What Happened to Superman Returns?

Although superhero serials and TV shows had been around for decades prior, Richard Donner’s 1978 version of Superman marked the first major, studio-funded DC feature film in Hollywood. The film’s commercial and critical success led to Richard Lester’s acclaimed follow-up, Superman II, solidifying the late great Christopher Reeve as a cinematic symbol of truth, justice, and hope. Over 25 years later, the events of the ridiculous follow-ups, Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, were bypassed by Bryan Singer to accommodate Superman Returns, arguably ranking among the finest cinematic showcases for Clark Kent to prove his protective might. Sure, the movie isn’t as fun-filled or enjoyable as a children’s superhero outing should be, but, as far as restoring the luster into Superman’s cape and proving the comic book hero’s box office viability, Superman Returns did its job. At least, that’s how most critics and general moviegoers felt. 

Yet, despite becoming the ninth highest-grossing movie of 2006 and the most lucrative Superman movie up to that point, Warner Bros. deemed Superman Returns a failure after earning over $390 million worldwide. Plans for a sequel were instantly scrapped, proving that Kryptonite isn’t the only green substance Superman is vulnerable to. Now that it’s James Gunn’s turn to return Superman to the masses in 2025, it’s worth reflecting and getting to the bottom of What Happened to Superman Returns!

Following the success of X-Men in 2000, Bryan Singer was inspired to tell a big-screen Superman story while filming the sequel X2. Singer’s conception involved Superman returning to Earth after a five-year hiatus. Singer relayed the idea to X2 producer Lauren Shuler Donner, the wife of original Superman director Richard Donner. Hollywood is a small, tight-knit community where the biggest commodity isn’t what you know, but who you know, and from the jump, the stars seemed aligned for Superman Returns. Richard Donner enjoyed Singer’s concept enough to give it his blessing and the project moved forward.

In 2004, Warner Bros. was busy prepping a different movie called Superman: Flyby, slated for a 2006 release date. Superman: Flyby was written by J.J. Abrams and had director McG attached, but he abandoned the project in June 2004. Not to get too far into the weeds, but Abrams’ concept involved Kal-El being sent to Earth as a princely Kryptonian infant to avoid a civil war between his father Jor-El, and Jor-El’s brother, Kata-Zor. Clark Kent is raised on a midwestern farm as a typical American teenager who falls in love with Lois Lane, his high school sweetheart. When Kata-Zor invaded Earth with the help of Lex Luthor posing as a CIA agent, Superman is humanity’s only hope. The idea was deemed too far-fetched from the source material and was dismissed by Warner Bros.

The studio hastily reached out to Singer that same month to pitch his Superman Returns idea to Warner Bros., which he agreed to despite being on vacation in Hawaii with his X2 writers, Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty. Singer, Harris, and Dougherty outlined the script, with six drafts penned by 2005. Although early story ideas made references to the attacks on 9/11, they were removed in the final draft. Meanwhile, Singer left his directorial duties on X-Men: The Last Stand to make Superman Returns, virtually defecting from Marvel to DC, a major taboo among most comic book circles. 

Once Warner Bros. green-lit the film, the studio split the production costs with Legendary Entertainment. The budget would balloon to $270 million, with roughly another $100 invested in the marketing campaign. With the script polished, casting Clark Kent became the biggest challenge for Singer and the studio. 

Following the massive success of The Passion of the Christ, star Jim Caviezel expressed interest in portraying Clark Kent and Superman. Although Caviezel was hardly a household name, Singer felt he was too famous for the role. Afterward, an international search for the right actor was conducted in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia. 

After hundreds of actors auditioned, Brandon Routh was selected to play Superman. Routh had auditioned to play Clark Kent in the TV series Smallville but lost out to Tom Welling, and had also met with McG to play the part when Flyby was in development. Christopher Reeve’s wife, Dana Reeve, supported Routh’s casting after being struck by his physical likeness to her husband. Beyond their physical resemblance, Reeve and Routh were both 26 years old when their first Superman film was released. Singer wanted Christopher Reeve to make a cameo appearance, but he died before filming commenced. Instead, The film is dedicated to Reeve’s honor.

Before Routh won the part, Daniel Cudmore, Sam Heughan, Chris Pratt, and Henry Cavill auditioned. Of course, Cavill would don the cape in Zack Snyder’s 2013 Man of Steel. During their initial meeting, Routh was sure he wouldn’t get the part after he spilled coffee over the counter in front of Singer. On the contrary, Singer found Routh’s clumsiness perfect to play the nervous Clark Kent.

Based on their working relationship on The Usual Suspects, Singer offered Kevin Spacey the role of Lex Luthor without auditioning. Likewise, Spacey suggested Kate Bosworth play Lois Lane based on their time working together on Beyond the Sea. Singer agreed and Bosworth was cast without auditioning. Before Bosworth was given the role, Keri Russell, Elisha Cuthbert, and Claire Danes were considered. More trivial, Amy Adams auditioned to play Lois Lane in 2005 when Brett Ratner was attached to direct Flyby. Like Cavill, Adams would land the role in Man of Steel a decade later. Once Singer broke his three-picture contract with 20th Century Fox by leaving the X-Men franchise for Superman Returns, his planned remake of Logan’s Run was shelved, and X-Men: The Last Stand was directed by Rattner in a classic game of Hollywood musical chairs. 

Jeez…Ratner, Singer, Spacey…it’s starting to sound like Super Predator Returns around here. But hey that’s for another day. Let’s focus less on the salacious sensationalism and more on the making of the movie. 

Before Frank Langella was cast as Daily Planet editor-in-chief Perry White, Hugh Laurie was cast in the role but had to bow out due to his obligations on the TV show House. The inimitable Parker Posey was the only choice to play Kitty Kowalski. Meanwhile, Singer only wanted Jude Law to play General Zod, but after Law repeatedly declined the part, Singer nixed the character from the story altogether. 

As for Kal Penn, who plays Luthor’s minion Stanford, his role was drastically reduced from its original form. According to Penn, Stanford was a former Daily Planet science reporter hell-bent on getting revenge for his sullied reputation. The original script revealed that Lex Luthor bribed Stanford to plant phony evidence of Krypton’s potential survival, prompting Superman to flee Earth and investigate his ruinous home planet. This revelation was part of a 30-minute cut from the film to reduce an already lengthy runtime.

It was also revealed in the Superman Returns video game that Lex Luthor devised a scheme to break out of jail by distracting Superman away from Earth to discover Krypton,  somewhat tying into the deleted film footage.

As for the script, Routh, Spacey, and Bosworth all signed on to the movie without reading the screenplay. Spacey’s shooting schedule was accommodated to work around his six-week duties as Director of London’s Old Vic Theatre.

Under the phony working title Red Sun and armed with a $204 million budget that would grow as production advanced, sets for Superman Returns began construction in January 2005. Most of the film was shot in Australia, with initial plans to film entirely at Warner Roadshow Studios in the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The idea was to tie the filming location into the nearby Warner Bros. Movie World theme park but the plans were too pricey to pursue.

Superman Returns commenced principal photography on March 16, 2005, and lasted until November. The eight-month shoot required 60 set pieces, most of which were filmed on nine sound stages at Fox Studios Australia. Eighty percent of the film was estimated to have been filmed at Fox Studios Australia, with the remaining twenty percent filmed in New South Wales and surrounding areas. Workers hired in the area helped generate over $100 million for New South Wales’ economy. Meanwhile, the town of Breeza stood in for Smallville, and the Metropolis Museum of Natural History was filmed in the Australian Museum. 

To achieve the spectacular special effects seen in the finished product, Singer opted to film Superman Returns with Panavision’s Genesis digital camera, the first of its kind on any motion picture. Before the Genesis camera was chosen, director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel considered shooting on 65mm film. The idea was scrapped because most movie theaters do not project 65mm reels. The Panavision Genesis was created in response to Michael Mann following his work with DP Paul Cameron while shooting the movie Collateral. Genesis improves the previous Panavision HDR-950 model by supporting standard 35mm spherical lenses, full-color bandwidth, and improved ergonomics. 

Sony Pictures ImageWorks designer Mark Stetson supervised the process, utilizing 1400 VFX shots throughout the movie. A second-unit VFX team was responsible for capturing large crowd scenes, such as when Superman safely lands a Boeing 777 onto the field at Dodgers’ Stadium. 

One of the coolest aspects of Superman Returns is how it incorporates footage from the 1978 original. According to Singer via Larry King Live, had he not had access to John Williams’ iconic original score for the 1978 version of Superman, he would have never directed Superman Returns. Beyond Williams’ score, Marlon Brando’s footage as Superman’s father, Jor-El, from the original was mixed with CG creations of the deceased actor by Rhythm & Hues to bring the character back to the screen. 

The interior and exterior of The Daily Planet newspaper building were patterned after Frank Lloyd Wright’s Johnson Wax Headquarters in Wisconsin. The Kent family farm was erected on a soundstage, torn down, moved to Tamworth, reassembled, and redressed for filming. To build the farm, 4.35 miles of road were constructed, and over 37 acres of corn were planted in real life, quite a feat considering Australia was in the midst of a seven-year drought.

Portraying Superman, Brandon Routh gained 20 pounds of muscle and sported baby blue contact lenses due to his natural brown eye color. The blue contacts were prescription and had to be painted white around the edges to keep him from blinking. One of Routh’s biggest challenges was changing costumes countless times between takes. Superman’s suit was made of Milliskin Spandex, a piece of cloth that is nearly impossible to move when brand new and degrades so quickly that wearing a used costume becomes incredibly uncomfortable. To accommodate this, 80 Superman suits were created with 100 capes, 90 belts, and 30 boots.

As for Superman’s iconic wardrobe, substantial time and effort went into deciding how big a bulge old Kal-El should be sporting in front of his candy-red briefs. According to Newsweek, costume designer Louise Mingenbach opted for a modest package since “ten-year-olds will be seeing this movie.” According to star Margo Kidder, the same topic was raised while making the 1978 version. Unlike Mingenbach’s discretion, original Superman executive producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind encouraged the biggest bulge possible to signify Superman’s virility. I wish we were kidding. 

For an overly-serious superhero largely devoid of fun, one of the most amusing behind-the-scenes anecdotes about Superman Returns relates to an on-set robbery and the hilarious hijinks that ensued. While making the movie, trespassers interloped onto the set, stole production walkie-talkies, and used the devices to fool the cast and crew while filming an elaborate set piece. 

While filming a stunt in Sydney’s Martin Place, the pranksters continued shouting, “Action and Cut” with the stolen walkie-talkies, creating severe chaos. Due to studying the stage lingo the night before, the thieves completely tricked the cast and crew and nearly led to a fatal car accident when filming a Mustang stair jump with several background extras. The directives shouted by the thieves caused the stunt car to stop several times on the stairs, nearly injuring the extras. Where the hell was Superman, then, huh? 

Without getting into all the references to past Superman comics, movies, and TV series, Superman Returns opened on June 28, 2006, becoming the highest-grossing Superman movie on record, grossing $391 million worldwide and pushing the Superman franchise over the billion-dollar mark. At the time, Superman Returns was the longest, most expensive, and first PG-13 Superman movie. With a 72 Metascore and 74% Rotten Tomatoes rating compared to a 6.1 IMDb rating and 60% Rotten Tomatoes audience score, critics enjoyed Superman Returns more than general moviegoers. The plot, visual FX, and performances were praised, while the screenplay and lengthy runtime were poorly received. 

Yet, despite being the ninth most lucrative movie of the year, Warner Bros. considered the financial figures a loss for the studio. Once Warner Bros. deemed Superman Returns an economic failure, plans for a slated 2009 sequel were instantly scrapped. 

Four months after Superman Returns flew into theaters, Warner Bros. publicly announced a sequel dated for a mid-2009 release. Singer was set to return to the director’s chair, with Routh, Spacey, Bosworth, Langella, and other key supporting players slated to reprise their roles. Co-writer Michael Dougherty had lofty plans to increase the action in a sequel potentially pitting Superman against villains Bizarro and Brainiac. Yet, despite the movie’s artistic merits highlighted by critics, Warner Bros. felt Superman Returns underperformed commercially, with President Alan F. Horn stating the film should have made $500 million worldwide. 

Singer decried the criticism, publicly declaring “That movie made $400 million! I don’t know what constitutes underperforming these days.”

With photography on the Superman Returns sequel scheduled to begin in mid-2007, the production was halted when Singer opted to direct Valkyrie instead. Once filming was delayed until March 2008, Dougherty and co-writer Dan Harris left to work on other projects. The schedule was delayed until 2010 due to the WGA strike in 2007-2008. Once Routh’s contract to play Superman expired in 2009, the writing for the Superman Returns sequel was on the wall.

The studio had to return to the drawing board and reboot the franchise from scratch, leading to Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in 2013. Brandon Routh retired as Superman after one feature film, although he reprised the role in the CW’s Arrowverse during the network’s Infinite Crisis crossover in 2019. 

After making Valkyrie with Tom Cruise in 2008 and Jack the Giant Slayer in 2013, Singer returned to the X-Men franchise before his disgraceful extracurriculars caught up with him from 2014 to 2019. Singer hasn’t directed a feature film since 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody. 

As for Superman, Zack Snyder shaped the character in the Justice League movies before James Gunn recently overtook control of DC Studios. Gunn cast relative newcomer David Corenswet to play Clark Kent/Superman in the upcoming 2025 release of Superman, which Gunn will write and direct. Gunn’s mission statement has to ensure better continuity, with Superman being a reboot and the first instalment in the newly minted DCU. 

That’s the streamlined story of what happened to Superman Returns. I’m sure more hours could be spent on the ten-year development with Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, McG, and countless others. But the main takeaway is that, despite marking a rousing return to one of the world’s most iconic superheroes, Superman lacked the might to move enough mass at the box office and warrant a cinematic sequel. In Warner Bros’ estimation, a Superman movie full of heart proved less valuable than a movie full of money-squeezing muscle, a disturbing Hollywood trend that continues to flourish in 2024.