Should the next Superman film go in a Sci-Fi/Space Fantasy direction?

[Ra-El]

Hell Yes!

Superman going sci-fi would be the best course of action. First it presents something new, second it allows to use enemies that can actually threat him without the use of kryptonite.

The best story to use, imo, is Tom King's Up in the Sky. Just give the Batman parts to Lois, instead of Bruce investigating the girl abduction we have Lois. And the story presents a really good side for Superman, instead of fighting a evil tyrant that is on Earth only because of Superman, or an evil billionaire that is only going crazy because of Superman, we have Clark facing an enemy that wasn't "created" by him.
Plus, at it's core, Up in the Sky is a small scale story, Superman is going to space and facing aliens in big sci-fi scenarios, but his motivation is saving one little orphan girl, not saving Earth from some world ending threat.

[Flash Gordon]

After watching the Ultimate Cut of BvS, which was rad, I want to see more of flannel shirt and corduroy jacket Clark Kent doing stuff around town. Small stakes. Some vague connection to Luthor, but not too much. There are other villainous big money types. Lex isn't the only silicon valley billionaire trying to tamper with reality itself. Maybe bring in Eisenberg-Luthor's father. Let's see Lois and Clark have more romance. Give Jenny Olsen a bigger role, and let her be a lil wacky. More colour in that ole suit of Kal's.

I'm not sure a classic rock 'em sock 'em 3rd act MCU villain is the way to go for Superman. He should honestly have various threats and plots throughout the movie, with the main plot being something simple and close to home for him and Lois. His scope should be pretty huge ya know? He should be investigating various things, face off against the Parasite, go save a space shuttle, prevent the Court of Owls from moving into Metropolis through a luxury apartment scam, put down a horrible corporate eugenics conspiracy, on and on. Maybe all of this is tied together with PTSD he's still having from the afterlife, he needs Kelex's help to sort through it.

At least that's what I'd do with the next Superman movie. Doctor Who meets the Wire. Bring back Russell Crowe, too.

[Sacred Knight]

To be honest, while my first instinct is to say go full Guardians of the Galaxy with a new Superman movie, I actually think the best way to get people invested in him as a character again would be going back to the deep Golden Age roots. Fighting corrupt individuals on a smaller scale. Not Luthor trying to destroy California for the land, rather Superman starting out protecting a neighborhood from a corrupt official. Dealing with the corrupt police force and as Clark Kent having an inside man, a good cop trying to right in the TDKR's Blake/Robin. Something even smaller in scale to focus purely on the character and remind viewers what he was truly created to be about and how that's always been relevant and even more so today. With them hooked, THEN you can go bigger, with more sci-fi and fantasy allegory in the message.

[The Kid]

A Golden Age story would be cool but I'd up the stakes a bit so that he still has a lot of the superpowers people expect from Superman. IMO I think one thing Superman does need to be is grand in the movies so flight should still be there. So instead of corrupt local politicians, he could go be standing up to the US Government and the military which would still keep that Golden Age feel

[Prime]

Superman needs a reboot. Start of by just straight up adapting Grant Morrison's first Action Comics run.

[Flash Gordon]

Superman needs a reboot. Start of by just straight up adapting Grant Morrison's first Action Comics run.

I agree you need to lean heavily into Morrison's concepts but I don't think you need a reboot at all. Just make Man of Steel 2 (obv just call it SUPERMAN), almost a decade later and acknowledge the time that's passed. Do a smaller scale movie ala a day in the life. Follow that with a wedding for Lois and Clark mixed with FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING where Jenny Olsen, Batman, and Pete Ross are all groomsmen and Kal battles wedding crasher Mongul. Follow those with some larger scale epics.

Especially once the JL movie lands on Max.

[Vordan]

Superman needs a reboot. Start of by just straight up adapting Grant Morrison's first Action Comics run.

I agree but I think Cavill will be sticking around. Whether he gets his own movie is up for debate. At this point let Snyder makes his JL stuff with Cavill which will be awful, and WB hire someone like Reeves to take over Superman and reboot him.

[The Kid]

I think a reboot is good but no origin stories. Do what Spider-Man: Homecoming and the new Batman are doing and just start us off with a Superman that's already established although very early in his career. Most people know his backstory by now and you could even do it in a 5 min opening if you really need it

[Flash Gordon]

Didn't Darren Aronofsky want to make a Superman movie? Let 'em.

[Mutant God]

Superman going into the Phantom Zone and finding the Phantom King could a cool sci-fi story I guess

[Vordan]

Didn't Darren Aronofsky want to make a Superman movie? Let 'em.

Quite a few people have expressed interest. Someone pitched Red Son. Someone else pitched All-Star. WB rejected both. Don’t know why they passed, but there are interested people out there.

[Ra-El]

Quite a few people have expressed interest. Someone pitched Red Son. Someone else pitched All-Star. WB rejected both. Don’t know why they passed, but there are interested people out there.

If I remember well they rejected Matthew Vaughn pitch and also Cavill and Christopher McQuarrie went to WB with a pitch and WB turned them down again. Apparently James Gunn was the only one that could have got a Superman movie to happen and he didn't wanted.

[Steel Inquisitor]

Quite a few people have expressed interest. Someone pitched Red Son. Someone else pitched All-Star. WB rejected both. Don’t know why they passed, but there are interested people out there.

How would they do "Red Son"? That Superman would have the same problems as Snyder's since it's not original Superman, was it like the "Red Daughter" arc in Supergirl?

[Ra-El]

Matthew Vaughn pitch was inspired by Red Son, not in Superman growing on URSS, but it would be a trilogy ending with Superman on the far future when the sun would turn red and he losing his powers.

[Flash Gordon]

It's a lil nuts that they'd turn down Aronofsky. Not sure what his idea was, but I'm sure it would at least be interesting.