Man Of Steel

As The Dark Knight Rises wrapped up one blockbuster DC superhero franchise this weekend, it also teased its greatest hope for the next, packaging several showings with the above preview for Man Of Steel. The clip for Zack Snyder's slow-motion stab at Superman certainly plays up its connection to producer Christopher Nolan, mirroring the somber mood of his Batman trilogy and the coy reveal of the original Batman Begins teaser. But there isn't too much else yet that hints at his and Snyder's true vision for rebooting the franchise: Set to a doleful soundtrack lifted from Lord Of The Rings, this is a Terrence Malick-y montage of Americana that wouldn't be out of place in a political ad, full of dandelion fields and fluttering clotheslines, fishermen working the coastline and caped boys at play, while Russell Crowe's Jor-El offers promises of greatness via voiceover. (You can hear similar fatherly platitudes from Clark Kent's Earth-dad, Kevin Costner, in this alternate trailer.) Meanwhile, Henry Cavill remains a bearded and bedraggled mystery until the final, somewhat underwhelming reveal of his true identity. The film, of course, is still a year away, leaving plenty of time for Snyder to wow with another trailer (and arguably, he's better at making those than actual movies). But Superman is already angling for your vote.