This week on The Collision, we talk about Man of Steel, its strengths, its flaws, implications for the sequel, finding the core of superhero characters, how far you can stray from the comics, “Marvel movies vs. DC Films”, and much more.  As always we finish up with our recommendations.

Click here to listen to the new episode of The Collision, click here for the previous episode (“Game of Thrones“), click here to add the podcast to your RSS, and click here to find us on iTunes. To keep up to date with The Collision, you can follow us on Twitter at @MattGoldberg, @AdamChitwood, and @DrClawMD (Dave Trumbore). Hit the jump to check out the trailers for this week’s recommendations.

There’s been a lot of talk about Man of Steel‘s conclusion.  A large portion of the discussion has been around how Zod and Superman’s fight levels Metropolis, and while that makes for a great action scene, it also raises questions about Supes’ responsibility in the implicit deaths of Metropolis citizens caught in the chaos.  That climactic battle didn’t cause any disagreement among writer David S. Goyer, director Zack Snyder, and producer Christopher Nolan.  What did cause some dissent was the scene that followed.

Hit the jump for how the filmmakers talked through Superman’s difficult decision, and to read the negative reaction from Superman: Birthright author Mark Waid.  [Spoilers ahead, obviously]

Judging by the film’s swell box office success, a vast majority of the moviegoing public saw Man of Steel this past weekend.  Response to director Zack Snyder’s take on the legendary superhero has been decidedly all over the map, but it certainly seems like this iteration of Superman—and possibly that larger DC Comics Movie Universe—is here to stay.  Snyder and writer David S. Goyer have already been enlisted to tackle a fast-tracked Man of Steel sequel, and that film will pave the way for Justice League and further DC comics adaptations, including Wonder Woman and Aquaman films that Warner Bros. is reportedly revving up.

During their numerous interviews on the Man of Steel press tour, Snyder and Goyer have made no secret of the fact that the world of Man of Steel is not exclusive to Superman—other superheroes exist in the same universe.  This is Warner Bros.’ answer to Marvel’s incredibly lucrative series of films, and Snyder and Goyer went so far as to include a number of Easter Eggs and hints at other DC characters within Man of Steel itself as a tease of what’s to come.  In case you missed some of these quick geek-friendly references, hit the jump to read a comprehensive roundup. [Warning: Spoilers Ahead]

This summer offers five superhero movies.  Such is common now, but the Comic Book Age is still a relatively recent phenomenon in cinema, one that traces its roots back to 1978.  Superheroes had appeared on the big screen before, but 1978′s Superman established the template for how to make a big superhero blockbuster.  The sequels ran the franchise into the ground over the next decade, by which point Batman took over the reins in 1989.  After a false start with Superman Returns in 2006, Warner Bros. is pulling out all the stops to revive the character with Man of Steel.  I try to capture that journey with Superman by the Numbers, a feature that provides a numbers-based snapshot of each Superman movie and its place in the filmography by looking at the box office, critical reception, and miscellaneous facts.

Hit the jump for a comprehensive review of Superman, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Superman Returns, and Man of Steel.

Was there really a chance of writing about something other than Man of Steel in this week’s opening paragraph? Well, maybe. I did really enjoy This Is the End. But, alas, this week is about Supes’ return to the big screen. I watched the film (in 2D) for the first time last night and, as far as superhero movies go, it elicited an emotional response from me that few in the genre have. Sure, there were times where the grand scale of destruction left me cold and the product placement took me out of the moment (if only to admire some beautiful appliances meeting their untimely demise). Nevertheless, the themes of love, sacrifice, acceptance, and trust were beautifully woven into the film’s text in such a way that it made me do something I’ve only done one other time (while reading Grant Morrison‘s excellent All-Star Superman run): become emotionally invested in the Man of Steel.

While this is undoubtedly Kal-El’s weekend, in addition to Man of Steel interviews and more, this week’s Top 5 also includes the first teaser trailer and poster for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, This Is the End interviews with Seth Rogen and more, the new Elysium trailer, and a recap of E3 2013 from the convention floor. Learn more about all of the above via a link and brief recap after the jump.

With Man of Steel now playing around the world, I figure it’s finally time to post my exclusive video interview with director Zack Snyder.  As most of you already know, I think Man of Steel is one of the best superhero movies ever made and one of the best films of the year.  And while I hate watching the box office for any movie, I’ll admit I’m following the worldwide grosses because I desperately want a sequel and a Justice League movie.

During the interview, Snyder talked about the length of the first cut, deleted scenes, whether he will release an extended edition on Blu-ray, Easter Eggs, how he thinks they need to make another Superman movie before Justice League, and more.  Hit the jump to either read or watch what he had to say.

Superman is up, up, and away at the box office.  Man of Steel, Warner Bros’ revitalized take on the character, raked in $21 million at the box office on Thursday, which includes $9 million from midnight showings and $12 million from those 7pm “advanced screenings” that were sold exclusively through Walmart.  While the increased frequency of earlier Thursday night showings starting at 7pm and running every half hour has somewhat muddled the ability to compare “midnight” takes on blockbuster films, Man of Steel’s $21 million Thursday gross ranks at number 7 among late show records, standing above Iron Man 3’s $15.6 million take but below The Dark Knight Rises’ $30.6 million Thursday gross.  Hit the jump for more.

It’s finally here, folks.  It’s been seven years since Superman last graced the silver screen, and after countless set photos, rumors, images, posters, and trailers, director Zack Snyder’s new film Man of Steel is finally in theaters for all the world to see.  I enjoyed the film quite a lot, myself.  Snyder wows with genuinely awe-inspiring visuals and action sequences, but the film also packs a surprising emotional punch that is buoyed by truly stellar performances from the entire cast.  Matt has already posted his review and Steve has been raving about the pic basically non-stop, but now we’d like to hear from you, dear readers.  Was Man of Steel everything you hoped it would be?  What did you think of Snyder’s take on the character?  Was Henry Cavill the right guy to bring this new Superman to life?  Where do you want to see things go in the sequel?

We welcome you to sound off in the comments section, where healthy and spirited debate is greatly encouraged.  After the jump, you’ll also find links to plenty of interviews and Man of Steel-related material that we have posted in the past, which you might find more relevant or interesting now that you’ve seen the film.  Up, up, and away!

One of the most highly anticipated summer blockbusters is Man of Steel, which takes the Superman story back to its origins, in a fresh and more grounded way. When the young Kal-El/Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth, he struggles with becoming the hero that he’s destined to be. From director Zack Snyder, screenwriter David S. Goyer and producer Christopher Nolan, the film also stars Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne.

At the film’s press junket, producer Charles Roven spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about how much the story changed from the first script to what we see now, what made him most nervous about the script, casting actors at the highest caliber of talent, how Man of Steel compared to other big-budget films that he’s done, that he stays involved through the entire production process, and whether or not he’s interested in an inevitable DC Universe film.  He also talked about what it will take to make a kick-ass video game movie, and that he hopes Warcraft (which starts shooting in February 2014) will be it.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

If you’re a fan of Mondo posters but always fail at landing something on the drop (the term for when a poster is made available to purchase), I’ve got some fantastic news for you.  Mondo is releasing some incredible posters by Ken Taylor and Martin Ansin for Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel, and one of them is being offered as a timed release!  That means you’ll have three days to purchase the poster.  The last time they offered a timed release was Olly Moss‘ poster for The Dark Knight Rises last summer and they sold almost ten thousand.  I fully expect the Ansin poster to sell double that.  Not only because the poster is one of the best that Mondo has ever released, but also because after you see the movie this weekend, you’ll absolutely want to hang it on your wall.

As I’ve said many times on Twitter, Man of Steel is one of the best superhero films I’ve ever seen and easily one of the best films of the year.  Hit the jump to check out the incredible posters and for more info on how to buy them.

This Friday, Zack Snyder‘s new take on Superman’s origin, Man of Steel, will hit screens and run 143 minutes.  But if you need your Superman origin story to run for 11520 minutes, you can pick up Amazon’s Gold Box Deal of the Day, Smallville: The Complete Series for $114.99 (66% off).  I only watched the first few seasons of the series before it was clear that they were struggling to find new plotlines, but I will say I really enjoyed Michael Rosenbaum‘s performance as a young Lex Luthor.  Like all Gold Box deals, it’s only good while supplies last or until midnight tonight.  Click here to buy.

Note: Collider earns a small referral fee when our readers purchase something on Amazon through one of our links. The money generated helps pay our staff and keep the site running. Thank you for reading and supporting Collider.

Who is Superman?  Is he Kal-El, the Last Son of Krypton?  Or is he Clark Kent, the adopted child of Smallville farmers?  Is it even a choice?  Can’t he both?  Superman has been dismissed as the “blue boy scout” by those who aren’t willing to take the time to consider his fascinating origin.  He’s an immigrant from a destroyed planet, he’s the loneliest guy in the world, he’s an outsider, and he’s humanity’s shining beacon even though he’s not human.  He’s the best of both worlds, and arguably belongs to neither.  Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel tries to get to the heart of this conflict, but ends up missing the heart of Superman.  Almost everything that surrounds the character is amazing from the set pieces to the restructured origin story to the score to the acting to his path before putting on the cape.  But inside the iconic suit, there is no Superman.

With Man of Steel opening next week, Warner Bros. recently held a huge press junket here in Los Angeles where I was able to interview producer Deborah Snyder.  During the extended conversation, she talked about the last few weeks, what they learned from the friends and family screenings, deleted scenes, how long was the first cut, and respecting the Superman canon while still making slight changes.  She also talked about what will be on the Man of Steel Blu-ray, could it have an extended cut, how one of the key fights in the movie almost didn’t happen, IMAX, were they ever going to shoot in 3D rather than post-convert,  and more.  Finally, I also asked her, “when you guys delivered the rough cut to Warner Bros. and they saw it, was it in the room they offered you Justice League.”  Hit the jump to watch or read what she had to say.

I think we can all agree Hans Zimmer is one of the best composers in Hollywood.  If you look over his incredible thirty-year resume on IMDb, you’ll see a wide variety of amazing work across every genre.  However, while he’s done fantastic work over his entire career, his score for Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel is easily one of my favorites.  Like every great piece of music, it helps tell the story and makes you feel for the characters you’re watching.  Trust me, after you’ve  seen Man of Steel, you’ll be buying the soundtrack.

At the recent Los Angeles press day, I landed an extended interview with Zimmer.  During our wide ranging conversation he talked about his love for John Williams and how nervous he was to tackle Superman, he tells a great story about how he got involved with the project in the first place, he talks about his writing process, which piece of music he struggled with the most, some of the great people that he collaborated with on the soundtrack, and more.  In addition, he reveals he’s writing the score for Christopher Nolan‘s Interstellar, talks about his work on Ron Howard‘s Rush, and shows us around the Eastwood Scoring Stage on the WB lot.  Hit the jump to either read or watch the interview.

Warner Bros. has released a new, final theatrical trailer for director Zack Snyder’s highly anticipated Man of Steel.  There are bits and pieces of new footage here but it’s mostly stuff we’ve seen before.  The main reason to watch the trailer is to hear Hans Zimmer’s fantastic score set against images from the film, which take on a more foreboding tone along with a warning from Russell Crowe’s Jor-El.  One more week, folks!

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Antje Traue, Michael Shannon, and Laurence Fishburne.  Man of Steel opens in 3D on June 14th.