One of the best sequences in 2013’s Superman redo Man of Steel was the extended Krypton-set portion of the film.  Director Zack Snyder brought Superman’s home world to life in vivid, thrilling detail, complete with Russell Crowe riding (and jumping off of) a flying dragonbeast.  The superhero genre isn’t only dominating the moviegoing marketplace, but it has now invaded the TV world as well with shows like Arrow, The Flash, and Gotham, and now Syfy is looking to blend the popularity of superheroes with that fantastic Man of Steel sequence in a new Krypton TV series, which will tell the story of Superman’s grandfather.  More after the jump.

We actually first heard about the prospect of a Superman prequel series a month ago, but per THR, the cable network Syfy is officially working with Man of Steel screenwriter David S. Goyer as well as Warner Horizon Television and DC Comics to bring the series Krypton to life.  The idea for the drama is to tell the story of Superman’s grandpa, “as he brings hope and equality to Krypton, turning a planet in disarray into one worthy of giving birth to the greatest superhero ever known.”  Of course the planet will all go to hell in a generation anyway, so it’ll be interesting to see how the show deals with the futility of Grandpa Superman’s idealism.

The show is described as being in the same vein as Fox’s Gotham, which has enjoyed solid ratings since its debut this fall (it remains the silliest show on TV, though it’s certainly fun).  Once Upon a Time and FlashForward alum Ian Goldberg conceived of the story for Krypton with Goyer and he will write the pilot script and executive produce alongside the Man of Steel scribe.  The series is still in the development stage, so it doesn't have a pilot order just yet, but I imagine this will be a priority for Syfy.

Goyer has plenty of experience in the TV realm, having created and acted as showrunner on Starz’s Da Vinci’s Demons for the show’s first two seasons.  He also executive produces NBC’s Constantine.  While the idea of Man of Steel originated with Goyer, his draft for the follow-up Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was significantly reworked by screenwriter Chris Terrio, and he appears to have no further involvement in the DC Movie Universe.  Nevertheless, this new Krypton TV show has serious potential.