Superman: Man of Tomorrow

Superman: Man of Tomorrow is a 2006 American superhero film directed by Marc Forster and written by David Franzoni and John Byrne based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is a reboot of the Superman film series and the second film in the DC Movie Universe. The film stars Matt Bomer as Clark Kent/Superman, alongside Keri Russell, Ed Harris, William H. Macy, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Cooper, Jamie Bell, John Malkovich, Sam Neill, Helena Bonham Carter, and Daniel Day-Lewis. In the film, Clark Kent learns that he is a superpowered alien from the planet Krypton. He assumes the role of mankind's protector as Superman, making the choice to face Brainiac and prevent him from destroying humanity.

After a series of unsuccessful projects to resurrect Superman on screen following the critical and financial failure of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Warner Bros. Pictures hired Forster to direct and develop Superman: Man of Tomorrow in June 2004. Principal photography took place between February and July 2005.

Superman: Man of Tomorrow was released in the United States on June 28, 2006, receiving praise for Bomer's performance, special effects, action sequences, score, and the realistic re-imagining and portrayal of the title character. The film was a box office success, grossing more than $578 million worldwide. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. Two sequels followed, Man of Steel and Superman Warworld, released in 2009 and 2014 respectively.

Plot
As Clark Kent grows older, he develops superhuman powers that his adopted parents Jonathan and Martha urge to keep hidden, even refusing Clark's help years later during a tornado incident where he loses his life. Burdened with guilt over Jonathan's death, Clark travels the globe hiding under various aliases seeking a purpose in life.

Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane and photographer Jimmy Olsen receive an assignment to investigate the discovery of a Kryptonian scout ship in the Canadian Arctic. Clark enters the ship disguised as a worker and learns from its artificial intelligence (AI), modeled after his father Jor-El, that Clark was sent to Earth to guide its people. While following Clark, Lois inadvertently triggers the ship's security system, and he uses his powers to rescue Lois from its defenses. He wears a uniform provided by the ship's AI and begins testing his flying abilities. Unable to convince supervisor Perry White to publish an article on the incident, Lois tracks down Clark in Smallville, with the intent of exposing him. However, Lois drops the story upon hearing of Jonathan Kent's sacrifice, keeping Clark's identity safe but fueling Perry's suspicions.

Meanwhile, an extraterrestrial android known as Vril Dox detects a signal from the Kryptonian scout ship and travels to Earth. Following Clark and Lois' capture, Vril Drox, given the codename "Brainiac", meets with Clark who claims that he has come to Earth to gain knowledge. While he does so, Brainiac offers Clark a chance to explore other planets and possibly create a new Krypton. However, Clark later learns from the AI of Jor-El that Brainiac had invaded Krypton to possess its weapons and natural resources, resulting in the destruction of the planet. Clark figures out that Brainiac is planning to takeover the US military to obtain its weapons.

Just as Brainiac is about to takeover the military, Clark confronts him, resulting in a battle with the two as well as Brainiac's drones. Clark figures out that Brainiac can be stopped by separating him from his ship. By doing so, Brainiac begins to deteriorate and his ship self-destructs. Clark adopts the moniker "Superman" and persuades the government to let him act independently, under the condition he does not turn against humanity. To gain covert access to dangerous situations, he takes a job as a freelance reporter for the Daily Planet.

In a post-credits scene, Lex Luthor is watching footage from Superman's battle with Brainiac on the news.

Cast

 * Matt Bomer as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman
 * Keri Russell as Lois Lane
 * Ed Harris as Vril Dox / Brainiac
 * Chris Cooper as Perry White
 * Jamie Bell as Jimmy Olsen
 * John Malkovich as Emil Hamilton
 * Sam Neill as General Sam Lane
 * William H. Macy as Jonathan Kent
 * Catherine O'Hara as Martha Kent
 * Helena Bonham Carter as Lara Lor-Van
 * Daniel Day-Lewis as Jor-El

Development
In 2001, Warner Bros. wanted to reboot the Superman film series with an origin story and ignore the "Death of Superman" storyline that had been stuck in development limbo through the late 1990s. In May 2002, it was announced that a new Superman film was in development as the second film in the DC Extended Universe. Superman comic-book writer John Byrne wrote the storyline of the film. Mark Andrus was approached to write the screenplay, while J.J. Abrams was considered. David Franzoni was hired to write the screenplay with Byrne at a $1.8 million salary.

Ridley Scott, Ron Howard, Michael Mann, Steven Soderbergh, Alfonso Cuarón, Wolfgang Petersen, Rob Marshall, and Gus Van Sant were all considered to direct the film. Gore Verbinski turned down the job due to his commitment to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Peter Jackson also reportedly turned down the job. Eventually, Marc Forster was hired to direct in 2004.

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Filming
Principal photography began on February 5, 2005. Fox Studios Australia was utilized as a set for Krypton, the oil rig scene, the Kryptonian ship, and Brainiac's ship. The Smallville scenes were filmed in Hutchinson, Kansas. Afterwards, filming moved to Vancouver. Vancouver's North Shore waterfront area was used for the oil rig rescue scene where Superman is first introduced. The Metropolis scenes were filmed in New York City. Principal photography concluded on July 1, 2005.

Man of Tomorrow was shot entirely on the Panaflex Millennium XL2. The film was scanned in 2K with the ARRISCAN and recorded with the ARRILASER.

Design
Rick Carter was hired as the production designer in 2002. The sets were decorated by Debra Schutt.

The skyline of Metropolis was a combination of the skylines of New York City and Toronto. While the skyline in the film shows several Art Deco buildings from New York, iconic buildings like the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building were digitally removed. Toronto's CN Tower was also removed. The Ohio Bell Building in Cleveland, Ohio was modeled for the exterior of the Daily Planet building.

Visual effects
The visuals were created by Weta Digital, Framestore, Industrial Light & Magic, Hydraulx, Look Effects, Blur Studio, Lola, and BUF Compagnie.

Marketing
An 88-second teaser trailer debuted at theatrical screenings of Batman Begins before being released online on July 18, 2005. On November 17, 2005, a second teaser trailer, this one lasting two minutes, aired on The WB during the television premiere of the Smallville episode “Solitude”. The trailer was released online shortly afterwards, and was shown in theaters before Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and King Kong. The trailer was also included on the home video release of Batman Begins. In January 2006, a behind-the-scenes look at the film was released online. At the 2006 WonderCon, the cast hosted a panel where an exclusive look of the film was shown. The third trailer, which was also two minutes, was released online on May 1, 2006. That same day, tickets went on sale.

Warner Bros. made tie-in deals with Burger King, Cingular Wireless, PepsiCo, Kellogg's, Pringles, Mars, and 7-Eleven. Bomer reprised his role as Superman for a Diet Pepsi commercial. In East Asian countries, Superman appeared on Coca-Cola cans. Mattel released a line of action figures and artifacts based on the film. Lego released new Superman sets. Topps released a set of trading cards. Jakks Pacific released a plug-and-play TV game. The film was also advertised with Red Bull Racing Formula One cars at the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix. David Coulthard managed to get the team's first top three finish that day; on the podium, he wore a Superman cape in celebration of his achievement. The day before the film's release, the National Geographic Channel released The Science of Superman: a television special that studied popular science analogies with the Superman mythos.

A tie-in video game was developed by Criterion Games and was released by EA Games on June 20, 2006 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. The game was promoted at the 2006 E3. A Wii port of the game was released on November 19.

Theatrical
The world premiere for Superman: Man of Tomorrow took place on June 18, 2006 at London's Odeon Leicester Square. The next day, the film premiered at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. On June 22, charity premieres for Man of Tomorrow took place in Seattle, New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, Denver, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Miami on June 22, 2006. An additional charity premiere took place in Wichita, Kansas on June 23.

Superman: Man of Tomorrow was released in 15 countries, including North America, European nations (such as Italy and France), the Philippines, Thailand, and China on June 28; 32 countries including the United Kingdom, Mexico, and additional European, Asian, African, South American, and Oceania countries on June 29; and in India, Japan, Spain, and Venezuela on June 30. The film was initially scheduled to be released in North America on June 30.

Home media
Superman: Man of Tomorrow became available on DVD on November 13, 2006 in the UK and November 21, 2006 in the US. The DVD contained a commentary track with Forster and a gag reel, with the double-disc featuring a video of the film premiere and a number of documentaries, including a full-length documentary entitled "The Making of Superman: Man of Tomorrow" and eight featurettes. The DVD also contained trailers for TMNT and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The film was also released in both high-definition formats, HD DVD, which featured both standard and high definitions on the same disc, and Blu-ray. It was the best-selling title on both formats in 2006, and was among the best-sellers of both formats of 2007.

The film was released in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format on July 19, 2016.

Reception
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