Animated Superman to make leap to DVDs
Batman and Superman are no strangers to the big screen, but their animated counterparts have yet to step in the limelight. This September, comic-giant DC Comics will be changing its path by releasing its first animated movie, Superman Doomsday, based on the 1993 storyline involving the man of steel.
The expansion to DVD was announced in a Saturday DC panel at WonderCon, the largest comic convention in Northern California. Dan Didio, senior vice president and executive editor of the DC Universe, was joined by Gregory Noveck, senior vice president of Creative Affairs at DC Comics, as well as DC animator/producer Bruce Timm.
In the comic book universe, the Superman-Doomsday showdown is one of the biggest battles in history. The animated movie claims to chronicle the fight between the two in Metropolis, which ultimately leads to the death of Superman and Doomsday. Superman No. 75, "The Death of Superman," was one of the most publicized comic books in history. Estranged comic readers were once again interested, making Superman No. 75 one of the most printed comic books in history.
"We wanted to honor the tone of the original comic book more than anything," Noveck said. Since Superman Doomsday is one of DC's most memorable comics, it is a logical move for it to be the first release.
Each film will have a feature-length running time and will be rated PG-13. "There were times when we were making the film and thought things 'looked too kiddy,'" Timm said. "We had to remember to kick things up a notch since it's aimed at a larger, older audience."
The next release under the DC animation banner will be DC: The New Frontier. This film will supposedly have a different look than "Superman Doomsday," as the original comic book is from the 1950s. In addition, the characters for the New Frontier will be redesigned to be more applicable to the times. The third film slated for production is The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, which is projected to be out in 2008. There was no mention of whether DC will embrace Blu-ray or HD DVD, or stick with the original DVD format.