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Jon Hamm Being Considered for Superman?

Get out of my Fortress of Solitude, You Whore / Dustin Rowles

Trade News | July 29, 2010 | Comments (48)

So, the pieces may slowly be coming together over on the Warner Brothers’ Superman reboot squared. We know that Christopher Nolan is consulting. We know that his brother, Jonathan, is in serious contention for the director’s job. And we know that David Goyer is writing, all of which offers some hope that the next Superman film will top the Bryan Singer version (not that it’ll take much).

It’s a difficult character to create a dark universe for, what with the bright red and blue uni and the leotard. But according to our friends over at ThinkMcFlyThink, one actor being “seriously considered” for the lead role is Jon Hamm, whose certainly got the dark and brooding thing down, as well as the square jaw. At 39, he’s a little old, perhaps, to start a franchise, but as TMT appropriately notes, he’s younger than Robert Downey, Jr. when he began the Iron Man franchise.

I don’t know if he’ll ultimately get the nod for the Superman role (or even if Hamm would want it; he doesn’t seem the superhero type). But, I like the idea of a heavy-smoking, hard drinking, womanizing Man of Steel with some fucked up issues with women, to transfer his Don Draper personality on to him. Nolan likes troubled superheroes, and Hamm can do troubled. And unlikable. And cold. I mean, what could be better than an anti-hero Superman? It goes against everything Superman has ever been in the movies (though, I suspect he’s had his rough spells in the comics). Plus, can you imagine: a drunken Superman saying to Lois Lane, “Get out of my Fortress of Solitude, you whore?”

Have I offended the Superman purists? Or is this an intriguing possibility?


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Comments

Yes!

Posted by: ben at July 29, 2010 9:39 AM

Yes!

Posted by: Stella at July 29, 2010 9:41 AM

You haven't offended me as a Superman purist, but the actor in me is a little miffed. Hamm is not Don Draper, dude. I'm intrigued by this possibility because he's proven he's got a bit of range on him, with his 30 Rock and SNL stints. I'd love to see his Supes because of that, not because I want to see MadMen in Tights...

Posted by: Tammy at July 29, 2010 9:41 AM

I mean, what could be better than an anti-hero Superman?

Spoken like a man who didn't read comics in the nineties.

Posted by: twig at July 29, 2010 9:45 AM

It would make more sense if the storyline included a much overlooked character from Superman's universe... Bizarro Superman. Hamm would be a perfect Bizarro. I don't know much about all the other possible Superman universes, but there might have been one where Superman's evil side comes out due to a version of Kryptonite (red maybe), this is also a possible path that Hamm would be marvelous for. Though, Hamm can play likeable, check out his SNL bits where he's not playing Don Draper (er, uh Sergio!?)

Posted by: Andy at July 29, 2010 9:46 AM

I like it and also I have ever seen a better one On

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Posted by: vivianloveyou at July 29, 2010 9:58 AM

Hamm is a great choice. He LOOKS like Superman.

But honestly, the whole dark-Superman thing really makes me uncomfortable. Frankly it's just missing the point. Dark is Batman's thing. Hope is Superman's thing.

Posted by: superasente at July 29, 2010 10:00 AM

*grumble grumble*

Posted by: Doomsday at July 29, 2010 10:02 AM

CONFESSION TIME: My *actual* favorite character is not Green Lantern, but Superman. Yes, I came of age during Christopher Reeves' movies, and frankly pretty much loved Brandon Routh in the role to the point I'd like to see him continue.

But Hamm? Yeah. I can see it. I think he's make a strong, less bumbling Kent and a fairly dynamic Superman...but what's wrong with asking the Routh kid to return?

Posted by: Green Lantern at July 29, 2010 10:14 AM

he doesn’t seem the superhero type


Dustin, you're fired. Get out.

Posted by: Jay at July 29, 2010 10:17 AM

He did go bad in one of the movies, didn't he?

Always remember that he sat in a bar, unshaved, shooting at the bottles with peanuts.

Posted by: magiel at July 29, 2010 10:18 AM

(pssst. figgy!!!)

Posted by: Jay at July 29, 2010 10:18 AM

Brandon Routh is too much like Christopher Reeve. They need to go in a different direction and I think Jon Hamm is perfect.

Posted by: E at July 29, 2010 10:19 AM

Jon Hamm, a midwesterner, did the best non-native Mass. accent I've ever heard on SNL. Julianne Moore, take heed.

Posted by: samantha t at July 29, 2010 10:23 AM

Yes, magiel, in Superman III. Then Clark Kent showed up and kicked his ass. And it was magnificent.

Posted by: Todd at July 29, 2010 10:28 AM

Jon Hamm isn't jacked, & probably wouldn't go on the Hollywood diet of HGH, thermogenics, & 8 hours exercise/day to bulk up for Superman. In other news, Superman only looks good on the page, adapt something else if you want an edgy hero franchise. I hear Man-Thing's available.

Posted by: the new transported man at July 29, 2010 10:31 AM

yeah, it was, T.
Don'remember the rest of the movie, wich isn't a good sign.

They could make his Clark Kent side a drugdealer in Baltimore, that would be gritty, right?

Or as an update (Newspapers are dead anyway) he could be the host of a reality show.
Something like 'Nerd Race', or something with a cow.

Posted by: magiel at July 29, 2010 10:33 AM

Superman only looks good on the page

Wrong.


adapt something else if you want an edgy hero franchise

Who said they wanted it to be edgy?

Posted by: Jay at July 29, 2010 10:40 AM

Count me as more interested in Hamm as Lex Luthor. Remember his old funny or die video?

I'd rather Routh return.

As for the Nolans and their take on Superman, I may be wrong but didn't they say they'd go the opposite way of Batman -- not darkness, but towards light?

Posted by: Fredo at July 29, 2010 10:48 AM

Jon Hamm has proven time and time again that he is SO much more than Don Draper. He could do Superman in his sleep.

I thought Brandon Routh looked too young as Superman or played it too young, at least. Next to Spacey, it felt like a game of dress up.

Posted by: jM at July 29, 2010 10:54 AM

Jay! IT'S WORKING!

Full disclosure: Um...I think Jay and I started this rumor and now it's all over the internet. If it translates into a real thing I want us to get full credit, thanks.

Also Dustin, what is WRONG with you. No one in history has ever looked more like a superhero.

Plus...OK even if it's not him, I think the idea of a dark, brooding Superman (is the only way to go. They've tried goody-two-shoes and it didn't really work.

Posted by: figgy at July 29, 2010 11:03 AM

Jay: Superman only looks good on the page & in cartoons, actually. He's a jacked-up dude in a bright blue & red, skin-tight costume + cape. It works when the rest of the world looks like that, but not otherwise. IMO. And by "edgy", I mean "dark", which seems to be the plan for this next Superman movie.

I say, if you're gonna make a Superman movie, make it hyperreal, heavy on the CGI, & bring in some esoteric villains...Darkseid, that boney dude, Brainiac. Put him firmly in the DC universe, give him a cameo or two to play around with. He doesn't need to have coffee with Aquaman, but IDK, put Orion or Martian Manhunter in that piece.

Posted by: the new transported man at July 29, 2010 11:03 AM

Feh, Brandon Routh looked like a plastic Ken Doll and he was just as boring. Get a real man into that franchise. Reeve was perfect for what he did, we need someone more like him.

Posted by: figgy at July 29, 2010 11:07 AM

First of all, Christopher Nolan isn't interested in making a "dark" Superman. He said as much in his recent interview with Empire magazine.

Here's a quote from that interview: "What you have to remember about Batman and Superman is that what makes them the best superhero characters there are, the most beloved after all this time, is the essence of who they were when they were created, when they were first developed." (Emphasis mine.)

That doesn't really sound like he thinks Superman should go "dark." Besides, as has already been pointed out above, John Hamm has range. He can do the awkward, slightly goofy Clark Kent (as seen in 30 Rock), but layer it with an underlining intelligence and confidence. When he puts on the suit? Fugheddaboutit. He'll definitely give the role weight and pathos. Basically, I'm saying, if John Hamm gets the role we'll see the real Superman.

Posted by: RobP at July 29, 2010 11:10 AM

Cast Henry Cavill, HENRY CAVILL!!!

Posted by: Sofía at July 29, 2010 11:13 AM

I'm not convinced Routh can act, though. I spend 99% of his screentime distracted by how pretty he is. The 1% is spent on how much I loathed Kate Bosworth. Hamm could do a good job of brooding near-immortal with the weight of the world on his shoulders and cute, corn-fed Midwesterner. Also? He'd be hot in flannel.

Posted by: Sefa at July 29, 2010 11:14 AM

I've seen Jon Hamm in a suit at the premier of the latest Mad Men season and he had a Hammster in his pants. Do you really want to see that in tights? Do you?

Posted by: BWeaves at July 29, 2010 11:31 AM

BWeaves, clearly the answer is YES, YES, OH GOD, YES! *lights cigarette*

Posted by: Tammy at July 29, 2010 11:47 AM

I can see it. Superman is fit and muscular, not huge like Thor. Hamm will need to spend some time in the weight room but he doesn't have to have a build like a defensive end. He certainly has the gravitas, so they'll have to cast a heavyweight as the villain. I like the idea of Brainiac, brains vs. brawn is a battle as old as time. Plus, please, for all that is right and holy, no hotpants. Nobody respects a villain in hotpants.

Posted by: Tracer Bullet at July 29, 2010 12:04 PM

You can make a dark superman without actually making him dark, you just can't have the movie set in his point of view. One of my favorite trades is: Lex Luthor: Man of Steel.

Posted by: Vi at July 29, 2010 12:37 PM

Anything's better than the 70s version.

YES I SAID IT!

Posted by: ChristianH at July 29, 2010 12:41 PM

Superman only looks good on the page & in cartoons, actually

Wrong.


which seems to be the plan for this next Superman movie.


Again: who says?

And you've said it before, Christian. I see you still haven't grown a heart. It's a pity.

I'm still disappointed that Jon's not Hal Jordan. Reynolds is always gonna be "well....okay....I guess".

Posted by: Jay at July 29, 2010 12:50 PM

They either need to get John Cena or Dwayne Johnson cast as Superman and get the WWE to produce it with a heavy metal soundtrack.

Posted by: Nedra at July 29, 2010 12:56 PM

BWeaves: Um...yes. Good God, yes.

Posted by: figgy at July 29, 2010 1:07 PM

Yeah, OK, me too!

I think I'm up for some serial fence-posting by the Hammster.

Posted by: BWeaves at July 29, 2010 2:05 PM

CONFESSION TIME: My *actual* favorite character is not Green Lantern, but Superman.

Classic self-loathing. You probably have penis envy too, don't ya?

Yeah, you do.

Posted by: Sinestro at July 29, 2010 2:32 PM

TracerBullet writes, "I like the idea of Brainiac, brains vs. brawn is a battle as old as time."

I agree. Now, Lex Luthor has most often been the go-to-guy for this type of conflict, but if I have to look at his bald head one more time on the silver screen, I think I might actually lose my mind. There are so many rich, visually exciting and compelling characters to deal with. Metallo. Bizzaro. The Parasite! Oh man, The Parasite could be SO cool -- he's a sinister manipulator who Superman can't even come close to, much less manhandle.

Do you hear me Warner Bros. (and the Warner Sister)? No more Lex Luthor. Give us a taste of Mr. Milton Fine.

Posted by: superasente at July 29, 2010 2:46 PM

People who say that Superman should be "dark" make me sad because they have forever lost their inner children. The definitive Superman sequences are hopeful, compassionate, optimistic. The best Superman bit of the last twenty years wasn't dark: it was Superman showing up just in time to keep a suicidal teenager from jumping off a building and giving her a hug.

I mean, come on, think about it. Superman is basically a Jesus analogue. Who says "Jesus isn't dark enough?" Mel Gibson, that's who says that. Do you want to be Mel Gibson? Is that what you want, Dustin?

Posted by: mightygodking at July 29, 2010 4:08 PM

As my boyfriend is a major Superman geek, I feel mildly qualified to say: going back to the beginnings of Superman takes you to a somewhat thuggish strong man who enjoys beating up petty crooks. (and leaping, not flying, over tall buildings).

But anyway...the first two Christopher Reeve Superman movies showed "goody two shoes" can work. As does the uniform, on screen, with other people. If you suspend your fucking belief. Which is the POINT of any comic hero movie.

(besides, even if you don't think a positive Superman worked in the last movie doesn't mean it can't work. It just means it didn't that one time)

Posted by: Sara Tonin at July 29, 2010 4:26 PM

I am not so keen on a hard drinking, chain smoking Superman. Keep the character clean. Muck with everything else if you must. But don't make Supes dark.

But i like the idea of making him older and more avuncular,Worldy without being seamy, knowledged without being cynical.

Posted by: Mr. West at July 29, 2010 4:35 PM

The Red Son storyline, where the spaceship lands in Russia instead of America and Bizarro is America's superhero, might be interesting...not that that'll happen for another ten years or so.

Posted by: HappyGobo at July 29, 2010 5:28 PM

Only if Jon Hamm is ready for his career to end.

I present to you:
THE CURSE OF SUPERMAN! (dun dun dunnnnnn)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_curse

How are the careers of the last two actors to wear the red cape? Dean Cain makes horrible SyFy movies, and the only thing I remember seeing Brandon Routh in since Superman Returns is a maybe ten minute part in Zack and Miri.

Posted by: henchman for hire at July 29, 2010 8:28 PM

No dark Supes pls. Dats totally Bats territory and you know Christian Bale won b too happy bout it if another superhero starts doing growly voice.

Thanks to whoever who posted dat Empire magazine quote.

Pretty sure Nolan is bored? with the dark stuff by now n then only reason he took patronage is to finally experiment with the exact opposite.

Too bad no one is gonna forgive Routh.

And too bad Smallville went all shitty after the first few seasons. Welling is finally donning the cape and he cud have jumped onto the silver screen. Talk bout timing and continuity!

*sighs*

n oh, cant wait to see the live action version of tis. (Cut to 0:56)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yavK0mnE3wI&feature=fvst

Posted by: haplo at July 29, 2010 11:04 PM

I don't understand the Routh hate. I really don't. He was the best thing in Superman Returns. His Clark was nuanced and much less dorky than Christopher Reeve's Kent. While Routh did appear young as Superman he probably fits the role even better now. The problems with Superman Returns had nothing to do with Routh.

Let's start with a good script.
Kate Bosworth was terribly miscast.
Lex Luthor and another "land deal" oy vey.
Did I mention needing a good SCRIPT?

Posted by: Rob at July 30, 2010 12:17 AM

Great idea. And they could do an older Superman. If there's ever a live action DKR, I'd like to see Jon Hamm play Superman in that.

Posted by: Lucas at July 30, 2010 4:58 AM

Classic self-loathing. You probably have penis envy too, don't ya?

Yeah, you do.

No, Sinestro, I have penis RESPECT.

And you should too. For mine anyway, stubs.

Posted by: Green Lantern at July 30, 2010 1:52 PM

Admit it; you're green with envy (heh).

Posted by: Sinestro at July 30, 2010 6:47 PM

Anyone who thinks a dark brooding Superman is any way to go must have suffered severe brain trauma recently. I'm confident that the Nolans and Goyer won't fuck this up.

Posted by: Saint Walker at July 31, 2010 7:06 AM





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