Why a Krypton movie would be unnecessary

The latest DC Extended Universe rumor is that a Krypton movie may be in development, and it would be a bad idea.

The latest rumor from the DC Extended Universe is that Warner Brothers has a Superman-adjacent film in progress. It would be a story set on his home planet as a Krypton, which would focus on Kal-El’s family.

This rumor is being reported by We Got This Covered but, being a DCEU project, there’s honestly no telling what projects might be incubating, so a grain of salt is necessary.

According to We Got This Covered, it would take place on Krypton in the days before the planet’s destruction, and General Zod is thought to be the story’s main antagonist.

Kal-El will leave the planet before it explodes, but as a young boy, not as a baby.

While it’s an interesting concept, Warner Bros., if they are really developing it, shouldn’t go forward with such a project.

Why not? There are a couple of reasons, most notably because audiences don’t really care about Superman. He’s too perfect and has zero flaws. That makes it difficult for audiences to relate to the character.

Another problem is that with 11 live-action films in total, casual viewers already know the basics of the character and have their favorite portrayal.

Since 2006, there have been four movies featuring or starring the Man of Steel (Superman Returns, Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League), plus a parody in 2007’s Underdog, which centered on a do-gooding Beagle.

All of these recent movies have been underwhelming and overserious, with the exception of Underdog, which knew it was ridiculous and acted accordingly.

There have also been around seven live-action TV series featuring the character or his family, including four since the early 1990s (Lois and Clark, Smallville, Krypton and Supergirl).

This doesn’t count the numerous animated movies and TV series, or spinoffs focusing on Supergirl or Superboy, who currently star in the self-titled Arrowverse series and DC Universe’s Titans, respectively.

Another strike against this plan would be because SYFY recently canceling a TV series set on and titled Krypton due to low viewership numbers. This series focused on Kal-El’s grandfather.

A third strike – one of the most iconic parts of Superman’s origin story is being raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent on their farm outside of Smallville. This could still happen if the future Clark Kent were a young boy at the time of his adoption, but it clutters up the established timeline too much.

If filmmakers wanted to change things up somewhat, the 2003 graphic novel Superman: Birthright could be a good place to start. Written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu, Clark Kent is a somewhat aimless freelance journalist in his early twenties trying to figure out how he can best use his talents and gifts to help humanity.

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He has a tablet-like device that he and Martha have puttered with over the years that contains a vivid history of the culture of Krypton, which is just seen in snippets. This would be a good way to introduce more Kryptonian elements into a major film timeline, either connected to one of the existing film threads or starting a new one.

Also, the grounded, slightly cynical and pessimistic tone of Clark throughout much of the novel is a nice contrast to Brandon Routh’s perky optimism and Henry Cavill’s woodenness, while remaining distinct enough from Tyler Hoechlin’s Arrowverse portrayal.

Another good property to adapt would be Superman: Red Son, written by Mark Millar, which is about to receive an animated adaptation.

This 2003 graphic novel imagines a world where Superman is raised as part of the Soviet military in the 1950s, which strikes a nice balance of overall gray when evaluating the motives of classic characters, perfect for thoughtful analysis afterward.

It also turns Lex Luthor into a hero in a particularly ingenious (and particularly spoilery) manner. All in all, a Krypton movie isn’t a good idea and should be left in the slush pile.