Although they’ve somewhat stumbled at the starting blocks with regards to it most current silver screen universe, DC has done some phenomenal things on television in recent years. From Arrow to The Flash to Supergirl, there’s no shortage of great TV shows dealing with the lives of DC characters. It was Gotham that definitively proved that a prequel series could draw in a substantial audience, but Bruce Wayne and Gotham only represent one half of the World's Finest equation. That may change, as it was also just announced that Syfy has officially greenlighted a pilot set on Superman’s home world of Krypton – and we now have details about the project’s story.
The upcoming Syfy Superman prequel pilot Krypton will take the action back in time to explore the adventures of Superman’s grandfather.
Syfy today announced it has greenlit to pilot KRYPTON, the much-anticipated Superman prequel set two generations before the destruction of the legendary Man of Steel’s home planet. KRYPTON will follow Superman’s grandfather — whose House of El was ostracized and shamed — as he fights to redeem his family’s honor and save his beloved world from chaos.
So it seems like we will not be seeing Krypton blow up at any point during the upcoming series. Krypton is set two generations before the birth of Kal-El, during a period when the iconic superhero’s grandfather fought to redeem the name of the House of El among the Kryptonian social hierarchy. This has us thinking that Syfy aims to capitalize on the royal familial drama of a show like Game of Thrones while injecting beloved DC material into that formula, because TV budgets would likely not allow for the immense destruction and carnage we've come to expect from the planet in recent years.
It will be interesting to see how fans respond to the core concept of Krypton. Set so far in the past, the prequel will bear few genuine connections to much of the Man of Steel’s lore. That being said, this still represents an opportunity to introduce certain elements from the Superman mythos that have yet to come to the small screen, such as Brainiac, the House of Zod, and perhaps even the Green Lantern Corps.
We’ve known about the Krypton pilot for quite some time. It’s maintained a steady presence in the rumor mill ever since 2014, and only a few weeks ago we learned that Syfy would definitely move forward with the project. DC veteran David Goyer wrote the pilot, and the last update on the project indicated that Scottish director Colm McCarthy had been brought in to helm the episode.
We will keep you posted regarding any and all updates related to Krypton as they become available to us. Are you excited to see the drama within the House of El, or does knowing it all blows up in the end make it any less intriguing?
