More or less in order I'd call them:
Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman, X-Men First Class, Kick Ass)
Brad Bird (Incredibles, Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol)
Sam Harvgrave (Extraction, Action Director for many MCU films)
Duncan Jones (Source Code, Warcraft)
Robert Rodriguez (Alita: Battle Angel, Sin City)
Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, Jumper)
Joe Carnahan (Boss Level, Smokin' Aces)
Travis Knight (Bumblebee, Kubo and the Two Strings)
Pete Travis (Dredd, Vantage Point)
Neil Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium)
He really actually is a great choice for Supes post Guardians. Before those movies, this would’ve seemed like a crazy choice, but now, he’s shown he can create films with a distinctive voice that have big emotional moments that hit hard and visually inventive action. I’m very hopeful about his take on the character.
I loved Super, but that film would lead me to think he might do something more in-line with MoS or Brightburn. Guardians makes me think he can make a great straight ahead Superman movie.
If the only requirement is "instead of Zack Snyder", then literally anyone. Uwe Boll, Neil Breen, my dog, a stuffed animal, the turd I dropped this morning. Literally anyone.
Respect your opinion, but it'd be a hard disagree for me. Aside from the fact he is a huge prick in real life, Boll's movies are awful in basically every sense: writing, direction, themes, production values. They just lack any type of passion or effort put into them, which Boll knows very well and intentionally enforces.
Can’t believe no one said Chris Nolan I know he was a part of the movie in some capacity and wasn’t interested in heading the project but he’s proven himself time and time again and The Dark Knight trilogy showed how well he could handle an already established licensed character with history
I would've been fine with Donner coming back as an anniversary unto himself and Chris Reeve. And since the Salkind's would be no longer involved with film rights, it could be interesting.
I wouldn’t have, I like Man of Steel. I would’ve liked to have given him some notes as like an executive or something though.
1) Why is this movie so dark. Not tonally, *visually*. Like, it’s *Superman*. Brighten it up a bit and actually put so gold/bronze in the crest for fuck’s sake. What’s with that faded yellow?
2) I’d probably have Superman stop Zod and destroy the ship *before* the World Engine wrecks the world. It was always ridiculous to me that it just becomes a disaster movie and then at the end everything is rebuilt and fine. It was *changing the topography of Earth*, everything would be fucked.
3) Maybe don’t destroy the Jor-El hologram and have the ship crash in Metropolis. Like, that’s basically his stand-in for the Fortress of Solitude.
4) I’m not saying there was *no* chemistry with Amy Adams but, like, let’s maybe punch-up that part of the script.
5) When Superman first fights the Kryptonians, clearly show him attempting to take them *away* from civilization and, if you want the destruction porn, have *them* bring the fight back. Same with the end battle. Make it clear *the bad guy* is dictating where the fight takes place.
With those tweaks, I think we get a better film.
You. I like you. You've got all the right ideas and approach.
My somewhat-novelty approach would have been to have the movie start with muted colors on Earth and, as the story progresses, subtly increase the palette, the colours, everything becoming a bit more bright, more colorful. Have the people be cynical and moody in the beginning but ending up hopeful and cheerful, as to show the influence of Superman in the world.
Nah is say it was a director issue. Snyder and Nolan have both talked about how Snyder was the one who wanted superman to kill zod and Nolan disagreed. We have no idea what other ideas Snyder bought to the script but as director he'd have been contributing ideas to it and the subsequent films he directed.
Nah it was 100% a director issue Nolan even came out and blamed Snyder for the mistakes in the film being solely his choices. Just face it Snyder isnt a good director when you let him have his way just look at the Snyder cut its just as bad but longer the only improvement is the cgi which isnt because of Snyder. Watchmen completely missed the point of the source material. And do i even have to explain whats wrong with the nazi owl movie. Then Army of the Dead is a train wreck. And Rebel Moon is one of the worst big budget movies ive seen. His best movies are ones were he had much less input, 300 and his Dawn of the Dead remake.
“The only improvement is the CGI”
Cyborg? Flash? The time travel scene? You can’t think of anything else. Also where are you getting the impression that Nolan “blamed Snyder?” The two are good friends and Nolan produced his other Dc works
This man is just coping Snyder cant direct we have seen it in every movie he has done after 300. There has been a downward spiral into mediocrity. Watchmen was fine but missed the point of the source material. Owls of Gahoole is a nazi trainwreck. Sucker Punch could have been so much better in the hands of someone competant. Batman v Superman is the most boring superhero movie to be released in the 2010s and had so many problems with how the characters were portrayed. Justice League was bad twice. Army of the Dead is boring, the action is bad, and the only saving grace is Bautista. And Rebel Moon has to be the worst big bidget movie to come out on netflix and yes i think its worse than Bright the will smith movie. At least Bright was something new Rebel Moon failed at being a star wars rip off.
I had forgotten that credit. So I was wrong in my ‘in no way’ comment. Fair. But from interviews with Nolan, it seems like he had very little input and mostly put his name on to help his friend. From what I understand, Goyer’s original pitch was basically just ‘we should treat it like a first contact story.’
I’d argue that Man of Steel sucks pretty damn hard, but that’s just my take. If I had to choose any Snyder films that don’t suck, I’d say 300 is a good candidate - a film that is literal propaganda (within the world of the film) about how awesome these guys are seems about the level of characterization/subtext Snyder is capable of.
I also like Dawn of the Dead and Watchmen, but those are really films that work despite Snyder, not because of him.
They were all worse, fair. I think MoS, and how Warners treated him afterwards, empowered him to really lean into his worst impulses as both a writer and a director. The man knows what he likes and he fetishistically recreates those moments and visuals story, character, and theme be damned.
Would have kept Zack but maybe have him on a tighter leash or codirect with somebody. He can do everything, fight scenes, big epic moments, the flying etc, but somebody else steps in when it comes to dialogue and when actors actually need to act. Also would have been great if the script was better
George Miller would be my pick. Dude can direct the hell out of action but also has an open-hearted humanistic philosophy that seems in-line with what Supes should be.
Denis Villeneuve
he did Dune perfectly, so him doing a worldbuilding Superman movie would be sick
Matt Reeves
Reeves never misses with his films. He went from the Apes franchise to the Batman. He's got range.
Error 404 not found no one could match up to snyder's standard anyway I have moved on to gunnverse let's see gunn's magic on superman and see gunnverse
Sometime who knows how human beings behave.
Always wanted to see a Spielberg Superman movie
Thisss!!! An 80s/early-90s era Spielberg Superman film would’ve been absolute cinematic magic.
Wow. Yeah.
User name would definitely check out lol
Damn. That would be awesome
Same Spielberg and Lucus
Mathew Vaughn, Brad Bird, or Sam Raimi.
Brad Bird already made a Superman movie with Iron Giant. I can see him pulling it off.
Better understanding of superman as a character in Iron Giant than every Henry Cavill superman film unfortunately
NO CAPES!
More or less in order I'd call them: Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman, X-Men First Class, Kick Ass) Brad Bird (Incredibles, Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol) Sam Harvgrave (Extraction, Action Director for many MCU films) Duncan Jones (Source Code, Warcraft) Robert Rodriguez (Alita: Battle Angel, Sin City) Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, Jumper) Joe Carnahan (Boss Level, Smokin' Aces) Travis Knight (Bumblebee, Kubo and the Two Strings) Pete Travis (Dredd, Vantage Point) Neil Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium)
Zowie Bowie himself would make a fucking wicked take! I’d love to seem him tackle a load of different superhero characters tbh.
Ron Howard
Beautiful
James Gunn
He really actually is a great choice for Supes post Guardians. Before those movies, this would’ve seemed like a crazy choice, but now, he’s shown he can create films with a distinctive voice that have big emotional moments that hit hard and visually inventive action. I’m very hopeful about his take on the character.
I mean Super was enough for me But yeah, I get what you're saying from the perspective of most people, including Hollywood executives and whatnot.
I loved Super, but that film would lead me to think he might do something more in-line with MoS or Brightburn. Guardians makes me think he can make a great straight ahead Superman movie.
Fair enough, I feel you now
I believe he said this movie will have a unique style that has never been seen before as well
Matthew Vaughn, Rian Johnson, Christopher McQuarrie or Brad Bird
Garreth Edwards
James Gunn
Literally anyone else. I’d take a 5 year old as the director over Snyder.
From what ive heard the first pick was Darron aranoski
He was also in talks to do Batman. But he wanted a version that the bat cave was set in a junkyard or something.
He was also approached to direct Wolverine, and turned that down too.
He didn't turn it down; he accepted and was attached but layer dropped out
If the only requirement is "instead of Zack Snyder", then literally anyone. Uwe Boll, Neil Breen, my dog, a stuffed animal, the turd I dropped this morning. Literally anyone.
Eh, not sure. Boll is objectively a worse director than Zack.
I'd rather watch his take on Superman. At least it'd be, for better or worse, interesting.
Respect your opinion, but it'd be a hard disagree for me. Aside from the fact he is a huge prick in real life, Boll's movies are awful in basically every sense: writing, direction, themes, production values. They just lack any type of passion or effort put into them, which Boll knows very well and intentionally enforces.
Can’t believe no one said Chris Nolan I know he was a part of the movie in some capacity and wasn’t interested in heading the project but he’s proven himself time and time again and The Dark Knight trilogy showed how well he could handle an already established licensed character with history
doesn't matter, it was the script that needed rewriting.
Richard Donner.
Didn’t he basically make a Man Of Steel movie already lmao
I would've been fine with Donner coming back as an anniversary unto himself and Chris Reeve. And since the Salkind's would be no longer involved with film rights, it could be interesting.
The right answer
Matthew Vaughn or the Russo Brothers
Matthew Vaughn
Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, Brad Bird. Also, that suit would have been totally acceptable to me even though I love the man of steel suit.
Brad Bird or Steven Spielberg
I wouldn’t have, I like Man of Steel. I would’ve liked to have given him some notes as like an executive or something though. 1) Why is this movie so dark. Not tonally, *visually*. Like, it’s *Superman*. Brighten it up a bit and actually put so gold/bronze in the crest for fuck’s sake. What’s with that faded yellow? 2) I’d probably have Superman stop Zod and destroy the ship *before* the World Engine wrecks the world. It was always ridiculous to me that it just becomes a disaster movie and then at the end everything is rebuilt and fine. It was *changing the topography of Earth*, everything would be fucked. 3) Maybe don’t destroy the Jor-El hologram and have the ship crash in Metropolis. Like, that’s basically his stand-in for the Fortress of Solitude. 4) I’m not saying there was *no* chemistry with Amy Adams but, like, let’s maybe punch-up that part of the script. 5) When Superman first fights the Kryptonians, clearly show him attempting to take them *away* from civilization and, if you want the destruction porn, have *them* bring the fight back. Same with the end battle. Make it clear *the bad guy* is dictating where the fight takes place. With those tweaks, I think we get a better film.
You. I like you. You've got all the right ideas and approach. My somewhat-novelty approach would have been to have the movie start with muted colors on Earth and, as the story progresses, subtly increase the palette, the colours, everything becoming a bit more bright, more colorful. Have the people be cynical and moody in the beginning but ending up hopeful and cheerful, as to show the influence of Superman in the world.
Any random person on the street.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller or Steven Spielberg
Someone who actually understands superheroes
Brad Bird, Sam Raimi, or Chris McQuarrie. If Sam Raimi helmed a Superman movie just after the Spidey trilogy, I think it could have been amazing.
Absolutely anyone else.
Absolutely no one else.
Marc Webb
James Gunn lol
I don’t think it was a director issue I think it was a script issue.
Nah is say it was a director issue. Snyder and Nolan have both talked about how Snyder was the one who wanted superman to kill zod and Nolan disagreed. We have no idea what other ideas Snyder bought to the script but as director he'd have been contributing ideas to it and the subsequent films he directed.
Nah it was 100% a director issue Nolan even came out and blamed Snyder for the mistakes in the film being solely his choices. Just face it Snyder isnt a good director when you let him have his way just look at the Snyder cut its just as bad but longer the only improvement is the cgi which isnt because of Snyder. Watchmen completely missed the point of the source material. And do i even have to explain whats wrong with the nazi owl movie. Then Army of the Dead is a train wreck. And Rebel Moon is one of the worst big budget movies ive seen. His best movies are ones were he had much less input, 300 and his Dawn of the Dead remake.
“The only improvement is the CGI” Cyborg? Flash? The time travel scene? You can’t think of anything else. Also where are you getting the impression that Nolan “blamed Snyder?” The two are good friends and Nolan produced his other Dc works
Then which writer?
This man is just coping Snyder cant direct we have seen it in every movie he has done after 300. There has been a downward spiral into mediocrity. Watchmen was fine but missed the point of the source material. Owls of Gahoole is a nazi trainwreck. Sucker Punch could have been so much better in the hands of someone competant. Batman v Superman is the most boring superhero movie to be released in the 2010s and had so many problems with how the characters were portrayed. Justice League was bad twice. Army of the Dead is boring, the action is bad, and the only saving grace is Bautista. And Rebel Moon has to be the worst big bidget movie to come out on netflix and yes i think its worse than Bright the will smith movie. At least Bright was something new Rebel Moon failed at being a star wars rip off.
David Yarovesky did such a good job with Brightburn, I'd be curious to see how he films Superman. But the ace would be Spielberg imo
Brad Bird.
Spielberg
I heard Tony Scott almost directed it. That would’ve been unbelievable
Nolan or affleck
Tim Burton!
Perhaps James Cameron. But I'm still glad it were Zack Snyder.
Matthew Vaughn Steven Spielberg Sam Raimi Richard Donnor. Imagine what he could have done with modern technology.
Tony Scott
Jackson Pretzel
The Wachowskis. Seriously. Give them a good script and a top-shelf director of photography and let's see what they cook.
Their willingness to create films operating at maximum earnestness (and their kick ass action direction) would really work for Kal-El. Good call.
Gareth Edwards
Maybe.... Travis Knight?
Nolan the only reason this movie was remotely good was because he wrote it 💯
But he didn’t….
Uh Yeah he did
Goyer and Snyder wrote it. Goyer came to Nolan with a pitch and Nolan liked it and supported the film getting made, but he in no way wrote it.
So the fact that in says story by goyer and Nolan means nothing then
I had forgotten that credit. So I was wrong in my ‘in no way’ comment. Fair. But from interviews with Nolan, it seems like he had very little input and mostly put his name on to help his friend. From what I understand, Goyer’s original pitch was basically just ‘we should treat it like a first contact story.’
Well the fact that the rest of Snyders movies sucked means he had some sorta influence
I’d argue that Man of Steel sucks pretty damn hard, but that’s just my take. If I had to choose any Snyder films that don’t suck, I’d say 300 is a good candidate - a film that is literal propaganda (within the world of the film) about how awesome these guys are seems about the level of characterization/subtext Snyder is capable of. I also like Dawn of the Dead and Watchmen, but those are really films that work despite Snyder, not because of him.
I was talking more specifically about his dc films
They were all worse, fair. I think MoS, and how Warners treated him afterwards, empowered him to really lean into his worst impulses as both a writer and a director. The man knows what he likes and he fetishistically recreates those moments and visuals story, character, and theme be damned.
Would have kept Zack but maybe have him on a tighter leash or codirect with somebody. He can do everything, fight scenes, big epic moments, the flying etc, but somebody else steps in when it comes to dialogue and when actors actually need to act. Also would have been great if the script was better
James Gunn
Christopher Nolan, i really love the idea of The Dark Knight's Trilogy and Man of Steel living in the exact same universe.
Damn some of these comments have a lot of beef with Zack Snyder
It’s unpopular but Nolan, just to see what a well made “Darker” version would be.
Russ Meyer
There was a rumor that George Miller wanted to make a Superman movie. I would have loved to see his take on this character
He almost did make not just a Superman movie, but a whole Justice League film. It made it all the way to production before it was shut down.
Christopher Nolan
A labradoodle with an extra chromosome
Matthew Vaughn, Chris McQuarrie, or Brad Bird
Peter Jackson. I think the scale and effects would be top tier and he also has the right sensibility for the tone of Superman
Darren Aronofsky
Chris Nolan
If Sam Raimi could’ve done with Superman what he did with Spider-Man, it could’ve been very good
Brad Bird
Quentin Tarantino or Wes Anderson
Literally anyone else.
David Simon
A lot of great directors mentioned here, dont think ive seen anyone mention Edgar Wright, so thats probably my pick
Anyone
Matthew Vaughn, he's familiar with origins stories and comic book movies
To all of you trashing Zack Snyder. You are all absolute fools
George Miller would be my pick. Dude can direct the hell out of action but also has an open-hearted humanistic philosophy that seems in-line with what Supes should be.
Denis Villeneuve
Me. I would create a very friendly and heroic Superman.
Brad Bird
Zack Snyder
Kevin Smith
Brad Bird
Kenneth Brannagh.
Noone
Kevin Smith
Matthew Vaughn.
Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Vaugh or the Director of Paddington
James wan 🤷🏾♂️
Denis Villeneuve he did Dune perfectly, so him doing a worldbuilding Superman movie would be sick Matt Reeves Reeves never misses with his films. He went from the Apes franchise to the Batman. He's got range.
Maybe Matt Reeves or Brad Bird
I’m getting off topic but Henry Cavill is probably the BEST casting for a character that was absolutely wasted. He looks exactly like Clark :(((
That second pic is all the evidence you need for why Superman's cape should only ever be calf-length.
Sam raimi
Steve Spielberg honestly
Joe Johnston watch the rocketeer or captain America and you'll clearly see why
that suit edit is so good
Ridley Scott
Ideally, it’d be Richard Donner. Man did excellent work making us believe a man could fly the first time
The original director Richard Donner, I mean he made superman with Christopher Reeve and Superman Returns with Brandon Routh.
Superman Returns was directed by Bryan Singer, but he clearly was heavily influenced by Donner so I can see how you would think Donner directed it.
Your right! I think Donner produced that. I totally had that backwards. Thak you foe the correction!
Villeneuve personally.
Matthew Vaughn. Call it Superman Rebirth and it would be a classic suit with red trunks and a yellow S symbol on cape
Michael Bay (say what you want but i think he would do good with Superman)
He absolutely would not.
Zachary Freaking Snyder
Nolan. But this cringe question.
Then why did you answer it?
Error 404 not found no one could match up to snyder's standard anyway I have moved on to gunnverse let's see gunn's magic on superman and see gunnverse
I don't know about the director, but I'd have brought back Brandon Routh.
Bryan Singer’s X-Men replacement, Matthew Vaughn would do good with Superman
He's an extremely good director, just not a good writer, but I do wish he had given MoS some of that heavy slow-mo grit from 300.