After 10 years of on-and-off casting speculation and unbelievable development hell, 25 year old relative unknown BRANDON ROUTH has finally been cast as SUPERMAN in director Bryan Singer's (The Usual Suspects, X-Men, X-Men 2) take at rejuvenating the comic franchise. Warner Brothers should be forthcoming with an official announcement soon, though they are probably being tentative due to the recent passing of Christopher Reeves.

Filming is scheduled to begin in March 2005 for a huge summer 2006 release. The budget is rumored to be nearly $200 million, possibly making it one of the most expensive movies to ever be made. (And FYI, this new big-screen version will have nothing to do with SMALLVILLE. They will be considered completely seperate entities. In other words, their story lines/characters will not cross.)


Here are a few announcements of the casting from the sources who first broke the news this past weekend...

- http://www.latinoreview.com/scoops/brandon-superman.html
- http://aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=18631
- http://www.superherohype.com/news/supermannews.php?id=2115
- http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/041016c.php
- http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=5578


Brandon Routh's IMDB profile and official site with pics...

- http://imdb.com/name/nm0746125/
- http://www.brandonrouth.tv/ (the link is down right now because of all the recent traffic)


And finally, if anyone's interested, I found this history of production (former directors, script drafts, etc.) this unrealized project has been through over the past 10 years. Just, WOW...

- http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125321


As for the story itself, Singer's version is apparently loosely connected to the first two Christopher Reeves films, using them as a kind of a very vague history. This new version takes place in modern day where Superman has been away/missing for six years. When he does finally return (for whatever reason) people resent him and wish he never existed, because once he disappeared, the world fell into chaos. It's unknown whether or not this Superman is supposed to be considered the exact same one from the earlier films (seeing that he doesn't age like we do) or whether it's a different Superman altogether. We do know that it won't be an origins story or a complete re-invention of the franchise (like BATMAN BEGINS will be next summer). Instead, they're treating this kind of like the original '89 BATMAN - there will be a few flashbacks to Clark's childhood, but Superman will already be known of in this world, obviously.

The iconic suit will remain traditional, with slight modifications/modernizations. It will take advantage of the things that were learned with the Spider-man suit. Spandex (as used in the original Superman) tends to remove definition from someone's build, so they're going to have to shade the costume to add the effect that the actor is more toned than he really is - and will be made of material similar to that of the Spider-man suit.

* They're also apparently extremely close to casting 25 year old EVANGELINE LILLY - star of ABC's amazing "Lost" - as LOIS LANE. This one hasn't hasn't been confirmed yet, but she seems to be the front-runner and very close to signing. You can read more here: http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=5582

I guess the casting of a fairly young Lois means this won't be considered the exact same Superman and Lois from the previous films. Though, I don't know how they plan on explaining this if they're using those Christopher Reeves films as a backstory.

I absolutely love both of these casting choices. As for Routh's acting ability, I haven't seen him act yet, but he at least looks the part. Plus he's got months to bulk up. I trust Singer. After all, the last unknown he discovered was HUGH JACKMAN and we know what how huge that ended up being.

So anyway, here are the new SUPERMAN and LOIS (most likely). In a little over a year you'll start seeing them everywhere...











(from a Halloween party Routh attended last year)



[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 10/18/2004 6:46p).]

very cool


but the big question is will they use john william's original score??

Sorry, double post.

[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 10/19/2004 12:24a).]

I can't imagine them not using it seeing as though this new version is somewhat connected to those original films. Though, John Ottman (who both scored and edited X-Men 2) is listed at the IMDB as the composer (and editor) for Singer's version. Hopefully they'll use parts from the original score mixed with new stuff. I mean, they can't NOT use one of the most iconic themes of all time.

As of an hour or so ago Warner Brothers (through The Hollywood Reporter) has gone official with the annnouncement - Routh WILL BE Superman.

Also, thisguy05, Singer spoke tonight at a special screening of X2 followed by a Q&A session...

"He [Singer] asked if there was anything else and UF presented him with the most important aspect he could think of. 'Will you use John Williams music in the movie?' He looked at Rob dead on and said very boldly, 'Yes. Definitely yes.' The audience went nuts with this news."

So, there you go. Here's the full story from that Q&A session...

- http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144671

Also, apparently Kevin Spacey is rumored to be Lex Luthor. This is far from set in stone. But fine by me.


[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 10/20/2004 1:48a).]

his performance on Oliver Beene was a tour de force.