Superman: Doomsday Website Launches

The Superman: Doomsday DVD arrives this fall, on September 18th, but the website for the movie has just launched! Alright, I admit, that’s not really news in itself, but what IS news is that there’s a pretty telling, very interesting behind-the-scenes trailer that runs as soon as you enter. You can visit the site here and see the trailer in full. If you want a quick look at some some screencaps and analysis of what was said, then read on after the jump.

First thing you see when you go to the page, the site launches with a quote from Lex Luthor:

As the quote fades, it leads you directly into a behind-the-scenes type of trailer for the movie, featuring interviews with Sander Schwartz (executive producer), Brandon Vietti (director), Duane Capizzi (writer), and of course Bruce Timm (writer/producer/director). The trailer is packed with their thoughts on the story, expressing their excitement with the project and with the story they’re working on. My favorite quote comes from Bruce Timm when he tells us, “This is of course a pretty action-packed, very violent story. This is a story about Superman basically being beaten to death.”

Alongside the talking heads, you can also see a constant stream of storyboard images. They regularly close-up on the storyboards for interesting points, and throughout we get a number of clear looks at Doomsday. Nothing too surprising to anyone that’s ever seen the character in the books, but based on the bodies flying, the tanks, and the explosions, I very much look forward to seeing the monster in motion.

Also, interspersed throughout, we get the occasional line delivered by characters. Though the IMDB listing only has Superman/Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor credited, there were definitely other voices speaking:

Jimmy Olsen: “I’ve never seen Superman take such a pounding…”

Lex Luthor: “We had so much unfinished business … Why did you leave me!? WHY!?”

Most interestingly, there’s one from what I believe is Perry White, with emphasis added: “Superman dead, Superman alive, Superman gone nuts … What the hell is going on!?”

It makes me very curious as to what extent we’ll be seeing “Reign of the Supermen.” Early on in the video, Schwartz offhandedly mention the Death of Superman of books as a “trilogy” – referring of course “The Death of Superman,” “Funeral For A Friend,” and “Reign of the Supermen” – and it leads me to believe that they’re going to run the whole guantlet in this thing. I guess it’s no surprise really; you can’t end a movie with Superman just being dead. I just hope that they’re not trying to do too much in a single story. After all, each of those stories could have been a movie in themselves. And based on what Timm had to say, I can’t help thinking he feels the same way:

“My first thought was, we can’t do that – it’s just too much to do in a movie … My brain was just reeling, because there’s just so much story there.” – Bruce Timm

Well, if it’s going to be done, at least it’s being done his capable hands. If nothing else, this movie looks flat out EXCITING.