I’ve heard that moviemakers weren’t satisfied with their latest incarnation of Superman “Returns.” There just wasn’t anything super to it. It was juvenile and unoriginal. But one of the greatest weaknesses of the movie is the casting.

No one else I know complained about the casting of Perry White in the film, but I thought he was terrible. “Who’s Perry White?” That should prove my point. He’s the editor in chief of the Daily Planet—Clark Kent’s boss. If you didn’t notice him, it’s because he wasn’t portrayed the way we know Perry White from the Christopher Reeve’s Superman films. That Perry is the true essence of Perry. Get someone like him for the next remake of the story, please?

But what to do with Clark Kent/Superman? In case you’ve had your head buried in the sand, casting Superman in major motion pictures has been a struggle for filmmakers for almost two decades. No director, casting director, or producer could agree. It was remarkable they found Brandon Routh… who, I will say, did as best an imitation of Christopher Reeve one could do. Yes, I actually admire Routh’s attention to the details of Christopher’s Superman performance. I just wish he was less concerned with imitating and finding to true essence of Superman/Kent.

“True essence?” Yeah. I mean, as time has moved on since the Reeve’s 70/80s movies, filmmaking has taught us a lot about superhero movie portrayals. Comics have developed. New legendary stories have been told. Ever heard of the comic artist Alex Ross? Check out his Superman story approach. Again and again, Alex’s work is at the top of popular comics for the past decade. Any time he’s portrayed Superman did any fan complain? Was his portrayal only suitable for a niche of fans? Surprisingly, no. What made his portrayal so good?

First, he went back to the golden age of Superman storytelling for most of his inspiration. Superman is one of the oldest comic book superheroes. As such, there’s something older and wiser to the telling of the classic comics of the 30s-50s. Give Superman this portrayal and he is set apart from all other Superheroes in the movies these days—Superman would regain his rightful originality. So go retro Superman, for one.

Second, I think it’s high time someone made this suggestion. I’m a huge fan of live action. I’d adore a film that found the right screenwriter, director, essential cast, and music composer (John Williams) to retell Superman, but I think my hopes are too high. Getting all of these things is a challenge. What with people’s expectations of Superman being so high (he’s practically our human ideal of a modern savior) I think we should take a ‘novel’ approach.

Here it is: Find a full-fledged live action cast, then make Superman CGI. Make him the most remarkable Computer animated live action representation imaginable. Make him look like no other man. Put no actor in Superman’s boots. Let Superman truly be represented as a figment of the imagination and like no real man (actor). Let him be set apart in likeness so he’s truly the one and only. Of course, make him believable and uncanny. Make him surreal. Make him the ideal and ‘perfect.’ Okay, that’s my suggestion.

If it could be pulled off (in sort of a Benjamin Button live/CGI sort of way) Superman could be truly remarkable. He’d meet our childlike expectations, right? Right.