'Star Trek director should make next Superman movie'

SCREENWRITER and comic book scribe Kevin Smith says he believes Star Trek director J.J. Abrams is the perfect choice for the next Superman movie.

Smith (right) told MTV: "Based on Star Trek, I'd hand it to J.J. [Abrams] and say, 'Go!'

"Clearly, the dude knows how to craft a really warm and wonderful piece of mainstream entertainment. And that's what Star Trek is - it works like crazy as a mainstream movie, and it has warmth."

He continued: "[Star Trek] isn't just assembled by committee and you don't see the heart. There's heart there and humanity.

"So give him Superman, because that's what people seemed to miss in the last one - they just felt like Superman wasn't Superman. He wasn't human enough."

He added: "There are two sides to the Superman equation. Kryptonian birth but raised on Earth."

Bryan Singer directed the previous film, Superman Returns, in 2006. It underperformed financially and polarised the fanbase (though it was well-liked by critics).

Warner Bros has said it wants to reintroduce the character - Singer is unlikely to be involved as director of any future film but Brandon Routh has been rumoured to remain the favourite for the title role.

Meanwhile, as I exclusively revealed online, Singer is now interested in returning to the X-Men franchise.

Kevin Smith and his dream director for Superman, J.J. Abrams, have both been linked to Superman film projects in the past.

Smith had penned the unmade Superman Lives back in 1996 but was dropped when Tim Burton came on board to direct.

Smith's screenplay featured Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Doomsday and the Eradicator as villains. Smith had suggested Ben Affleck to play Superman, but Nicolas Cage was eventually cast.

Producer Jon Peters stipulated several bizarre ideas that Smith had to include in his screenplay - a black costume (see image), a battle with a giant spider, a space dog for Lex Luthor, and Superman fighting a polar bear.

Star Trek director J.J. Abrams penned Superman: Flyby in 2002, with Brett Ratner and then McG attached to direct before the project was abandoned.

Some drafts of the script had controversial elements that differ from the traditional story, notably: Krypton was a lush planet and did not explode; Superman's costume was stored in a silver canister; and Lex Luthor was a CIA agent who was later revealed to be Kryptonian.

While some of Abrams' earlier script ideas are contentious to say the least, he has proved with Star Trek that in the director's chair he can create an epic thrill-ride on screen.