Singer off Superman?

While recently discussing THE DARK KNIGHT’s buzz, generally insightful and reliable Variety columnist Anne Thompson made mention that “it is highly unlikely that Bryan Singer will return to shoot the next Superman movie.”

Although that’s hardly a confirmation, it wouldn’t come as a real surprise — after all, Singer’s writing collaborators Mike Doughtery and Dan Harris already rejected the possibility of returning. And despite Singer’s insistence and the “official” stance of Warner Bros., I’ve heard murmurs for months that none of the principals from SUPERMAN RETURNS (including star Brandon Routh) would be back for more tall-building leaping and heavy-object lifting.

Thompson also posits that the JUSTICE LEAGUE movie won’t slip into supertights until after the WGA strike is resolved (which may explain why we’ve yet to hear official casting announcements after the flurry of rumors), and that WB is ecstatic enough with Christopher Nolan’s second Batman movie that they want a third from him.