Mark Millar to save the Superman movie franchise?

If you recall way back in May, I posted a blog about the guys at SaveSuperman.com who were furiously working hard to get DC Comics to reinvent the Superman movie franchise and save it from the grasps of Bryan Singer and Brandon Routh.

Well, I don’t think they had anything to do with this news, but I’m sure they are positively giddy over it.

From First Showing comes an Earth-shattering story about Mark Millar and a pitch he has to bring Superman into the 21st century. The original interview is from The Daily Record, and this is what Millar said to them:

I’ve been planning this my entire life. I’ve got my director and producer set up, and it’ll be 2011. This is how far ahead you have to think.” He continues, explaining that “the Superman brand is toxic after that last movie [flopped], but in 2011 we’re hoping to restart it. Sadly I can’t say who the director is, but we may make it official by Christmas. But fingers crossed it could work out, that would be my lifetime’s dream.”

OMG.

That was literally my first reaction. It’s weird how in this computer age, you can actually react in your head with IM abbreviations.

First Showing had some more good stuff to say:

Why is this such an important project to Millar? “Since I was a kid I’ve always wanted to reinvent Superman for the 21st century.” Last year, he explained that “I have literally hundreds of pages of notes and sketches just waiting for this opportunity. This would be my dream gig and, as a fan, I know exactly what this project needs to work. This has to be Superman for the 21st Century, keeping everything we adore, but starting from scratch and making the kids love it as much as the 30-somethings.”

Well, I am ALL FOR IT. I think this is the best news I’ve heard regarding superhero movies since Christian Bale was signed to play Batman and Christopher Nolan took the helm at directing.

Millar added a more recent clarification on his messageboard regarding his initial quotes from The Daily Record interview:

“PS: That Superman news is interesting, isn’t it? In the interests of clarity (because I’m sure this will be picked up somewhere) a very well known American action director heard about my love of Superman, approached my and asked me to team up with he and his producer to make a pitch for this. We’ve been talking for several weeks now and, if this is going to happen, we’ll know by Christmas. He has huge pull at WB so fingers crossed. But this is nothing more than a huge US name pulling me into his fold and making me part of a package.”

So what do you guys think? Amazing news? Mark Millar, the author of so many great comics, now feverishly working to reinvent the Superman franchise?

Who is the American action direction? Let’s hope it’s not Michael Bay right?

Millar was the author of Superman: Red Son (pictured right), the alternate reality comic in which Clark Kent grows up in the Soviet Union instead of the United States. It’s on my MUST-READ list.

The praise I’ve heard for Red Son has been great, so can you imagine what he could possibly do for this fledgling movie series?