The studio, meanwhile, is struggling to lower the budget -- which one informed source says started at well over $200 million. (That staggering figure would make ''Superman'' one of the most expensive movies ever, and that's not counting all of the development costs -- pay-or-play deals with Nicolas Cage and director Tim Burton made way back in the '90s, sets, script revisions -- that the studio has already incurred.) While mounting a production of this scale sounds daunting, the potential rewards are immense: Ever since Burton's ''Batman'' earned $251 million in 1989, Warner has made a booming business out of franchises. ''The Matrix,'' ''Terminator,'' and ''Harry Potter'' all fall under its gilded umbrella, and ''Ocean's Eleven'' and ''Scooby-Doo'' -- both of which have sequels in the works -- are soon to follow. Behind the leadership of president Alan Horn (and executive VP Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who resigned on Sept. 3, 2002) the studio has successfully staked everything on building tent poles and exploiting the myriad revenue streams they offer.
''We are committed to not only making the best movie possible, but to meeting the expectations of the fans,'' says Warner Bros. president of production Jeff Robinov. ''Putting together a movie of this size is complicated and you have to go through a process that takes time. But we'd rather take the time and do full justice to the legacy of 'Superman' than rush our decisions based on some arbitrary timetable.''
In other words, don't expect the studio to throw in the towel. And why would it? Done right, a franchise can mean everything: ''Spider-Man,'' for example, counted for a quarter of Sony's record-breaking domestic gross last year. ''We're set to start production in August,'' confirms executive producer Andrew Davis. ''We're still on track for a summer 2004 release. We just need our Superman.'' But who knew resolving that little detail would be even harder than leaping a building in a single bound? (Additional reporting by Nancy Miller and Brian M. Raftery)
Red Light, Green Light
Why has ''Superman'' plagued Warner Bros. like so much kryptonite? You don't need to be Brainiac to figure it out. Here is an at-a-glance recap.
1993 Six years after the last Christopher Reeve ''Superman'' film, Warner buys back the franchise rights.
1993-1997 Four screenwriters -- including ''Clerks'' writer-director Kevin Smith -- are hired to take whacks at the script.
1998 Warner greenlights ''Superman Lives'' with Tim Burton and Nicolas Cage, only to pull the plug in late 1998.
2001 Andrew Kevin Walker (''Seven'') turns in a draft of ''Batman vs. Superman''; by 2002 Wolfgang Petersen signs on.
2002 Warner opts for J.J. Abrams' ''Superman'' instead, with Brett Ratner directing and Anthony Hopkins as Jor-El.
2003 Josh Hartnett turns down the lead role, but Ratner says he's still ready to go. Who will be his Man of Steel?
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