Superman Returns (2006) is based on the DC
Comics character Superman and serves as a homage sequel to the motion
pictures Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), ignoring the events
of Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).
The film stars Brandon Routh as Clark Kent/Superman, Kate Bosworth as
Lois Lane, Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, with James Marsden, Frank
Langella, and Parker Posey. The film tells the story of the title
character returning to Earth after a five-year absence. He finds that
his love interest Lois Lane has moved on with her life, and that his
archenemy Lex Luthor is plotting a scheme that will destroy Superman
and the world.
After a series of unsuccessful projects to
resurrect Superman on the screen, Warner Bros. hired Bryan Singer to
direct and develop Superman Returns in July 2004. Those unmade and
abandoned projects were:
Superman V
Before the failure of Superman IV: The
Quest for Peace, Cannon Films considered producing a fifth film with
Albert Pyun as director. Cannon's bankruptcy resulted in the film
rights reverting to Ilya and Alexander Salkind. Ilya Salkind wrote
the story for Superman V (also known as Superman: The New Movie) with
Superboy writers Cary Bates and Mark Jones in the early-1990s. The
story had Superman dying and resurrecting in the shrunken, bottled
Krypton city of Kandor. The premise of Superman's death and rebirth
coincidentally predated the comic book story "The Death of
Superman". Salkind, Bates and Jones developed two drafts of the
script, with Christopher Reeve set to reprise the title role.
Superman Reborn
With
the success of "The Death of Superman" comic book
storyline, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights of Superman from
the Salkinds in early 1993, handing the project to producer Jon
Peters. The studio did not want to use Superman: The New Movie, and
Peters hired Jonathan Lemkin to write a new script. Warner Bros.
instructed Lemkin to write the new Superman film for mainstream
audiences, a style for the MTV Generation of the 1990s. The
additional family film approach would add to Superman's toyetic
appeal, similar to Batman Forever. Major toy companies insisted on
seeing Lemkin's screenplay before the deadline of the 1993 American
International Toy Fair.
Lemkin's script, titled Superman Reborn,
featured Lois Lane and Clark Kent with relationship troubles, and
Superman's battle with Doomsday. When Superman professes his love to
Lois, his life force jumps between them, just as he dies, giving Lois
a virgin birth. Their child, who grows 21-years-old in three weeks,
becomes the resurrected Superman and saves the world. Warner Bros.
did not like the script because of the similar underlying themes with
Bruce Wayne's obligations of heroism found in Batman Forever.
Peters hired Gregory Poirier to rewrite
the script. Poirer's December 1995 script had Brainiac creating
Doomsday, infused with "Kryptonite blood". Superman has
romance problems with Lois Lane and visits a psychiatrist before he
is killed by Doomsday. An alien named Cadmus, a victim of Brainiac,
steals his corpse. Superman is resurrected and teams with Cadmus to
defeat Brainiac. Powerless, Superman wears a robotic suit that mimics
his old powers until he can learn to use his powers again on his own,
which, according to the script, are a mental discipline called
"Phin-yar", a concept similar to The Force. Other villains
included Parasite and Silver Banshee. Poirier's script impressed
Warner Bros., but Kevin Smith was hired to rewrite. Smith thought
Poirier's script did not respect the Superman mythos properly, and
referred to it in An Evening with Kevin Smith as being "like the
Batman TV show version of a Superman movie; very campy."
Superman Lives
Kevin Smith pitched Peters his story
outline in August 1996, and was allowed to write the screenplay under
certain conditions: Peters wanted Superman to wear an all-black suit,
and also did not want Superman to fly, arguing that Superman would
"look like an overgrown Boy Scout." Smith wrote Superman
flying as "a red-and-blue blur in flight, creating a sonic boom
every time he flew." Peters also wanted Superman to fight a
giant spider for the climactic showdown. Smith accepted the terms,
realizing that he was being hired to execute a preordained idea.
Smith was also forced to write a scene involving Brainiac fighting a
polar bear at the Fortress of Solitude, as Peters felt there were not
enough action scenes in the first draft. The Star Wars 20th
anniversary re-release in theaters also prompted Peters to commission
a "space dog" that Brainiac could present to Luthor purely
for merchandising appeal and toy sales. Peters also insisted that
Brainiac's robot assistant L-Ron was to be voiced by Dwight Ewell,
calling the character, "a gay R2-D2 with attitude."
Smith's
draft, now titled Superman Lives, had Brainiac sending Doomsday to
kill Superman, as well as blocking out the sun to make Superman
powerless, as Superman is fueled by sunlight. Brainiac teams up with
Lex Luthor, but Superman is resurrected by a Kryptonian robot, the
Eradicator. Brainiac wishes to possess the Eradicator and its
technology. Powerless, the resurrected Superman is sheathed in a
robotic suit formed from the Eradicator itself until his powers
return, courtesy of sunbeams, and defeats Brainiac. Smith's casting
choices included Ben Affleck as Clark Kent/Superman, Linda Fiorentino
as Lois Lane, Jack Nicholson as Lex Luthor, Famke Janssen as Mercy,
John Mahoney as Perry White, David Hyde Pierce as the Eradicator,
Jason Lee as Brainiac and Jason Mewes as Jimmy Olsen.
Robert Rodriguez was offered the chance to
direct, but turned down the offer due to his commitment on The
Faculty, despite liking Smith's script. Smith originally suggested
Tim Burton to direct his script, and Burton signed on with a
pay-or-play contract of $5 million. Warner Bros. originally planned
on a theatrical release date for summer 1998, the 60th anniversary of
the character's debut in Action Comics. Nicolas Cage (left), a comic
book fan, signed on as Superman with a $20 million pay-or-play
contract, believing he could "re-conceive the character."
Peters felt Cage could "convince audiences he [Superman] came
from outer space." Burton explained Cage's casting would be
"the first time you would believe that nobody could recognize
Clark Kent as Superman, he [Cage] could physically change his
persona." Kevin Spacey was approached for the role of Lex
Luthor, while Christopher Walken was Burton's choice for Brainiac, a
role also considered for Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman. Sandra Bullock,
Courteney Cox and Julianne Moore had been approached for Lois Lane,
while Chris Rock was cast as Jimmy Olsen. Michael Keaton confirmed
his involvement, but when asked if he would be reprising his role as
Batman from Burton's Batman films, he would only reply, "Not
exactly." Industrial Light & Magic was set for work on
special effects.
Filming
of Superman Lives was originally set to begin in early 1998 and in
June 1997 the movie entered pre-production, with an art department
employed under production designer Rick Heinrichs. Tim Burton (right
top) hired Wesley Strick to rewrite Smith's script. Kevin Smith
(right botoom) was disappointed, stating, "The studio was happy
with what I was doing. Then Tim Burton got involved, and when he
signed his pay-or-play deal, he turned around and said he wanted to
do his version of Superman. So who is Warner Bros. going back to? The
guy who made Clerks, or the guy who made them half a billion dollars
on Batman?" When Strick read Smith's script, he was annoyed with
the fact that "Superman was accompanied/shadowed by
someone/something called the Eradicator." He also felt that
"Brainiac's evil plot of launching a disk in space to block out
the sun and make Superman powerless was reminiscent of an episode of
The Simpsons, with Mr. Burns doing the Brainiac role." However,
after reading The Death and Return of Superman, Strick was able to
understand some of the elements of Smith's script. Strick's rewrite
featured Superman as an existentialist, thinking of himself to be an
outsider on Earth. Superman is threatened by Brainiac and Lex Luthor,
who later amalgamate into "Lexiac," described by Strick as
"a schizo/scary mega-villain." Superman is later
resurrected by the power of 'K,' a natural force representing the
spirit of Krypton, as he defeats Lexiac.
Art designer Sylvain Despretz claimed the
art department was assigned to create something that had little or
nothing to do with the Superman comic book, and also explained that
Peters "would bring kids in, who would rate the drawings on the
wall as if they were evaluating the toy possibilities. It was
basically a toy show!" Peters saw a cover of National
Geographic, containing a picture of a skull, going to art department
workers, telling them he wanted the design for Brainiac's space ship
to have the same image. Burton gave Despretz a concept drawing for
Brainiac, which Despretz claims was "a cone with a round ball on
top, and something that looked like an emaciated skull inside.
Imagine you take Merlin's hat, and you stick a fish bowl on top, with
a skull in it." Concept artist Rolf Mohr said in an interview he
designed a suit for the Eradicator for a planned scene in which it
transforms into a flying vehicle.
Burton chose Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as
his primary filming location for Metropolis, while sound stages were
reserved but start dates for filming were pushed back. A minor piece
of the Krypton set was constructed but then destroyed, and Cage had
even attended a costume fitting. The studio was also considering
changing the title Superman Lives back to Superman Reborn. Deeming
Wesley Strick's script too expensive, Warner Bros. enlisted the help
of Dan Gilroy to rewrite it into something more economically
feasible. Gilroy lowered the $190 million budget set by Strick's
draft to $100 million. However, the studio was still less willing to
fast track production, due to financial reasons with other film
properties, having Gilroy turn in two drafts. Ultimately, Warner
Bros. chose to put the film on hold in April 1998, and Burton left to
direct Sleepy Hollow. At this point in production, $30 million was
spent, with nothing to show for it. Burton, citing various
differences with Peters and the studio, said, "I basically
wasted a year. A year is a long time to be working with somebody that
you don't really want to be working with."
Disappointed
by the lack of progress on the film's production, aspiring
screenwriter/comic book fan Alex Ford was able to have a script of
his (titled Superman: The Man of Steel) accepted at the studio's
offices in September 1998. Ford pitched his idea for a film series
consisting of seven installments, and his approach impressed Warner
Bros. and Peters, though he was later given a farewell due to
creative differences. Ford said, "I can tell you they don't know
much about comics. Their audience isn't you and me who pay $7.00.
It's for the parents who spend $60 on toys and lunchboxes. It is a
business, and what's more important, the $150 million at the box
office or the $600 million in merchandising?"
With Gilroy's script, Peters offered the
director's position to Ralph Zondag, Michael Bay, Shekhar Kapur and
Martin Campbell though they all turned down the offer. Brett Ratner
turned down the option in favor of The Family Man. Simon West and
Stephen Norrington were reportedly top contenders as well. In June
1999, William Wisher, Jr. was hired to write a new script, and Cage
assisted on story elements. Cage dropped out of the project in June
2000, while Wisher turned in a new script in August 2000, reported to
have contained similar elements with The Matrix. In October 2000,
veteran comic book creator Keith Giffen pitched a 17-page story
treatment with Lobo as the antagonist, but the studio did not
proceed. Oliver Stone was then approached to direct Wisher's script,
but declined, while in April 2001, Paul Attanasio was hired to start
on a new script, earning a salary of $1.7 million. Peters offered
Will Smith the role of Superman, but the actor turned it down over
ethnicity concerns. The film's backstory was covered in the 2015
documentary film The Death of "Superman Lives": What
Happened?. Smith will direct an upcoming season 2 episode of
Supergirl titled "Supergirl Lives".
Batman vs. Superman
Although it was widely reported that McG
had become attached to Attanasio's script, in February 2002, J. J.
Abrams was hired to write a new screenplay. It would ignore "The
Death of Superman" storyline, and instead, it would reboot the
film series with an origin story, going under the title of Superman:
Flyby. The project had gone as far as being greenlit, but McG dropped
out in favor of Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. The studio
approached Wolfgang Petersen to direct Abrams' script; however, in
August 2001, Andrew Kevin Walker pitched Warner Bros. an idea titled
Batman vs. Superman, attaching Petersen as director. Abrams' script
was put on hold, while Akiva Goldsman was hired to rewrite Walker's
draft which was codenamed Asylum.
Goldsman's draft, dated June 21st, 2002,
introduced Bruce Wayne attempting to shake all of the demons in his
life after his five-year retirement from crimefighting. Dick Grayson,
Alfred Pennyworth, and Commissioner Gordon are all dead. Meanwhile,
Clark Kent is down on his luck and in despair after his divorce from
Lois Lane. Clark serves as Bruce's best man at his wedding to the
beautiful and lovely Elizabeth Miller. After Elizabeth is killed by
the Joker at the honeymoon, Bruce is forced to don the Batsuit once
more, tangling a plot which involves Lex Luthor, while Clark begins a
romance with Lana Lang in Smallville and tries to pull Bruce back. In
return, Bruce blames Clark for her death, and the two go against one
another. Part of the script took place in Smallville, where Clark
goes into exile with Lana Lang. However, Lex Luthor is held to be
responsible for the entire plot of Batman and Superman destroying
each other. The two decide to team up and stop Luthor. Christian
Bale, who was being considered for the lead in Darren Aronofsky's
Batman: Year one adaptation at the time, was simultaneously
approached by Peterson for the Superman role. Peterson confirmed in a
2010 interview the only other actor he approached for Superman was
Josh Hartnett. Warner Bros. canceled development to focus on
individual Superman and Batman projects after Abrams submitted
another draft for Superman: Flyby. Christopher Nolan would later cast
Bale as Batman the following year in Batman Begins. In the opening
scene of I Am Legend, a large banner displays the Superman symbol
within the Batman symbol in Times Square (below). It is meant as an
in-joke by writer Akiva Goldsman, who wrote scripts for Batman vs.
Superman and I Am Legend.
Superman: Flyby
Turning in his script in July 2002, J. J.
Abrams' Superman: Flyby was an origin story that included Krypton
besieged by a civil war between Jor-El and his corrupt brother,
Kata-Zor. Before Kata-Zor sentences Jor-El to prison, Kal-El is
launched to Earth to fulfill a prophecy. Adopted by Jonathan and
Martha Kent, he forms a romance with Lois Lane in the Daily Planet.
However, Lois is more concerned with exposing Lex Luthor, written as
a government agent obsessed with UFO phenomena. Clark reveals himself
to the world as Superman, bringing Kata-Zor's son, Ty-Zor, and three
other Kryptonians to Earth. Superman is defeated and killed, and
visits Jor-El (who committed suicide on Krypton while in prison) in
Kryptonian heaven. Resurrected, he returns to Earth and defeats the
four Kryptonians. The script ends with Superman flying off to Krypton
in a spaceship. (HOF staff note: this idea kind of sucks and we
are glad they never made it.)
Brett
Ratner was hired to direct in September 2002, originally expressing
an interest in casting an unknown for the lead role, while filming
was to start sometime in late 2003. Christopher Reeve joined as
project consultant, citing Tom Welling, who portrayed the teenage
Clark Kent in Smallville, as an ideal candidate. Reeve added "the
character is more important than the actor who plays him, because it
is an enduring mythology. It definitely should be an unknown."
Ratner approached Josh Hartnett, Jude Law, Paul Walker and Brendan
Fraser for Superman, but conceded that finding a famous actor for the
title role had proven difficult because of contractual obligations to
appear in sequels. "No star wants to sign that, but as much as
I've told Jude and Josh my vision for the movie, I've warned them of
the consequences of being Superman. They'll live this character for
10 years because I'm telling one story over three movies and plan to
direct all three if the first is as successful as everyone suspects."
Hartnett in particular was offered $100
million for a three-picture deal. Walker explained that "I could
have made a gazillion dollars on that franchise. I could probably
have bought my own fleet of jets or my own island. You know what? I
don't need it." Fraser turned it down out of fear of
typecasting. David Boreanaz, Victor Webster and Ashton Kutcher
auditioned, along with Keri Russell as Lois Lane, but Kutcher decided
not to pursue the role, citing scheduling conflicts with That '70s
Show, the Superman curse and fear of typecasting, while Boreanaz had
to back out due to obligations with Angel. James Marsden stated in a
2006 interview that at one point he was approached by Ratner.
Although it was never formally announced, Matt Bomer confirmed he was
in the running for the lead role, being Ratner's preferred choice at
the time. Bomer would later voice the character in the 2013 animated
film Superman: Unbound. Amy Adams had also auditioned for Lois Lane,
and would eventually win the role eight years later when she was cast
in Man of Steel.
Superman:
Flyby was being met with a budget exceeding $200 million, not
including money spent on Superman Reborn, Superman Lives, and Batman
vs. Superman, but Warner Bros. was still adamant for a summer 2004
release date. Christopher Walken was in negotiations for Perry White,
while Ratner wanted to cast Anthony Hopkins as Jor-El, and Ralph
Fiennes as Lex Luthor, two of his cast members in Red Dragon. Joel
Edgerton turned down a chance to audition as Superman in favor of the
villain Ty-Zor, before Ratner dropped out of the project in March
2003, blaming casting delays, and aggressive feuds with producer Jon Peters.
McG returned as director in 2003, while
Fraser continued to express interest, but had fears of typecasting.
ESC Entertainment was hired for visual effects work, with Kim Libreri
as visual effects supervisor and Stan Winston designing a certain
"prototype suit". McG approached Shia LaBeouf for Jimmy
Olsen, with an interest to cast an unknown for Superman, Scarlett
Johansson as Lois Lane and Johnny Depp for Lex Luthor. The director
confirmed in a 2012 interview that Robert Downey, Jr. had been cast
as Lex Luthor. Neal H. Moritz and Gilbert Adler were set to produce
the film. McG also commissioned Josh Schwartz to rewrite the Abrams
script. He wanted to shoot in Canada, which would have cost $25
million more than WB's preferred Australian locale. McG also shot
test footage with several candidates, including Jason Behr, Henry
Cavill, Jared Padalecki, and Michael Cassidy before leaving, blaming
budgetary concerns and filming locations. He opted to shoot in New
York City and Canada, but Warner Bros. wanted Sydney, Australia. McG
felt "it was inappropriate to try to capture the heart of
America on another continent." He later admitted it was his fear
of flying. Abrams lobbied for the chance to direct his script, but
Warner Bros. replaced McG with Bryan Singer in July 2004, resulting
in Superman Returns.
In August 2013, Geoff Johns mentioned that
Warner Bros was considering turning unproduced scripts and
screenplays into original animated films and had expressed interest
in making a animated adaptation of the Flyby screenplay.
Untitled
Following the departure of Ratner and McG,
Bryan Singer (above) was approached by Warner Bros. He accepted,
abandoning two films already in pre-production, X-Men: The Last Stand
(which, coincidentally, would come to be directed by Ratner) and a
remake of Logan's Run. The film uses the events of Superman and, to
less of a degree, Superman II as backstory, while completely ignoring
the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
Singer conceived the storyline of Superman Returns during the filming
of X2 (2003) with his X2 writers Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris. He
presented the idea to Lauren Shuler Donner and her husband Richard
Donner, director of Superman (1978). Donner greeted Singer's idea
with positive feedback. Although he was not a comic book fan, Singer
was most impressed with Donner's 1978 film, citing it as an influence
of his, Dougherty and Harris's writing. By February 2005, Dougherty
and Harris had written six drafts of the script. Early versions of
the script contained references to the September 11 attacks before
they were removed.
Singer
chose to follow Donner's lead by casting relatively unknown Brandon
Routh as Superman, who resembled Christopher Reeve somewhat, and more
high profile actors in supporting roles, such as Kevin Spacey as Lex
Luthor. Singer brought his entire crew from X2 to work on the film.
Via digitally-enhanced archive footage, the late Marlon Brando
appeared in the film as Jor-El. Superman Returns received positive
reviews with critics praising its story, visual effects, musical
score, and style and it grossed about $391 million worldwide.
However, it received mixed reviews from audiences, who criticized the
film for its length, the story, and lack of action sequences.
Originally budgeted at $184.5 million,
Warner Bros. placed the production cost at $204 million, after
factoring in tax rebates and incentives. Taking into account the
development costs since the early 1990s, total expenditure is
estimated to be around $263 million, with up to a further $100
million spent on worldwide marketing.
In February 2006, four months before the
release of Superman Returns, Warner Bros. announced a summer 2009
theatrical release date for a sequel, with Bryan Singer returning as
director. Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, Sam Huntington,
Frank Langella, and Tristan Lake Leabu were expected to reprise their
roles, however, with the release of Superman Returns in July 2006,
Warner Bros. became hesitant on moving forward with development.
Warner Bros. President Alan F. Horn explained that Superman Returns
was a very successful film, but that it "should have done $500
million worldwide. We should have had perhaps a little more action to
satisfy the young male crowd." Singer reacted incredulously to
the studio complaints, saying, "That movie made $400 million! I
don't know what constitutes under-performing these days ..."
Filming
of the sequel was supposed to start in March 2008, no screenplay was
ever written, but Singer would have titled it Man of Steel, with an
interest in Darkseid as the main villain. Singer stressed that it
would have been more action-packed than Superman Returns. while
writer Michael Dougherty was interested in using Brainiac. "In
my mind, if the Kryptonians really were a space-faring race ... it
would only make sense that there would've been colonies and
off-planet missions ... other Kryptonians making their way to Earth
seemed like a pretty big one. It wouldn't necessarily be evil right
off the bat. That's too easy and cliché ... I think it'd be
interesting to see how these other Kryptonians show up, land and have
all these powers and [have to learn] how to adapt to them."
Warner Bros. commissioned husband and wife
duo Michele and Kieran Mulroney to write a script for a Justice
League film in February 2007, halting development for the Superman
Returns sequel. The Justice League script was submitted to Warner
Bros. the following June, which prompted the studio to immediately
fast track production. Singer went on to film Valkyrie the following
month, and George Miller signed to direct Justice League: Mortal in
September 2007. The script would have featured a different Superman
in a separate continuity from Singer's film; Routh was not approached
to reprise his role for Justice League: Mortal, which ended up going
to D. J. Cotrona. The film nearly went into production in March 2008,
but the Australian Film Commission denied Warner Bros. their 40
percent tax rebate and Catrona's options eventually expired. With
Justice League: Mortal canceled, Singer renewed his interest in the
Superman sequel that same month, stating that it was in early
development. Paul Levitz, president of DC Comics, still expected
Routh to reprise the title role, but Routh's contract for a sequel
expired in 2009, and the project was cancelled. The Superman film
series was rebooted in 2013 with the film Man of Steel, directed by
Zack Snyder and starring Henry Cavill as Superman.
Brandon Routh as Clark
Kent / Superman
Director Singer believed only an unknown
actor would be suitable for the part. Routh was chosen from thousands
of candidates interviewed at casting calls in the United States,
United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. He had coincidentally
auditioned for Clark Kent in the television series Smallville, but
lost to Tom Welling. Routh had also met director Joseph
"McG" Nichol for the role during pre-production of
Superman: Flyby. Dana Reeve, wife of Christopher Reeve, believed
Routh's physical resemblance to her late husband was striking. To
obtain the muscular physique to play Superman convincingly, Routh
underwent a strict bodybuilding exercise regimen. Prior to Routh's
casting, Singer had X2 actor Daniel Cudmore audition. Eva Marie Saint
played Clark Kent's adoptive mother Martha Kent and Stephan Bender
portrays the teenage Clark Kent in a flashback scene.
Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a reporter who works with
Clark Kent at the Daily Planet, and former lover of Superman. Spacey
recommended Singer to cast Bosworth in the role because she
co-starred with Spacey in Beyond the Sea (2004) as Sandra Dee. Claire
Danes and Keri Russell were reportedly considered for the role. Amy
Adams, who would later be cast as Lois Lane in the 2013 reboot Man of
Steel, confirmed in an interview that she had also auditioned for
Lois in 2005. Adams had previously auditioned for Lois in 2003 when
Brett Ratner was planning to direct Superman: Flyby. Bosworth studied
Katharine Hepburn's acting for inspiration, particularly in The
Philadelphia Story (1940) and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), as
well as Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich (2000).
Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor, an evil sociopath armed with
vast resources and an extensive knowledge of science who is
Superman's nemesis. Because of his Academy Award-winning performance
in Singer's film The Usual Suspects (1995), and friendship with the
director, Spacey was the only actor considered for Lex Luthor. The
writers specifically had Spacey in mind for the part when writing the
script. Spacey's version of Luthor has the same comically exaggerated
vanity and pompous arrogance of the earlier Gene Hackman version as
well as the same strong interest in real estate, but Spacey's version
is far less campy and more serious. Spacey later said that director
Singer told him to play the character as "darker and more
bitter" compared to Hackman and not to use the earlier portrayal
as an inspiration. Another of Luthor's henchmen (Riley) is played by
former Australian Rugby League player Ian Roberts.
James Marsden as Richard White
Richard White is the nephew of the Daily
Planet editor-in-chief Perry White and fiancee to Lois Lane. Marsden
said Richard acts as an emotional challenge for Superman, since the
hero comes back to find that "Lois Lane picks somebody who's
very Supermanesque". Perry White was played by Frank Langella, a
role originally attached to Hugh Laurie. Sam Huntington was Daily
Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen.
Parker Posey as Kitty Kowalski
Kitty Kowalski is Lex Luthor's henchwoman.
She served as a prison nurse and would give Lex his examinations. The
character is based on Eve Teschmacher from the 1978 film, portrayed
by Valerie Perrine. Posey was the only actress considered for the
role. Kal Penn plays one of Luthor's henchmen, Stanford, who only had
one line, "What are we going to do?" Apparently there were
others but they got cut.
Marlon Brando as Jor-El
Jor-El is Superman's biological father.
Brando (who died in 2004) reprises his role from the 1978 film
through the use of previous footage combined with computer-generated
imagery. This required negotiations with Brando's estate for
permission to have his footage used. Singer explained, "We had
access to all of the Brando footage that was shot. There was unused
footage that had Brando reciting poems, trailing off subject and
swearing like a sailor."
Tristan Lake Leabu as
Jason White
Jason White is the son of Lois Lane and
Superman. The question of whether Superman or Richard is Jason's
father is initially unclear. He suffers from asthma and other
ailments, but it is later revealed that he is the son of Superman,
when he displays superhuman strength and discomfort around Kryptonite.
Cameo performances include: Richard
Branson as the engineer aboard the space shuttle. Jack Larson, who
portrayed Jimmy Olsen in the 1950s television series Adventures of
Superman, makes an appearance in a cameo role as "Bo the
Bartender" (pictured above right with Superman Returns Jimmy
Olsen, Sam Huntington). Larson's last role was on an episode of Law
& Order: Special Victims Unit, which aired on the NBC network on
January 6th, 2010. He died on September 20, 2015 at the age of 87.
Noel Neill, who portrayed Lois Lane in the
television series and the film serials Superman (1948) and Atom Man
vs. Superman (1950), appears as Luthor's elderly wife Gertrude
Vanderworth. It was her next to last film role, the last being the
campy independent film, Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel (wich
also featured Jack Larson's). Following an extended illness, Neill
died in Tucson on July 3rd, 2016, at the of age 95.
Both Neill and Larson are pictured below
at the at the Warner Bros. premiere of Superman Returns in June 2006.
Warner Bros. considered shooting Superman
Returns at Warner Roadshow Studios in the Gold Coast, Queensland,
Australia. After filming, this could have been used as an attraction
for the adjoining Warner Bros. Movie World theme park, but the idea
was scrapped for being too expensive.
Set
construction started in January 2005 at Fox Studios Australia for
the film's 60 setpieces, while the start date was pushed back for two
weeks. In an attempt to avoid public attention, Superman Returns
carried the fake working title of Red Sun during filming. Starting in
late March 2005, principal photography lasted until November. Filming
of Superman Returns in New South Wales constituted hiring thousands
of local workers, generating over $100 million into the local
economy. 80% of filming took place at Fox Studios Australia,
occupying all nine sound stages. Scenes set in Smallville were shot
at Tamworth, while the Australian Museum doubled for the Metropolis
Museum of Natural History.
Superman Returns was shot using
Panavision's Genesis digital camera. Production designer Guy Hendrix
Dyas was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright's Johnson Wax Headquarters
for the design of the Daily Planet. ESC Entertainment was originally
set to design the visual effects sequences, but Warner Bros. replaced
them with the hiring of Mark Stetson from Sony Pictures Imageworks as
the visual effects supervisor. A total of 1,400 visual effects shots
were created. The script required a scene of Superman safely
delivering a Boeing 777 in a baseball park where computer-generated
imagery was used as it would have been impossible to assemble the
number of extras for the shots. A second unit crew traveled to Dodger
Stadium to photograph elements that were composited into the final
images. The scenes of Metropolis was actually a modified version of
the skyline of Manhattan. Using footage from the original Superman
(1978) film as a reference point, Marlon Brando was re-created by
Rhythm & Hues using CGI. The opening credits for Superman Returns
are presented in an intended recreation of the style used for
Superman, again to the accompaniment of John Williams's theme music.
Singer hired regular collaborator John
Ottman as editor and film score composer months before the script was
written. Ottman said in past interviews that John Williams, who
composed the 1978 film, had influenced his decision to become a
musician. He was both cautious and enthusiastic to work on Superman
Returns. "Bryan [Singer] said he wouldn't even greenlight the
movie if he couldn't use the John Williams music." Ottman
continued, "it was important for me to preserve the Williams
theme right down to every single note for the opening titles."
Ottman referred to his work on Superman Returns as a homage to, not a
ripoff of, Williams.
Warner
Bros. promoted Superman Returns at 2005 San Diego Comic-Con
International. Singer and screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan
Harris came up with the idea of publishing a prequel limited series,
spanning four comic book issues. The stories were written by Jimmy
Palmiotti, Marc Andreyko and Justin Gray, with artwork by Karl
Kerschl and Matt Haley. During production, a series of "video
diaries" on the Internet were released at BlueTights.net,
showing behind-the-scenes work being done. After 27 installments, the
video diaries stopped for a while shortly before the teaser trailer
debuted on November 17th, 2005. The main theatrical trailer premiered
online on May 2nd, 2006. The trailer appeared in theaters on May 5th,
with prints of Mission: Impossible III, while the international
trailer came with The Da Vinci Code and X-Men: The Last Stand. DC
Comics published a comics adaptation by artist Matt Haley and writer
Martin Pasko, Marv Wolfman wrote a novelization, and Electronic Arts
developed a video game based on both the movie and the comics.
The estimated budget for Superman Returns
marketing campaign was $45.5 million, the second highest of the year
behind Disney's $53.5 million campaign for Cars. Warner Bros. made
tie-in deals with General Mills, Burger King, Duracell, Pepsi,
Doritos, Papa John's Pizza, 7-Eleven and Colgate. The film was also
advertised with Red Bull Racing Formula One cars at the 2006 Monaco
Grand Prix. David Coulthard managed to get the team's first top three
finish that day; on the podium, he wore a Superman cape in
celebration of his achievement. NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff
Gordon also sported the "Man of Steel" look by promoting
the movie on his #24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the 2006 Pepsi 400 at
Daytona International Speedway. Troy Bayliss appeared in promotional
"Superman" leathers and sported a cape on the podium
following a win and a 2nd place at the 2006 Brands Hatch Superbike
World Championship round on his way to winning that year's championship.The
National Geographic Channel released The Science of Superman on June
29th, 2006: a television special that studied popular science
analogies with the Superman mythos. Singer admitted at 2006 Comic-Con
International that he was dissatisfied with the marketing and
promotion. "A lot of people did their job, and a lot didn't".
Bryan Singer convinced Warner Bros. not to
experiment with test screenings. In addition, Singer removed 15
minutes of footage from Superman Returns after showing it to some of
his "trusted associates". The final theatrical time length
ran at 154 minutes. Warner Bros. originally slated the movie for
release on Friday, June 30th, but moved it up to Wednesday, June
28th. The film ranked at the top in its opening weekend, accumulating
$52,535,096. Within five days, Superman Returns took in $84.2
million, a new record for Warner Bros., beating out The Matrix
Revolutions (2003), which was later surpassed by The Dark Knight (2008).
Superman Returns: An IMAX 3D Experience
was released simultaneously in 111 IMAX format theatres worldwide,
which included 20 minutes of converted 3-D film material. It was the
first Hollywood full-length live-action film to be released in this
combined format. One of the key scenes Singer took out was "the
Return to Krypton sequence". $10 million was spent on this
sequence alone, but it was deleted. Singer noted that it could not be
released as part of a DVD featurette because it was converted to IMAX
3D. He hoped it could have appeared in an IMAX reissue. The film's
second week gross rapidly declined from the first week, due to the
presence of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and The Devil
Wears Prada. Superman Returns went on to gross $200,081,192 in North
America and $191 million internationally, earning $391,081,192
worldwide. Domestically, the film was the sixth-highest grossing film
of 2006. In worldwide totals, Superman Returns was ninth-highest.
Superman Returns received mixed to
positive reviews from film critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 76%
score from reviewers who enjoyed the film. Metacritic gave the film a
score of 72/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
Richard Corliss of Time praised Superman Returns, calling it one of
the best superhero films. He was mostly impressed with Singer's
direction and the storyline. Joe Morgenstern from The Wall Street
Journal also gave a positive review, but observed Routh's and
Bosworth's acting was "somewhat dead or super average. Nothing
special." Morgenstern believed Lex Luthor's characterization was
"well written by the writers and well played by Kevin
Spacey". He also praised Newton Thomas Sigel's cinematography
and Guy Hendrix Dyas's production design.
Peter
Travers, writing in Rolling Stone, felt the film "perfectly
updates Superman for the modern audience". James Berardinelli
reacted positively to the movie, comparing it favorably with Richard
Donner's 1978 film. He felt Spacey was better than Gene Hackman as
Lex Luthor, describing him as "more cruel and less flippant"
than Hackman. "There are no miscasts to be found in the
supporting cast, either," Berardinelli said. "Superman
Returns is near the top, if not at the top of the superhero movie
pile. It offers nearly everything: romance, action, humor, and plenty
of goose bumps."
However, Roger Ebert argued the film was a
"glum, lackluster movie in which even the big effects sequences
seem dutiful instead of exhilarating." He also felt that
"Brandon Routh lacks charisma as Superman", surmising that
he "may have been cast because he looks a little like
Reeve". Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle felt that
Warner Bros. should have rebooted the series along the lines of
Batman Begins. He also felt Bosworth, at 22 years old, was too young
to portray Lois Lane, and the climax did not "match the
potential of the tiring 154 minute long film".
Superman Returns was nominated for both
the Academy Award for Visual Effects and BAFTA Award for Best Special
Visual Effects, but lost to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's
Chest. The film was successful at the 33rd Saturn Awards, winning
Best Fantasy Film, and categories for Direction (Bryan Singer), Best
Actor (Brandon Routh), Writing (Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris) and
Music (John Ottman). Kate Bosworth, Tristan Lake Leabu, James
Marsden, Parker Posey, and the visual effects department were
nominated for categories. However, Bosworth was also nominated a
Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress.
On May 3nd, 2009, almost three years after
the debut of Superman Returns, the Academy Award winning filmmaker
and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino declared his appreciation for
Bryan Singer's directorial work on Superman Returns.
On January 9, 2012, more than five years
after the movie was released, the independent film community daily
news site indieWire released a two-part video essay that probes the
melancholic nature of Superman Returns. Produced by Matt Zoller Seitz
and Ken Cancelosi, the critique was inspired by a review that Seitz
wrote for the New York Press in 2006, in which he stated that
"From the moment its hero returns to the sky to rescue Lois Lane
from a plummeting jet, Superman Returns flirts with greatness."
In 2013, Singer stated that Superman
Returns was made for "Perhaps more of a female audience. It
wasn't what it needed to be, I guess." Singer stated that he
would have cut about the first quarter off of the film and started it
with "the jet disaster sequence or something. I could have
grabbed the audience a little more quickly. I don't know what would
have helped. Probably nothing. If I could go again, I would do an
origin. I would reboot it."
Empire Magazine ranked the movie 496 on
its "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time" list. Stating
that "It may have been a slighter return than some people had
hoped for, but Singer's vision of the Man Of Steel is an heroic
effort. Plenty of spectacle and a lot of heart helps Kal-El soar."
Untitled
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With
the success of "The Death of Superman" comic book
storyline, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights of Superman from
the Salkinds in early 1993, handing the project to producer Jon
Peters. The studio did not want to use Superman: The New Movie, and
Peters hired Jonathan Lemkin to write a new script. Warner Bros.
instructed Lemkin to write the new Superman film for mainstream
audiences, a style for the MTV Generation of the 1990s. The
additional family film approach would add to Superman's toyetic
appeal, similar to Batman Forever. Major toy companies insisted on
seeing Lemkin's screenplay before the deadline of the 1993 American
International Toy Fair.
Smith's
draft, now titled Superman Lives, had Brainiac sending Doomsday to
kill Superman, as well as blocking out the sun to make Superman
powerless, as Superman is fueled by sunlight. Brainiac teams up with
Lex Luthor, but Superman is resurrected by a Kryptonian robot, the
Eradicator. Brainiac wishes to possess the Eradicator and its
technology. Powerless, the resurrected Superman is sheathed in a
robotic suit formed from the Eradicator itself until his powers
return, courtesy of sunbeams, and defeats Brainiac. Smith's casting
choices included Ben Affleck as Clark Kent/Superman, Linda Fiorentino
as Lois Lane, Jack Nicholson as Lex Luthor, Famke Janssen as Mercy,
John Mahoney as Perry White, David Hyde Pierce as the Eradicator,
Jason Lee as Brainiac and Jason Mewes as Jimmy Olsen.
Filming
of Superman Lives was originally set to begin in early 1998 and in
June 1997 the movie entered pre-production, with an art department
employed under production designer Rick Heinrichs. Tim Burton (right
top) hired Wesley Strick to rewrite Smith's script. Kevin Smith
(right botoom) was disappointed, stating, "The studio was happy
with what I was doing. Then Tim Burton got involved, and when he
signed his pay-or-play deal, he turned around and said he wanted to
do his version of Superman. So who is Warner Bros. going back to? The
guy who made Clerks, or the guy who made them half a billion dollars
on Batman?" When Strick read Smith's script, he was annoyed with
the fact that "Superman was accompanied/shadowed by
someone/something called the Eradicator." He also felt that
"Brainiac's evil plot of launching a disk in space to block out
the sun and make Superman powerless was reminiscent of an episode of
The Simpsons, with Mr. Burns doing the Brainiac role." However,
after reading The Death and Return of Superman, Strick was able to
understand some of the elements of Smith's script. Strick's rewrite
featured Superman as an existentialist, thinking of himself to be an
outsider on Earth. Superman is threatened by Brainiac and Lex Luthor,
who later amalgamate into "Lexiac," described by Strick as
"a schizo/scary mega-villain." Superman is later
resurrected by the power of 'K,' a natural force representing the
spirit of Krypton, as he defeats Lexiac.
Disappointed
by the lack of progress on the film's production, aspiring
screenwriter/comic book fan Alex Ford was able to have a script of
his (titled Superman: The Man of Steel) accepted at the studio's
offices in September 1998. Ford pitched his idea for a film series
consisting of seven installments, and his approach impressed Warner
Bros. and Peters, though he was later given a farewell due to
creative differences. Ford said, "I can tell you they don't know
much about comics. Their audience isn't you and me who pay $7.00.
It's for the parents who spend $60 on toys and lunchboxes. It is a
business, and what's more important, the $150 million at the box
office or the $600 million in merchandising?"
Brett
Ratner was hired to direct in September 2002, originally expressing
an interest in casting an unknown for the lead role, while filming
was to start sometime in late 2003. Christopher Reeve joined as
project consultant, citing Tom Welling, who portrayed the teenage
Clark Kent in Smallville, as an ideal candidate. Reeve added "the
character is more important than the actor who plays him, because it
is an enduring mythology. It definitely should be an unknown."
Ratner approached Josh Hartnett, Jude Law, Paul Walker and Brendan
Fraser for Superman, but conceded that finding a famous actor for the
title role had proven difficult because of contractual obligations to
appear in sequels. "No star wants to sign that, but as much as
I've told Jude and Josh my vision for the movie, I've warned them of
the consequences of being Superman. They'll live this character for
10 years because I'm telling one story over three movies and plan to
direct all three if the first is as successful as everyone suspects."
Superman:
Flyby was being met with a budget exceeding $200 million, not
including money spent on Superman Reborn, Superman Lives, and Batman
vs. Superman, but Warner Bros. was still adamant for a summer 2004
release date. Christopher Walken was in negotiations for Perry White,
while Ratner wanted to cast Anthony Hopkins as Jor-El, and Ralph
Fiennes as Lex Luthor, two of his cast members in Red Dragon. Joel
Edgerton turned down a chance to audition as Superman in favor of the
villain Ty-Zor, before Ratner dropped out of the project in March
2003, blaming casting delays, and aggressive feuds with producer Jon Peters.
Singer
chose to follow Donner's lead by casting relatively unknown Brandon
Routh as Superman, who resembled Christopher Reeve somewhat, and more
high profile actors in supporting roles, such as Kevin Spacey as Lex
Luthor. Singer brought his entire crew from X2 to work on the film.
Via digitally-enhanced archive footage, the late Marlon Brando
appeared in the film as Jor-El. Superman Returns received positive
reviews with critics praising its story, visual effects, musical
score, and style and it grossed about $391 million worldwide.
However, it received mixed reviews from audiences, who criticized the
film for its length, the story, and lack of action sequences.
Filming
of the sequel was supposed to start in March 2008, no screenplay was
ever written, but Singer would have titled it Man of Steel, with an
interest in Darkseid as the main villain. Singer stressed that it
would have been more action-packed than Superman Returns. while
writer Michael Dougherty was interested in using Brainiac. "In
my mind, if the Kryptonians really were a space-faring race ... it
would only make sense that there would've been colonies and
off-planet missions ... other Kryptonians making their way to Earth
seemed like a pretty big one. It wouldn't necessarily be evil right
off the bat. That's too easy and cliché ... I think it'd be
interesting to see how these other Kryptonians show up, land and have
all these powers and [have to learn] how to adapt to them."
Set
construction started in January 2005 at Fox Studios Australia for
the film's 60 setpieces, while the start date was pushed back for two
weeks. In an attempt to avoid public attention, Superman Returns
carried the fake working title of Red Sun during filming. Starting in
late March 2005, principal photography lasted until November. Filming
of Superman Returns in New South Wales constituted hiring thousands
of local workers, generating over $100 million into the local
economy. 80% of filming took place at Fox Studios Australia,
occupying all nine sound stages. Scenes set in Smallville were shot
at Tamworth, while the Australian Museum doubled for the Metropolis
Museum of Natural History.
Warner
Bros. promoted Superman Returns at 2005 San Diego Comic-Con
International. Singer and screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan
Harris came up with the idea of publishing a prequel limited series,
spanning four comic book issues. The stories were written by Jimmy
Palmiotti, Marc Andreyko and Justin Gray, with artwork by Karl
Kerschl and Matt Haley. During production, a series of "video
diaries" on the Internet were released at BlueTights.net,
showing behind-the-scenes work being done. After 27 installments, the
video diaries stopped for a while shortly before the teaser trailer
debuted on November 17th, 2005. The main theatrical trailer premiered
online on May 2nd, 2006. The trailer appeared in theaters on May 5th,
with prints of Mission: Impossible III, while the international
trailer came with The Da Vinci Code and X-Men: The Last Stand. DC
Comics published a comics adaptation by artist Matt Haley and writer
Martin Pasko, Marv Wolfman wrote a novelization, and Electronic Arts
developed a video game based on both the movie and the comics.
Peter
Travers, writing in Rolling Stone, felt the film "perfectly
updates Superman for the modern audience". James Berardinelli
reacted positively to the movie, comparing it favorably with Richard
Donner's 1978 film. He felt Spacey was better than Gene Hackman as
Lex Luthor, describing him as "more cruel and less flippant"
than Hackman. "There are no miscasts to be found in the
supporting cast, either," Berardinelli said. "Superman
Returns is near the top, if not at the top of the superhero movie
pile. It offers nearly everything: romance, action, humor, and plenty
of goose bumps."
