Christopher McQuarrie Comments on His Superman Movie Pitch

Director Christopher McQuarrie has revealed that he and Henry Cavill developed an idea for a Superman movie sequel while filming “Mission Impossible – Fallout” together.

McQuarrie took to Twitter to explain that the original idea, which was pitched to Warner Bros., was ultimately passed on.

“The studios have never cared for my original ideas,” he explained. “They prefer that I fix their broken ones.”

The pitch tied in with another idea McQuarrie had for a Green Lantern film, stating it was too complicated to explain on Social Media.

“Too complicated to explain. It tied into the Superman movie that Cavill and I were proposing. No takers.”

While Warner Bros. didn’t directly pass on the ideas, McQuarrie explains they just never took up the ideas and moved forward with them.

“They never said no. They just never moved on it. This was just before Fallout was released. And no, I would not reconsider. There’s too many other things I want to do.”

47 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Juan Ricardo
Juan Ricardo
July 5, 2019 7:10 pm

WB just have to step out and leave. They need to create a DC division that manage all properties just like Marvel Studios/Kevin Feige

JasEl
JasEl
July 6, 2019 12:51 am
Reply to  Juan Ricardo

^this^

kal-bert
kal-bert
July 6, 2019 1:10 am
Reply to  Juan Ricardo

They should have already done that decades ago. As they’ve been making serious Superman and Batman movies for decades.

Kal-Ed
July 6, 2019 4:22 am
Reply to  Juan Ricardo

And I agree with that as well. DC’s own film devision would have fared a wee bit better than what they already have.

And even if McQuarrie’s idea Was made into reality and connected Superman with the GLs, a post credit scene with Clark Kent interviewing Hal Jordan after he’s done test flying a plane would certainly been a highlight and launched the GL film franchise.

Talk about missed opportunities.

sundevil82
sundevil82
July 6, 2019 6:54 pm
Reply to  Juan Ricardo

I agree, but the problem with this is finding the right person who is both a credible producer and is knowledgeable about the source material. In this way, Feige is a one of a kind… he came up learning for 8 years before starting with Iron Man and stumble a few times a long the way before perfecting what he was trying to do. There is literally nobody on DC’s side that can fill that spot and I don’t think they should force someone into it. Rumors are that they want JJ to fill that role and I don’t want… Read more »

Kal-Ed
July 7, 2019 4:15 pm
Reply to  sundevil82

The only one I could think of filling the role of that producer would have been Geoff Johns. He surely has the knowledge of all things DC to be brought onto the silver screen with the right direction. The other unlikely candidate would have been David Goyer (ooohhhhhhh man I’m gonna be so skewered by some of you later on for saying that hehehehee). He did work on DC’s JSA and Starman and his work speak for itself. Film wise not so much unless you count Batman Begins and Dark City. But he has his ups and downs like many… Read more »

sundevil82
sundevil82
July 7, 2019 5:46 pm
Reply to  Kal-Ed

They already tried Johns in more or less that position. Again, while knowledgeable about comics, he didn’t know much about producing. I think he only lasted for a year or 2. Walter Hamada filled the void left by him.

No thank you on David Goyer. I’ll give credit where it’s due in that he is a good idea person, but left to his own devices, he is average at best. I prefer him more as a contributor or someone to steer the story in the right direction when working with a more talented writer.

Juan Ricardo
Juan Ricardo
July 5, 2019 7:12 pm

We will not hear anything about a Superman movie until we see the new Batman movie in theaters.

Superman2878
July 6, 2019 6:54 pm
Reply to  Juan Ricardo

I have a feeling that you’re right Juan Ricardo. It looks like they are more focused on the upcoming Batman movies. I admit. I’m not that much of a fan of Cavill’s Superman. However, I do believe it’s a shame that Cavill Superman fans are in the same situation that I was in when I was waiting for Routh’s Superman to have a sequel eleven or twelve years ago. It’s not a fun thing waiting to find out about new news on a version of Superman that one likes. So I can sympathize with those who are waiting but are… Read more »

redcape
redcape
July 6, 2019 8:05 pm
Reply to  Superman2878

I agree with you on Routh. I thought it was really chicken that after all the time we waited for Superman they decided SR was one and done. But again…it was all about money. Had it made another 100 mill or so we probably would have gotten that sequel. And it may have made more if they hadn’t allowed it to have plot events that were questionable and negative. That being the child, the peaking in on Lois and other scenes. (the scenes didn’t bother me a much as they did for some)

sundevil82
sundevil82
July 6, 2019 8:17 pm
Reply to  redcape

SR would have been better if it just started from scratch. Attaching it to the Reeve films really hindered it. It was a decent film at the time but it’s hard for me to revisit or sit all the way through. I don’t blame Routh at all as I find him to have a lot of personality, but for whatever reason they wouldn’t allow him to say much in the role. It’s a shame because a new Superman from scratch would have been much better. This is the problem with people like singer who claim to be fans, but are… Read more »

redcape
redcape
July 6, 2019 11:25 pm
Reply to  sundevil82

The reason why they didn’t start from scratch was at the time there wasn’t any thing other than STM to fall back on. And people still used STM as the ultimate go to. So it sort if made sense to try and repeat a winning formula.

SR did lead them to start from scratch. And it was called Man of Steel! But they did the same thing in both. They added unconventional parts to the story lines.

sundevil82
sundevil82
July 7, 2019 2:36 am
Reply to  redcape

Yeah but I feel like trying to make Routh impersonate and play the same Superman as Reeve was an impossible task.. why draw the comparisons when you could just start from scratch? I like Routh, I just hated that they did that to him and feel it was just as big of a risk. And yeah again i will say that it’s problematic and worrisome when any creator is only beholden to the Donner version. That is not canon. I love th Reeve movies but I want different versions of Superman and I knew going into SR that it wasn’t… Read more »

Clark_Jo
Clark_Jo
July 6, 2019 7:20 pm
Reply to  Juan Ricardo

You’re too optimistic

sundevil82
sundevil82
July 5, 2019 7:40 pm

WB/DC is absolutely ridiculous… passing up on a McQuarrie/Cavill stand alone Superman film is probably one of the more if not the most idiotic things they’ve done… and they’ve done plenty.

This is incredibly disappointing and it’s seriously… to me at least… a big middle finger to the fans.

McQuarrie is 10x The writer/director that Snyder, Goyer or Whedon are.

Clark_Jo
Clark_Jo
July 6, 2019 7:22 pm
Reply to  sundevil82

Hey, how can they make 20 Harley Quinn projects if they spent time and money on Superman?

sundevil82
sundevil82
July 6, 2019 8:20 pm
Reply to  Clark_Jo

Haha right? And don’t forget about the Trench film!

Nate1986
Nate1986
July 5, 2019 9:43 pm

So reading this, I am disappointed. Not at WB, but at McQuarrie. So he and Cavill wanted to make a Superman/Green Lantern Corps movie? That’s….not a good idea for a movie. It reminds me of the first version of Batman vs Superman, where its existence was to relaunch two characters in one, only for them not to do it because relaunching both in solo was the better idea, and something like a crossover could happen. Which, speaking of Batman v Superman, even though it was to jump start the DCEU and be the prequel for Justice League, you couldn’t help… Read more »

JasEl
JasEl
July 6, 2019 12:58 am
Reply to  Nate1986

Where did you see that? He said a Superman movie that he worked out with Cavill(who actually reads the comics btw) followed by a GL movie that ties into it. Seems more like a GL movie that builds off a story started in a Superman solo film.

kal-bert
kal-bert
July 6, 2019 1:12 am
Reply to  Nate1986

No, they said that their idea was close to another idea McQuarrie had for a GL movie. Not that it was a teamup, they just got ideas from it for Superman.

cpm72586
cpm72586
July 5, 2019 10:26 pm

Good. Glad it didn’t happen and won’t be happening. It’s ridiculous that they wanted to do a team up with Green Lantern. Superman deserves his own franchise where he doesn’t have to share the spotlight with anyone. Really, the writing is on the wall that Cavill is done. The next time we see the character it will be a reboot, and that’s how it should be. Just have to hope it doesn’t take too long.

kal-bert
kal-bert
July 6, 2019 1:15 am
Reply to  cpm72586

Please, read my previous comment to Nate1986 and then read again the article. I too think that Superman doesn’t need (nor deserve) another abomination like another teamup. At least nog for now.

redcape
redcape
July 6, 2019 7:16 pm
Reply to  kal-bert

I never they saw an abomination team up.

redcape
redcape
July 6, 2019 8:07 pm
Reply to  redcape

Sorry that came out stupid. Cancel “they”. couldn’t edit

kal-bert
kal-bert
July 8, 2019 6:22 pm
Reply to  redcape

I said “teeamup” too because both are in the film and finally work together. The abomination is that they’re fighting each other nearly the whole movie.

redcape
redcape
July 8, 2019 9:15 pm
Reply to  kal-bert

Got it! But I thought it followed the, must be enemies first routine.

redcape
redcape
July 6, 2019 7:15 pm

I wouldn’t be so sure that HC is done. The only drawback possibly, might be his association with MoS, BvS and the JL. They(whoever they are) may feel another re-boot is in order. And that’s IF they want to proceed moving forward. I’ve already mentioned this, but with the AT&T merger there might be major shake-ups going on that we don’t know about. Usually these kinds of business dealings end up with management changes. It’s all about money and I would think everything that’s been done in the past won’t to an extent manipulate going forward other than not repeating… Read more »

sundevil82
sundevil82
July 6, 2019 8:23 pm
Reply to  redcape

I think that WB doesn’t want to pay him what he’s asking. I think they should have taken advantage of the MI Fallout success and announced a film, but alas they folded.

In regards to your woman superhero films comment, I can’t really speak to that, but I personally didn’t find Wonder Woman to be like that at all. I thought they did a good job of making her a hero on equal footing with everyone else.

redcape
redcape
July 6, 2019 11:43 pm
Reply to  sundevil82

I didn’t want to come off sounding like I’m anti woman. I’m not. But at this point Marvel has gone off the deep end with this angle. And because they’ve exhausted their characters they’ll be headed into territory that will be pandering to more topics that shouldn’t be added to thee kinds of movies. I’m only bringing that up as the last thing I would want to see is for this company thinking they as well must go down that same path. As for Wonder Woman. They made sure to have made that movie with little to no controversy. And… Read more »

sundevil82
sundevil82
July 7, 2019 2:46 am
Reply to  redcape

Oh I’m not accusing you at all of that redcape! I get where you’re coming from with it, I don’t exactly agree but I understand. Captain Marvel was more in line with what you’re talking about I would say. I still enjoyed the film, but felt it was pretty average. I only bring that up because we haven’t seen that at all with WB/DC yet as she’s been the only female led movie so far. I’m curious to see the route they go with the Harley movie because I think it’s going to be more of the Margot Robbie show… Read more »

redcape
redcape
July 7, 2019 1:52 pm
Reply to  sundevil82

I just hope that WW2 is not going to be compromised by moving her character into a totally different world. That new costume that was up for a short time has me feeling somewhat apprehensive. Her present costume is awesome as it is but if they’re going to cover her from neck to feet with a full body outfit then they will be pandering to a stupid reason for doing so. That’s what they’ve been doing at Marvel with all the female leads and I hope that the WB/DC doesn’t follow in their wake. I want to see WW looking… Read more »

Superman2878
July 6, 2019 10:31 pm
Reply to  redcape

To be honest, I really don’t know who to believe. I’ve heard some say Henry has walked away from the role, and others say he’s still in. I guess time will tell on weather or not if he’s still in the role.

redcape
redcape
July 7, 2019 1:40 pm
Reply to  Superman2878

Time will tell. But I think(as I’ve mentioned) that it’ll be whenever the restructuring from the merger with AT&T is complete. Mergers of this magnitude often produce totally different corporate directions. I would imagine that from this time on spending $200 mill to make a movie will be scrutinized to the max before any go ahead to do so gets put into place.

Kal-Ed
July 7, 2019 6:36 am

I just want to express my disappointment in WB that they have often mentioned they are/will be hiring well established film makers that focus on director driven features for their DC properties. And here they have had the chance to lock in someone who has delivered solid action and character driven movies, only to have him walk out after pitching his ideas. And truth be told I don’t blame him for pursuing other projects should the head honchos at WB ask him back. I’m really not sure about Henry’s status anymore about staying as Superman. We have no news. We… Read more »

Superman2878
July 7, 2019 10:21 am

I know that it’s unlikely that Routh would return to the Superman role in a Superman movie, but what about television? I mean John Wesley Shipp returned to his original Flash role in last year’s crossover. So is it possible that we might see Routh return as Superman for a couple of multiverse crossover episodes?

Please CW! Please! Make this happen!

I hope this happens. Hope springs eternal right?

Kal-Ed
July 7, 2019 4:02 pm
Reply to  Superman2878

Kinda hard to do since he is playing Atom on the Legends Show. Routh should have been given a second get go at the role. He did his best to deliver with what he was given with. Unfortunately it did not sit well with audiences and fans even though it was a continuation of the Reeve’s films. John Wesley Shipp was playing 3 different characters and they were incorporated pretty decent on the CW shows according to the given story lines. And it kinda makes no sense for Routh to be playing atom and superman at the same time for… Read more »

sundevil82
sundevil82
July 7, 2019 5:53 pm
Reply to  Kal-Ed

SR was just so odd to me… technically it was a continuation of Reeves movie, but they changed a lot about it like the aesthetic, made an inferior costume and retained some of the story. All this while at the same time almost rehashing the plot from the original. They never let Routh stand on his own only letting regurgitate Reeve lines. It never felt to me like the Reeve films either, the charm or something was missing. I think routh in a stand alone original tale would have been great. I really like him as Ray Palmer and think… Read more »

redcape
redcape
July 9, 2019 12:15 am
Reply to  sundevil82

I don’t think it was done as an actual continuation as apposed to more so,…. playing off it. It had been so long between the success of STM and what we got, it sort of made sense to play off it. Yes…they lifted few lines from STM and even the land angle. But that was more of an acknowledgement or tip of the hat. That’s the way I took it. I’m not sure you can include 3 and 4 as true Reeves movies regarding them as being charming. Everyone involved with SR had signed up for two more sequels but… Read more »

JasEl
JasEl
July 9, 2019 9:01 pm
Reply to  redcape

Singer said SR was a direct sequel to Superman II, he cut out 3 and 4 like they never happened

redcape
redcape
July 10, 2019 1:03 pm
Reply to  JasEl

Well S2, either version, did not end with a story line that needed to be continued. Singer referenced certain parts of SR to S2, which there were, but the movie really was meant to stand on it’s own leading to the 2 planned sequels. SR’s ending had an unfinished story line that was to be addressed in the sequels.

Superman2878
July 7, 2019 7:34 pm
Reply to  Kal-Ed

I think that it is possible. They have the multiverse after all. And the actor who played Professor/ Sherlock Wells in the latest season of the Flash also played the reverse Flash at the same time that he played Wells. So I don’t think that it would be a problem for Routh to play two separate people in the same series. Whether it’s on the show Supergirl, Flash, or Legends of Tomorrow, they have established the multiverse. So he could play both Superman and the Atom. Shipp played his version of Allen/Flash at the same time Gustin played his version… Read more »

Superman2878
July 7, 2019 7:53 pm
Reply to  Superman2878

I would say that Cavill Superman fans are lucky that the possiblity of Cavill returning to the role of Superman is still there for future movies, where as Routh’s return for another Superman movie is very very very slim at best. If any, sadly.

But that’s why I believe that for tv, it’s still a possibility. They established the multiverse, anything’s possibile. I know that it may sound silly to hope for that, but it’s a hope that I’m not going to give up on just yet. Maybe it will happen. Who knows? I hope it does.

redcape
redcape
July 9, 2019 12:20 am
Reply to  Superman2878

Yes they can do anything if it looks like it make sense. If you recall last year on a cross over Brandon/Ray made reference to Kara looking like his cousin! That’s about as close as you’re going to get.

Superman2878
July 9, 2019 9:26 am
Reply to  redcape

Like I said before redcape, I’ll keep on waiting for Routh’s return to the Superman role. Even if it doesn’t happen, I’ll wait. With the established multiverse, anything is possible. Since Shipp was able to return as the Flash, the possibility for the return of Routh’s Superman is there too. So I’ll keep waiting. At least I’ll know that I never gave up on this version of Superman.

redcape
redcape
July 9, 2019 12:42 pm
Reply to  Superman2878

Your right, anythings possible. The CW has seen to that. I myself find the multiverse too convenient and a lot of the story lines IMO get a bit stupid. Actually I’ve had enough of the cross overs because of it. But I’ve been a Routh fan as well. I always thought the WB/DC shouldn’t have paid attention to the internet/media babble and gone on with at least one of their planed sequels. SR started pretty strong out of the gate. But it tapered off as it became apparent that they hadn’t followed the typical protocol of the hero fighting the… Read more »

Superman2878
July 9, 2019 1:01 pm
Reply to  redcape

Well I can at least say that I’m glad to see Routh is still working. I admit that I’m not happy on what they are doing with his character on Legends, with all the silliness that his character does. But at least he’s still working. And I rather see him acting than not at all.

trackback
URL
July 23, 2019 8:53 pm

… [Trackback]

[…] Informations on that Topic: supermanhomepage.com/christopher-mcquarrie-comments-on-his-superman-movie-pitch/ […]