WARNER Bros. Pictures is entrusting two of its signature superheroes, Superman and Batman, to the care of director Wolfgang Petersen, who is developing what he promises will be a “battle of the titans” titled Batman vs. Superman.

    The movie will follow Superman and Batman as they join forces to battle as-yet-to-be-determined villains. Along the way, however, the two A-list superheroes wind up butting heads over their varying approaches to crime fighting. “They are the bright and dark side, which essentially is two sides of the same coin. That is the principle of the movie, which reflects what life is all about,” filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen tells the Hollywood Reporter. “Superman stands for what is powerful, clear, bright, noble and just; Batman is dark, obsessive and vengeful. Because they are so different, they will inevitably end up clashing. It will be a battle of the titans.” Petersen, whose credits include The Perfect Storm, Air Force One, The Neverending Story and Das Boot, has been tapped to direct the project. The director says he will begin the casting search for both superheroes, as well as three female leads, within the coming weeks. Don’t expect George Clooney, Val Kilmer or Michael Keaton to be asked to reprise the role of the Dark Knight. Petersen says he wants to go the route of Spider-Man and pick a less conventional actor to don the tights. “We are not going to go with typical action stars, but great actors who will do an action-oriented part,” he explains in the Hollywood Reporter. The filmmaker tells Daily Variety that a good fit would be someone like Matt Damon, who, Petersen says, makes “an interesting action man and [is] a hell of an actor.” Warner Bros. and Petersen see Superman vs. Batman as resurrecting two once mighty franchises. Superman has been dormant since Christopher Reeve last wore the suit in the 1987 bomb Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and the Batman series flamed out with 1997’s Batman and Robin. Petersen says he was drawn to the project after reading an “amazing” script by Andrew Kevin Walker. “They both go through some kind of a crisis,” Petersen tells the Hollywood Reporter. “Superman has an unwavering belief in what is right and wrong, and it’s just not that simple anymore in today’s world, while Batman is on a path of self-destruction. He reacts to an act of incredible violence in a way that almost puts him over the edge.” With the monster success of Marvel’s X-Men and Spider-Man at the box office, Warner Bros. has been scrambling faster than a speeding bullet to get its DC Comics characters back on the big screen. (Both Warner Bros. and DC Comics are owned by AOL Time Warner.) The film is expected to start shooting in early 2003 and hit theaters as early as 2004. (SD-Agencies)