Superhero movies thrive when they think outside of the box and hire directors you don't expect to excel in the genre. Christopher Nolan made, arguably, the best Batman movie because he didn't treat it like a traditional superhero origin story. Sam Raimi made Spider-Man a Sam Raimi movie first, and a Marvel movie second. So when Darren Aronofsky expresses interest in making a Superman movie, I say that Hollywood needs to move Heaven and Earth to bring this fictional feature film out of my dreams and into your cinemas.
Darren Aronofsky is doing press on behalf of the bonkers and controversial mother!, and was asked if he'd ever do a superhero movie (because that's the standard question to any filmmaker nowadays). Entertaining the notion, Aronofsky replied to CinePOP:
A lot of the great superhero titles are done. People have used them up. So now it's characters that aren't as interesting. But you never know. We'll see what comes my way. ... I mean, Superman would always be interesting. But they're already deep into reinventing him, so that's not going to happen for a long time.
Can you picture a Darren Aronofsky interpretation of what it's like being Superman? In movies such as Black Swan and The Wrestler, Aronofsky has enjoyed analyzing the damage that striving to excel at your craft can have on one's psyche. And Superman, already, is treated like a Christ figure by so many filmmakers who have tackled the DC icon. Now try to imagine handing him over to the director behind true Biblical dramas like mother! and Noah. The possibilities are endless.
Also, no one has really captured the true essence of the paradox of Kal-El and Clark Kent on screen, with Richard Donner arguably coming the closest and directors like Bryan Singer and Zack Snyder nailing aspects of the character without nailing the whole package. So far in the DCEU, Henry Cavill's Superman has been marginalized as a sounding board for the opinions of the masses, and the maniacally paranoid (both Batman and Lex Luthor). We don't yet know how Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon will treat him in Justice League, but we're close to finding out.
Until we get Darren Aronofsky's interpretation of the pain, suffering and toil that comes with being the Man of Steel, we're just going to have to settle for his mother! which continues to divide audiences but attract attention at the box office. Paramount has wisely embraced the fact that patrons are angered by Aronofsky's vision. Maybe if the Matthew Vaughn Man of Steel 2 doesn't work out, Warner Bros. should give Aronofsky a call?
