With DC Comics rebranding itself as DC Entertainment recently, many anticipated a slew of movie announcements and the like to emerge after the deed was done. One such update we hoped for was what plans the company had for Superman. Many hoped the franchise would get a reboot, or at the very least a sequel to Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns.  It should be noted at this point that while Superman Returns faced lackluster reviews, I for one liked it. Well, an update actually did come, and the news isn’t good.

DC Entertainment’s Diane Nelson told MTV:

“We actually don’t have any current plans for Superman,” said Nelson when asked if the new environment (and the recent legal decision regarding the character) made a “Superman” movie more or less likely in the near future… We’ve obviously done a lot of great things behind the property in our history, and it’s a key part of the family, but we don’t have current plans behind Superman,” she said.

No current plans? Nelson, and DC collectively, have to be aware of the recent lawsuit they lost which means they could lose all control over Superman by 2013 if they don’t do something with the property, right? Sure, this could be media spin and development is, in fact, underway. But what if it’s not?

If a project doesn’t start shooting by early 2010, it seems unlikely DC will able to bring a new Superman film to the big screen in time to satisfy their contract. Even more unsettling is the possibility that DC could lose the Superman rights in their entirety and the new Disney/Marvel giant could scoop them up. Welcome to “Bizarro World.”

The big changes to the entertainment landscpe continue. Previously, we brought you news that Disney was buying Marvel and now, its a new week and a brand new deal. This time around, news is out that Warner Bros. has decided that DC Comics needs its own shingle and so has decided to give it one, in the brand new form of DC Entertainment.

According to Warner Bros., the newly formed company will “fully realize the power and value of the DC Comics brand and characters across all media and platforms.” It will be run by Diane Nelson, former head of the Warner Premiere division of the company. Obviously, she’s pretty excited about her new job.

“The founding of DC Entertainment fully recognizes our desire to provide both the DC properties and fans the type of content that is only possible through a concerted cross-company, multi-platform effort,” said Nelson.

“DC Entertainment will help us to formally take the great working relationships between DC Comics and various Warner Bros. businesses to the next level in order to maximize every opportunity to bring DC’s unrivalled collection of titles and characters to life.”

Sounds good to me. But you have to wonder what this means for comics? And for movies and TV based on comics? Whatever they are trying to do here, I sure hope they can pull it off. As with the Marvel deal, there’s a long history of great characters at DC that deserve the best treatment they can get. I hope this is the way they end up getting it.

For the complete scoop, check out all the details via the Warner Bros. official release after the break.

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