Anna Daniels
Right now, J.J. Abrams naturally has all his attention on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. With that film, Abrams ends the trilogy he began in 2015 with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating about he could do after he’s done playing in the “galaxy far, far away.”
One persistent rumor has pegged Abrams as the director who will take over the Superman franchise. Nearly seven years have already passed since Man of Steel, and Supes still hasn’t gotten a solo sequel. With Henry Cavill’s status unclear, now could be the right time to reboot the character. So will Abrams be the one leading the charge?
From TV to ‘Star Wars’
Over the past decade, Abrams has shepherded a ton of memorable projects. Starting out as a writer — including a credit on Armageddon — Abrams eventually found his way to television where he created hit shows like Felicity, Alias, and Lost. Though he created new worlds on the small screen, Abrams took a different approach to his movies.
With his feature directorial debut, Mission: Impossible III, Abrams demonstrated a knack for re-energizing film franchises. He brought this skill set to both the 2009 Star Trek reboot and the Star Wars sequel trilogy. In addition, he nurtured the Cloverfield franchise as an executive producer.
So applying this track record of world-building to Superman makes a lot of sense. Abrams even has a personal connection to the character because he worked on Superman: Flyby, an unproduced reboot, back in the early 2000s. Now that he has much more clout and experience behind the camera, Abrams could be ready to try again.
Rumors about Superman’s future
If Cavill is truly out as Superman — which the actor denies — Abrams isn’t a bad choice for a reboot. Matt Reeves — a frequent collaborator of Abrams’ — is starting from scratch with The Batman. Whether Superman will follow suit remains unclear. But one thing is certain: Abrams isn’t actively onboard any such project.
In a recent conversation with Screen Rant, Abrams opened up about the rumors he is working on a Superman movie for Warner Bros. Alas, fans of the Man of Steel will be disappointed by his response.
I have not had one official conversation with Warners at all about this, but people have asked me this question and I know that we, Bad Robot, we recently signed a deal with WarnerMedia, we will begin in earnest all discussions about what’s coming next. But I know no more than you do about what’s next, certainly in terms of DC.
So there you have it. Abrams has not begun official talks with Warner Bros. about Superman. However, his wording here is key. The idea, of course, could be floating about, and Abrams may very well be considering his options.
What is J.J. Abrams doing next?
At the moment, Abrams doesn’t appear to have any directorial projects in the cards after The Rise of Skywalker. Considering the scope of that film and the pressures associated with it, we can hardly blame him if he wanted a break. Abrams, after all, didn’t even direct anything in the four years between his two Star Wars films.
However, his production company, Bad Robot, has plenty of projects in the works. As Abrams mentioned, Bad Robot struck a deal with Warner Bros. That is already set to include TV projects like Apple TV+ show Little Voice, HBO’s Contraband, and Stephen King adaptation Lisey’s Story.
Abrams tends to take his time in selecting projects like directorial features, as they involve a much larger personal commitment. We’ll have to wait and see if he does actually dust off his old Superman script. If there’s one thing all DC fans can agree on, it’s been too long since the Man of Steel has truly taken flight.
Written by: Cheat
