Warner Bros. has a lot of plans for the DC Extended Universe but many of their projects seem to sit perpetually on the drawing board. However, one idea the studio is reportedly looking at may be a bit more interesting than the others. A new rumor is circulating that says that one of the DC comics that Warner Bros. is considering adapting for the screen is Superman: Red Son, a story that sees the last son of Krypton become the hero of the Soviet Union. The story was written by Mark Millar back in 2003 and a recent Twitter conversation between Millar and Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts shows that Millar is aware the idea is being pitched around, and that Vogt-Roberts and actually pitched the idea himself at some point in the past.
On top of this, Den of Geek says they've looked into it and confirmed that the idea is apparently a legit one, at least as a potential concept and that it's being viewed as a possible live-action movie, not something animated. They also spoke directly with Mark Millar. As far as the writer could say, the idea isn't anything more than a conversation at this point, and it's one he's not particularly interested in being part of, so there's no guarantee anything will ever come of it, but it does seem clear that the conversation is real.
Even if no Superman: Red Son movie ever happens, the fact that such a thing is even being considered shows that Warner Bros. is casting a wide net with DC Comics properties. The studio is not simply looking at the traditional DC universe for stories, but are open to ideas from anywhere. Superman: Red Son was part of DC's Elseworld titles, which set up alternative universes in order to allow writers, like Mark Millar, to try new and different things with popular characters in a way that wouldn't impact established continuity. The fact that Warner Bros. is willing to entertain the same idea in the movies is certainly interesting. It means that we're not limited to only seeing one version of the DC heroes on screen. In addition to the existing universe, we could see standalone films that take the characters in different directions.
Some of the best comic stories have been the ones that don't connect to anything simply because the lack of continuity allowed for more creativity. This could very easily translate to the world of making comic book movies as well. We'll be keeping our eyes on this one to see if anything comes of it or if any other unique comic stories might get their own movie one day.
