'Man Of Steel'
"Man of Steel" will be released on June 14. Warner Brothers

It appears Superman and Clark Kent will get the 21st century film they deserve, come the summer of 2013. Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” is rebooting the franchise and the first full length trailer is set to be released in theaters before “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” on Dec. 14, but it is already available streaming online.

The Warner Bros. film is written and produced by the man behind the “Dark Knight” trilogy, Chriopher Nolan, but this time around it isn’t quite as grounded in reality. For the most part, Batman didn’t come into contact with anything out of this world, some bizarre and unlikely things happened, but the Caped Crusaders last three films were grounded in reality.

Superman is a different kind of hero; he’s an alien with superhuman abilities. The tone is gritty and the movie will bring up questions of human nature, but in the trailer alone fans get a glimpse at an alien spacecraft, as well as Superman taking off into the air like a bird, or maybe a plane.

The focus of the trailer sets Clark Kent up to be on a hunt for acceptance from people. His powers cause people to ostracize him, they’re the reminder of why he’s different, and when he uses them to save a bus of kids from drowning, his father, Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), tells him he has to hide his amazing abilities.

“What was I supposed to do, just let them die?” asks a young Clark Kent. “Maybe,” replies the boy’s adopted human father.

The last time audiences saw Superman on the silver screen was the colorful and ultimately disappointing “Superman Returns.” Knowing that Snyder and Nolan are the creative forces behind Warner Bros. big summer blockbuster should keep fans confident that this time will be different.

Aside from Nolan’s darker perspective on the character, audiences will get the visual styling of Snyder. The director has brought to life such visual marvels as “Watchmen” and “300,” both of which were popularized in part for their aesthetics.

The film is taking an entirely new approach to how the Last Son of Krypton is portrayed, toning down colors and even changing the iconic Superman outfit. For the first time on film, there will be a major difference in how Clark Kent dresses to thwart evildoers: no more red briefs.

This is the first step Warner Bros. is taking toward the DC Cinematic Universe. The premise is similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that brought Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Hulk together from their own films into “The Avengers.”

As of Dec. 11, WB has a “Justice League” crossover film scheduled for a summer 2015 release date, the same scheduled date as Marvel’s “Avengers” sequel. There is no word yet, but rumors have circulated that Joseph Gordon Levitt could take on the role of Batman, though that would contradict the ending of “The Dark Knight Rises.”

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