Bryan Singer's adaptation of Superman was met with a mixed response, both from critics and fans alike.

On one hand "Superman Returns" was a sequel to the 1970's movies starring Christopher Reeve, pleasing fans of those movies. But on the other, some believe the film was bogged down with what came before instead of being a new and exciting take on the classic DC hero.

Zack Snyder's upcoming adaptation won't be following in the footsteps of "Superman Returns" and instead his vision will have the hero will be more in line with "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight."

"Literally, the one thing that everyone can start to think about is that we’re making a movie that finally goes with the approach that there’s been no other Superman movies,” Snyder told the LA Times. "Batman Begins has that structure, that canon that we know about and respect, but on the other hand there’s this approach that pre-supposes that there haven’t been any other movies. In every aspect of design and of story, [our Superman] is very much from that perspective.”

So far, the only casting news for the movie (currently using the tagline "The Man Of Steel") is Henry Cavill as Clark Kent and Diane Lane as Martha Kent but rumors are swirling that Kevin Costner, Viggo Mortensen, Ros Pike, Alice Eve and Diane Kruger are being considered for roles in the movie. And, to stop unauthorized photographs leaking early, Snyder is planning on releasing an image of the new Superman suit very soon.

But is Snyder worried about being seen as a sequel to "Superman Returns?"

"We're not afraid of that at all," he said. "Our Superman's got things to figure out, but he's a real physical cat."

The biggest problem he has though is in breaking through the ideas fans will hold on to as being part of the Superman legacy. Its small-screen counterpart, "Smallville," has faced the same problem over the years with fans of the franchise seeing some of its creative decisions as a breach of the original canon and for some of the stories being too dark to be part of the Superman saga.

However, "The Man Of Steel" aims to break down those barriers and offer a compeltely different interpretation of the hero.

"We're in virgin territory," Snyder enthuses. "In some ways Superman is the most recognizable superhero on the planet but also the most unknown. Just what can he be? People have preconceived ideas about him but probably all of them are wrong."

"The Man Of Steel" will be released December 2012.