A surprise fan film starring The Man of Steel has a new trailer and an interesting backstory. US Army veteran and accomplished content creator Andrew List of A-List Productions went into production on his crowdfunded vision for the American icon, Superman: Solar, last year, and it should see a release of some kind this year.
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On the Indiegogo page, List explained his passion for Superman’s heroism. “Superman has always been important in my life and he’s always been my favorite character in any media. What has always drawn me to the character goes beyond the powers and abilities. It’s his humanity, he chooses to live as one of us to understand our problems…and cares all the same,’’ he said.
“While he does large-scale things like saving earth from alien invasions, he’s also that same guy who stops to help you change your bike tire on the side of the road,’’ he added. “That’s what I’ve always loved about Superman.’’
List also dismisses the idea the Kryptonian would be a tyrant like Homelander or his Red Son variant.
“He’s this guy who, if he wanted to, could be an Omni-Man, Homelander or ‘Superman: Red Son.’ He could be a tyrant and force people to do his bidding, but he chooses to live among us,’’ he said to ComicBookMovie. “He chooses to be stuck in traffic. He chooses to have a regular job. He chooses to relate to…things that make us human…”
He continued with CBM, “That’s what’s always been Superman’s greatest thing to me…As humans, we often will look at a situation and say, ‘Not my problem.’ But Superman never has that outlook and it’s something that I think we can all strive to try to be better at.’’
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That might not fit with the times but List laid out a scene to explain his approach: “There’s a point where he tells Lois Lane that he’s here to do what’s right, to which she asks who decides what’s right? He says, ‘Well, I do, Ms. Lane,’ which leads her to ask him if that means he’s going to be a tyrant.’’
He continues, “He replies, ‘No, but I want my decisions to be my own. If I make the wrong ones, I’m the one that’s going to be responsible for that. I don’t want someone telling me what to do and I don’t want somebody else making those decisions for me.’ Obviously I’m paraphrasing, but the idea is that everybody’s entitled to their opinion.’”
“Not everybody will love Superman because that’s the reality of this day and age, but that doesn’t ever sway Superman himself,’’ List adds. “What makes him Superman to me is that regardless of whether or not people are saying, ‘I don’t like this guy doing what he’s doing,’ he’s still there to say, ‘I’m here to do what’s right.’’
He continued, “I’m still here to help somebody get a cat out of a tree and I’m still here to stop that asteroid from striking Earth.’” List wanted to put his ideal Superman on screen but also took inspiration from All-Star Superman, Superman Grounded, and Max Fleischer for the design.
Playing Kal-El/Clark is Glenn Kiil, a friend List met in the service. Machelle Noel plays Lois Lane and Mike Newton will be Jonathan ‘Pa’ Kent. Aaron Smolinski is also part of the cast in an unnamed role albeit he appears to be Lux Luthor in the trailer.
What do you make of List’s pitch for this upcoming Superman fan film?
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