Kingsman director recalls his “colorful, fun” Superman movie pitch

Henry Cavill played Superman three times on the big screen: in 2013’s Man of Steel, in 2016’s Batman v Superman and 2017’s Justice League. People seemed to more or less like her performance, but reviews of the actual movies were mixed at best.

Now that Warner Bros. has come out the other side of that experiment, Cavill’s future of the Man of Steel is in doubt. Could he return to play Superman again. I mean…maybe? But while we wait for news, director Matthew Vaughn is remembering what could have been.

These days, Vaughn is best known as the guy who made the Kingsman movies, although he proved his superhero bona fides with the Kick-Ass films. Those movies are really violent and cynical, although he had a very different idea in mind for Henry Cavill’s Superman.

Matthew Vaughn’s Superman vs Zack Snyder’s Superman

“I was desperate to do a Superman film. Desperate,” Vaughn told TheWrap. “I pitched a big Superman movie before they made Man of Steel. I just got to work with Henry Cavill, which was lovely, on Argylle and he’s unbelievable in it. I still think there’s room for a new Superman film, but a proper Superman film. A colorful, fun Superman movie. Not a dark one.”

I don’t think Vaughn is trying to be shady here, but he sounds like he wasn’t a fan of director Zack Snyder’s more gritty take on Superman, although he does say that Man of Steel was “a great Superman movie.” His problem was more with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice:

"I just thought it was a mistake putting the Batman vibe into the Superman world. I just think they’re two separate — they’re just not relatable in any way, in my mind. It should be fun. I mean, look, The Dark Knight was obviously different, and it made sense and it was brilliant, as a film and as a comic. But Superman was always… I loved the [Richard] Donner Superman movie, and I think Wonder Woman worked because, I think, Wonder Woman was basically remaking [Donner’s] Superman in a weird way. Yeah, I love Superman."

Snyder definitely has his fans, but also got plenty of criticism for turning Superman into something closer to a dark antihero where usually he’s depicted as a beacon of goodness. But hey, the character has been around for almost a century; there’s room for different interpretations.

Incidentally, Warner Bros. is working on new Superman projects; it’s just not clear if Henry Cavill will ever step back into the tights and cape. But time will tell.

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