Running wild over the web for over a month, the rumor that Warner Bros. had roped in Mad Max director, George Miller to helm a Superman centric sequel to Man of Steel has officially been denied by none other than George Miller himself. The rumor spread by John Schnepp who is best known for the documentary, The Death of Superman Lives aroused a lot of hopes among Superman fans who seem unconvinced with the upcoming movie Batman v Superman – Dawn of Justice which Zack Synder claims to be a Man of Steel sequel. With the release of the first official trailer at San Diego Comic Con and the overall buzz surrounding more of Ben Affleck’s version of Batman in the movie, the Kryptonian seems to be sidelined in his own sequel. To which the rumor of Warner Bros. having a plan for a separate Man of Steel sequel appeared reasonable.
Coming from Miller himself, who confirmed that he is in talks with Warner Bros. about possibly directing one of the DC Cinematic Universe (DCCU) movies but it is unlikely that is shall be a Man of Steel 2 centering solely on Henry Cavill’s Superman. Miller also put rest to the rumors that his next would likely be a DCCU movies considering his comment, “I hope the next film I make is a very small film without any special effects and not many stunts.”
This is however not the first time George Miller’s name has been linked with directing a DC Comic based movie. Back in 2007, Warner Bros. had a planned a Justice League movie to be helmed by Miller. Christened as Justice League – Mortal, the superhero team starring all major characters from the DC Comic universe were to feature in the movie and it was slated to released side-by-side with Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008).
However due to certain challenges, like the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike and the Australian government subsequently denied Warner Bros. the 40 percent tax rebate it was expecting, Miller’s movie was shelved. It has been reported that a documentary based on the untapped opportunity of Miller’s Justice League – Mortal is under works on similar lines of John Schnepp’s documentary on Tim Burton’s lost opportunity with Superman Lives that could have had Nicholas Cage as the red capped Kryptonian.