When Man of Steel kicked off Warner Brothers’ DC Extended Universe in 2013, fans were divided on Zack Snyder’s gritty, real-world-infused take on the iconic Superman origin story.
The film’s harshest critics claimed that a new franchise’s inaugural Superman movie should not have taken on such a dark tone, and that the character demanded more humor and uplifting energy.
In a way, they desired something more akin to the early Superman comics or the cheeky, yet romantic, Christopher Reeve movies of the late 70s and 80s—updated with twenty-first century special effects, of course.
Oddly, though, Warner Brothers did provide a modern Superman movie in the spirit of Reeve’s incarnation seven years earlier.
2006’s Superman Returns was a direct continuation of the Reeve franchise, and while it did not play immaculately with moviegoers upon release, it remained true to the happy-go-lucky, red-tights-wearing Superman that fans seemed to pine for
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