Zack Snyder Talks Superman’s Briefs, ‘Man of Steel’ Realism And Hints At ‘Justice League’ Movie

Next year's Man of Steel movie won't just feature a return to the big screen for DC Entertainment's Superman, it'll feature a more grounded version of the character that just might also launch the much-anticipated Justice League movie franchise for Warner Bros. Director Zack Snyder and star Henry Cavill have been talking about what to expect from the 2013 summer blockbuster, as well as what happened to Superman's red underwear.In a piece appearing in the New York Post, Snyder said that the new movie was definitely a reboot for the character, as opposed to a continuation of previous movies including 2006's Superman Returns. "We've tried to approach this as through there's never been a Superman movie before, but at the same time respecting the canon and mythology," he said, adding that "there are the pillars that you have to respect, and I'm not about to break them. But it is fun for me to bend them and mess with them."

Amongst that "bending"? The movie's realism, which Cavill believes is a necessity to widening the movie's appeal. "Traditional Superman fans know what it's all about, and they will hopefully love and associate with the character anyway," he said, "but the people who aren't die-hard Superman fans still need to associate with the character, and that needs to have some realism in today's world, certainly, in sense of a science as opposed to mythology attached to it as well." Thank producer Christopher Nolan for that approach, says Snyder: "There's a logic and concreteness that has to exist with Chris," he said. "You can't just do stuff because it's cool. He demands that there be story and character behind all of it, which I'm a big fan of."

Something else that Snyder is a fan of, somewhat surprisingly, is the traditional Superman outfit. The version that appears in the movie bears a resemblance to Jim Lee's New 52 redesign, but Snyder said that he "tried like crazy to keep the red briefs on him" despite many arguing against the look. "The costume was a big deal for me, and we played around [with it] for a long time... Everyone else said 'You can't have the briefs on him.' I looked at probably 1,500 versions of the costume with the briefs on." The final version, he explains, is "very modern, but the relationship to the original costume is strong."

Enough of all of that, of course; what you really want to know about is, is Superman the only Justice League member to make an appearance in Man of Steel...? Snyder is somewhat mum on the idea. "I don't know how 'Justice League' is going to be handled," he told the NY Post. "Honestly, I don't. But 'Man of Steel' exists, and Superman is in it. I don't know how you'd move forward without acknowledging that." When asked directly about whether or not he's talked to Warner Bros about the movie's place in building a bigger DC Movie Universe, he said candidly "How can I answer that? I can't really say anything to that, because that's a big spoiler. I will say, yeah, they trust me to keep them on course."

Start your speculation engines about what that might mean. You have until June 14 next year, when the movie is released, to figure out who or what we should expect to glimpse at some point unexpectedly.