet outlined in the destruction. The only difference is that there’s a dude in the center, and it happens to be the villain instead of any of the good guys. I suppose we already have a general idea what Captain Kirk and his crew will look like, but it would have been nice to see them again. Because as awesome as I think Benedict Cumberbatch is (he’s playing Smaug and the Necromancer in The Hobbit… he is obviously THE MAN), just seeing his character in Star Trek Into Darkness is not enough. We need a name to that face, and we need it now.
In lieu of any actual information, we do at least have this awesome sounding official synopsis. It goes a little something like this (found on IGN), “In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.” I suppose we can just start calling Benedict Cumberbatch “one man weapon of mass destruction” instead of the unnamed villain. It certainly sounds cooler.
Star Trek Into Darkness stars Chris Pine (Unstoppable) as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto (American Horror Story: Asylum) as Spock, Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) as Scotty, Karl Urban (The Lord of the Rings) as Bones, Zoe Saldana (Avatar) as Uhura, Anton Yelchin (Fright Night) as Checkov, John Cho (Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle) as Sulu, and Benedict Cumberbatch as One Man Weapon of Mass Destruction. It premieres May 17, 2013.
What do you think of these new posters and facts? Are you excited about the Man of Steel even in handcuffs? Will you go see Star Trek Into Darkness even if you still don’t know who Benedict Cumberbatch is playing? Comment below!
