'Superman' finally is ready to fly again
By César G. Soriano, USA TODAY
Is Superman finally taking off?
After years of delays, false starts, mounting production costs and a revolving door of players, Warner Bros. has given the green light to the first Superman film in nearly 20 years.
The Man of Steel has not appeared on the big screen since 1987's Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, starring the late Christopher Reeve. Now, all the key pieces seem to be in place.
• Superman and his Clark Kent alter ego will be played by Brandon Routh, 25, a former soap opera star. Producers wanted an unknown, as Reeve was before he became a household name with 1978's Superman.
• Bryan Singer, who parlayed the X-Men comic-book series into a successful film franchise, will direct. The new Superman story was written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, who also wrote Singer's last film, X2.
• The untitled film will begin shooting in Australia next year for release in summer 2006.
Warner Bros. is revealing little about the plot, but Singer has hinted that the film will pick up where 1980's Superman II left off. In that movie, our hero traded his superpowers for mortality, fell in love with Lois Lane, regained his powers to defeat his enemies but then lost the girl.
"How do you bring Superman back? That has obviously been a challenge for us," says Jeff Robinov, president of production for Warner Bros.
"It took a while to get the right combination of people and to find a story that was fresh and true to the mythology."
The studio's Superman saga began in 1993, when Warner Bros. bought the film rights from Superman producer Alexander Salkind.
Countless screenwriters and several directors have been attached to the project, including McG, Brett Ratner and Tim Burton. All have had vastly different story ideas and visions. Burton wanted Nicolas Cage to play Superman.
At times, it seemed as if every hot young actor in Hollywood was considered or rumored for the role, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Ashton Kutcher, Brendan Fraser, Josh Hartnett, Jude Law and James Caviezel.
During the turmoil, Warner Bros. subsidiary DC Comics, which created the film genre with its Superman and Batman series, was overtaken by rival Marvel Comics, the creators of the successful X-Men and Spider-Man.
"Superman is the crown jewel in the Time Warner crown," says filmmaker Kevin Smith, who wrote an early Superman script. "You're looking at a studio that has been pretty cautious."
By Smith's estimate, the studio already has spent $50 million without a single frame of film to show for it. Robinov won't talk money, but he says the project is now moving faster than a speeding bullet.
Fans such as Harry Knowles, editor of AintItCoolNews.com, say they are "cautiously optimistic. My feeling is that until they finish shooting and it's in thea-ters, I'm not going to believe a Superman movie exists."