‘Superman: Red Son’: Warner Bros. Pitching Directors On A Live Action Adaptation

Warner Bros. is rumored to be developing a feature based on the comic mini-series that imagines if Kal-El were born in the Soviet Union.

Warner Bros. is pitching directors on a live action adaptation of the popular comic “Superman: Red Son,” according to writer Mark Millar. The news was revealed in a Twitter exchange between Millar and “Kong: Skull Island” director Joran Vogt-Roberts, who said he pitched the idea to the studio “months ago.”

“Did you hear WB pitching directors Red Son? Two diff pals in last 2 months. This truly is Putin’s America,” said Millar. “Wait, really? Because I pitched it to them months ago and was told no. It’s the most punk rock thing the DCEU could do in my mind,” replied Vogt-Roberts.

“Red Son” is a critically-acclaimed three-issue comic mini-series that imagines if Superman had been raised in the Soviet Union instead of Kansas. It combines alternate versions of DC superheroes with political figures such as Joseph Stalin and John F. Kennedy. Instead of fighting for American values, Superman becomes “the champion of the common worker.”

Though the story certainly taps into the zeitgeist given the current political climate, the rumors are very much rumors at this stage.

“I think they’re just going through their back catalogue of big books and hoping to lure in good directors as opposed to any particular interest in developing ‘Red Son,'” Millar told Den of Geek. “There’s always 50 conversations for every comic book movie that gets made and as far as I know this is something that is very much just at conversation stage.”

Following the success of “Wonder Woman,” Warner Bros. would be wise to take more risks in fleshing out the DC Extended Universe. Even if “Red Son” never gets off the ground, it’s encouraging to hear the studio considering it.



IndieWire