A former Marvel franchise director has volunteered to take up the heavy burden of directing "Man of Steel 2," following Warner Bros. decision to delay plans for the Superman sequel until the next Comic-Con in July.
Steven S. DeKnight, notable for being an episode director and showrunner of Netflix "Daredevil" series, is hoping that he gets a chance to direct the tricky sequel. This makes DeKnight one of the many contenders vying for the helm of the yet-to-be officiated "Man of Steel 2," among Matthew Vaughn. More importantly, DeKnight also had a hand in "Smallville," which is essentially a prequel television series about Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman before he became a superhero.
With that said, despite DeKnight's interest in assuming the helm for "Man of Steel 2," the director stated that he preferred Zack Snyder to be the director for the sequel since Snyder also directed the first film back in 2013. It seems DeKnight's wishful thinking for the director role for "Man of Steel 2" has stirred up quite a storm in the fan base, which left a lot of people even more excited.
DeKnight had to quell the hype in stating that he would still step aside for Snyder should the latter be willing. Otherwise, DeKnight is simply open to opportunities.
It is worth noting that DeKnight is also the director for the much-awaited sequel for "Pacific Rim," and he has just finished the production for the said sequel. Should "Pacific Rim 2" prove to be a hit, DeKnight's standing among the candidates for director for "Man of Steel 2" might improve, as Vaughn is the chief choice right now among Warner Bros. slate.
The problem with "Man of Steel 2" began after the devastating critical and box office reception for "Justice League," where expectations were not met and even fell short of DC extended universe's (DCEU) other supposedly smaller films like "Wonder Woman" and "Batman V Superman." This makes any future venture of DC and its license holder Warner Bros. quite delicate since any step in the wrong direction could cost the franchise.
At the moment, no expected production or release dates for "Man of Steel 2" have been announced, but predictions point to 2020 or 2021 premieres.
