New York Magazine’s Vulture has learned that the story will follow Clark Kent, a journalist traveling the world “trying to decide if he should, in fact, even become Superman.” Sounds like an interesting take on the material, right?

And it certainly speaks to some of Goyer’s previously spoken concerns over the character. But it does sound like another dramaticly centered character storyline, and the main criticism of Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns was that it didn’t have enough action. And why hire Zack Snyder if it isn’t going to be the complete opposite of Singer’s Superman, really? Who kows, that logline might just be the starting point.

The pitch isn’t too far off from a twelve-issue comic book limited series called Superman: Birthright DC Comics released in 2003 and 2004. Written by Mark Waid and drawn by Leinil Francis Yu, the story attempted to retell the Superman origin story for the 21st century. In the story. Clark Kent is a freelance reporter in his early twenties, traveling the world to cover news stories. While covering an ethnic conflict between the fictional Ghuri and Turaaba clans in West Africa, he is forced to use his super powers to attain a fleeing assassin. This results in Kent returning to Smallville to learn more about his alien heritage and make the decision to become Superman.

Vulture also reports some troubling news: the reason Warner Bros. supposedly picked Snyder for Man of Steel is that David Goyer’s script is a bit of a mess as it was rushed, and Snyder is looked at a man who can get the movie completed for 2012. You see, the studio doesn’t have time to go through extensive rewrites as they need to get a new Superman movie in production by 2011 or they’ll lose the rights to make said film.

Warner Brothers and DC comics have lost a little bit of Superman, and could lose him completely come 2013. Judge Stephen Larson has given Superman's co-creator Jerry Siegel rights to additional works in the franchise, including the first two weeks of the daily Superman newspaper comic strip and early issues of both Action Comics and Superman comics. According to Variety, this means that the Siegel estate now owns the rights to all depictions of Superman's origins from the planet Krypton, his parents Jor-L and Lora, Superman as the infant Kal-L, and the launching of the infant Superman into space by his parents as Krypton explodes and his landing on Earth in a fiery crash.

What this means for Warner Brothers and DC Comics is that they've lost a little more control over certain aspects of the Superman character. DC still owns other important elements like Superman's ability to fly, the term kryptonite, the Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White characters, Superman's vision powers and expanded origins. The main point to this lawsuit is figuring out how much the Siegels are owed from profits WB and DC collected from Superman since 1999, when the heirs legally took back half of the Superman copyright.

In order to get a new Superman or even Justice League film featuring the superhero off the ground, Warner Brothers and DC will have to get the project into production by 2011.

With Zack Snyder confirmed to direct Superman, questions about the film have turned to other topics: who will star, and what will the film be about? The second question has a vague answer now, as Mr. Snyder has said that the film is not a remake or based on any particular comic, and will feature the character’s early days.

The director talked to the French site Films Actu, and a translation of the printed comments says:

As I have already explained, the film will focus on early days of Superman, so there will be no links with other films. This is not a remake then. Similarly, although I still can not talk about the script, I can assure you that this new Superman will not be based on a comic book in particular.

So does this mean (groan) we’re in for another telling of the origin, or is the idea more to take the same path that Sony is taking with Spider-Man and cast a bit younger, to hopefully pull in a young audience? And by early days is this Smallville-type stuff, or looking into the character’s first years in Metropolis?

We don’t know, but there have been comments from the director that an appearance by Superman II villain General Zod is just a rumor.

And with respect to the last man to play Superman, Brandon Routh, Zack Snyder said that the actor was unlikely to return. But when AICN talked to the actor a few months back he said he’d been contacted by Legendary and was starting to train again. This is before Mr. Snyder was tapped to direct, so it’s possible that things have changed, but at that point the actor seemed to want the role. (Surprise.) If the idea is to go with a younger version of the character, however, a recast will almost certainly take place. So why hasn’t the inevitable “Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. wants…” shortlist been leaked yet?