“X-Men: First Class” and “Layer Cake” filmmaker Matthew Vaughn says he has been in touch with DC Studios chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Speaking with the Happy Sad Confused podcast this week, the filmmaker says that though they have chatted, there are no projects currently on the table for him to direct at DC.
However, he does reveal that both he and his “Kingsman” and “Kick-Ass” creator Mark Millar pitched a new “Superman” trilogy to Warner Bros. Pictures over a decade ago, several years prior to the release of “Man of Steel” in 2013.
He says their pitch boasted a tone akin to Richard Donner’s original 1978 film as opposed to Zack Snyder’s dark and grittier take. He goes on to explain what their version offered:
“I think Donner nailed it. ‘Wonder Woman’ worked very well because it was basically a Donner/Superman film but reimagined as Wonder Woman. I would’ve done a modern version of Donner.
Our big idea was that Krypton doesn’t blow up. It does eventually. The dad was right, but he got his timing wrong. When Superman is grown up, suddenly there’s a mass exodus and all hell breaks loose. That was our main idea.”
Gunn himself is now offering a new take on the last son of Krypton with the upcoming “Superman: Legacy” which will shoot early next year for a July 2025 release. Vaughn says he has one suggestion for a piece of casting that has remained unannounced thus far – Lex Luthor. His pick? His “Kingsman” star Taron Egerton whom he says is a better for the role than he is for Wolverine which he’s been rumored for:
“He’d be better as Lex Luthor. He’d be an amazing Luthor. He shouldn’t be Wolverine. I don’t think he’s right for it. You got to really go back to the comic. Hugh is brilliant as Wolverine, but I’d go back to the what the comics are… [he’s] small, grizzly, tough guy. Hugh has made it so iconic that if you go into that version… no. Taron would make an amazing, intelligent villain.”
Thus the DC Universe is still a possibility for Vaughn, though nothing is there yet. Vaughn’s next film is “Argylle” which opens in cinemas on February 2nd 2024.
