(Man of Steel — Official Movie Website)

“There’s plenty of time for individual Superman sequels. He’s a tough character to tell. People like the darker vigilante. I think it speaks to the human psyche more easily rather than the god-like being that we can’t really understand. Once we have a more expansive universe we can delve more into the character of Superman and hopefully tell more stories”

–Henry Cavill (Superman)

This is a nice early birthday present from Henry Cavill. At least future separate movies for the greatest superhero ever created are part of the DC Comics master plan.

Thank goodness.

Following the origin story of Man of Steel (set in a natural environment with gritty roots), it seemed plausible that it would mirror the remarkable Dark Knight trilogy. Even though executive producer Christopher Nolan insisted it was Zack Snyder’s movie and that it would not be the same template as Batman, the tone and build-up was undoubtedly similar. Opportunity for another legendary standalone DC Comics trilogy was there for the taking. Instead, it was declared that the “sequel” would be Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. The enormous universe would be greatly expanded from its many clever clues sprinkled throughout Man of Steel.

The quote above, in the very least, allows a deep breath to be taken by fans who are still wary of seeing a new Batman so soon after Christian Bale’s defining and iconic portrayal (ie– Ben Affleck) and believe that Superman could have seen Dark Knight-like success in its story arc, excellent writing, casting and character development with an isolated trilogy. Plans to weave Superman-centric sequels amongst The Justice League and other solo movies will hopefully succeed in elevating (no pun intended) the Last Son of Krypton to a level not seen since Christopher Reeve. The world wants to see Clark Kent at The Daily Planet, as well as the romantic chemistry between Clark/Superman and Lois Lane.

The time is now to capitalize on superheroes in popular culture, but Nolan and Co. proved that patience and the highest cinematic quality in writing, casting, acting, directing and consequential musical scoring is of paramount importance. There are many profound reasons why men in capes have sustained as important figures in our societies for decades upon decades and the greatest favor a filmmaker can do for these characters is to take them seriously and discover what makes them tick, why they’re eternally relevant and why they’re needed today.

Why put superheroes on the silver screen in the modern era? What’s the reason?

Fortunately, this new Superman is rooted in hope.