Trivia / Superman Returns

• Awesome, Dear Boy: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, and Kevin Spacey signed on without having read the script.
• B-Team Sequel: To the Richard Donner-helmed Superman II, leaving those other two B-Team Sequels in Canon Discontinuity.
• Budget-Busting Element: The film spent $10 million on Superman's return to Krypton due to the high cost of animation at the time. Unfortunately, this became a Deleted Scene due to clashing with the rest of the film's tone.
• California Doubling: Sydney doubled for Kansas.
• Creator Backlash: After Man of Steel came out, Bryan Singer commented on both that movie and this one. He is proud of what he made, but has expressed understanding of why audiences weren't as enthusiastic about it. In retrospect, he would have increased the action quotient or sped up the pacing (putting the airplane catch earlier in the movie), or else done a complete reboot. Beforehand, other people involved with the production expressed similar sentiments.
• Creator-Chosen Casting:
  • Kevin Spacey was the only actor considered for Lex Luthor, having worked with Bryan Singer on The Usual Suspects and being friends with director. The writers specifically had Spacey in mind for the part when writing the script.
  • Parker Posey was the only choice for Kitty Kowalski.
• Creator Killer: While Bryan Singer's career ultimately survived unscathed until the #MeToo movement despite this film's underwhelming performance, producer Jon Peters wasn't so lucky; between the Development Hell that the film went through and the even more disastrous reception of his previous film, Wild Wild West, it helped put an end to his career. His only other credit to date was as an executive producer on Man of Steel, and even then he apparently wasn't too actively involved in its production. The film also crushed co-writer Dan Harris' theatrical career, as his next movie that wasn't a Direct to Video release, X-Men: Apocalypse, didn't come until 2016.
• Darkhorse Casting: As was the case with Christopher Reeve, Bryan Singer believed that only an unknown actor would be suitable to play Superman.
• Dawson Casting: Inverted. In spite of this film taking place five years after Superman II, a 22 year old Kate Bosworth plays Lois Lane. Made all the more noticeable when the five foot five actress is playing opposite six foot three Brandon Routh, who was only 25 himself when he was cast yet supposedly he is playing a Superman who is well over 30 and already a legendary figure in his own time.
• Deleted Scene: The intended opening scene, of Superman surveying the remains of Krypton in his Kryptonian spacecraft, was completely cut out. It can be seen in its entirety here. The scene also returned in the novelization.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Brandon Routh had to work out and wear tinted contact lenses to make his brown eyes look blue. Blonde Kate Bosworth dyed her hair to become the brunette Lois Lane. Kevin Spacey also shaved his head for Lex Luthor.
• Franchise Killer: Meager box office returns compared to the film's cost made a potential sequel languish in Development Hell until Superman was rebooted.
• Hostility on the Set: Brandon Routh revealed that Bryan Singer was sometimes difficult onset and "wasn't always the kindest to everyone".
• Hypothetical Casting: Bryan Singer wanted General Zod to be in the film, with Jude Law playing him. After Law turned down the role several times, Singer eliminated the character from the script.
• In Memoriam: The film was dedicated to Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve.
• The Other Darrin: Superman Returns is considered to be in the same continuity as the Richard Donner films. However, pretty much everyone from those films was recast in this, due to either being too old or having passed away. The only exception is the late Marlon Brando as Jor-El through stock footage.
• Promoted Fanboy: Bryan Singer and Brandon Routh are big Superman fans.
• Running the Asylum: Bryan Singer is, by some accounts, a huge Superman fan (or at least a huge fan of the first two Christopher Reeve Superman films), which is why he left the X-Men Film Series to make the movie. Some of those accounts suggest that this is why the first two X-Men movies were awesome and Superman Returns was not; he was only marginally familiar with the X-Men comics, so he was able to make two X-Men films that even non-fans could enjoy, but he was too close to Superman to do it right.
• Saved from Development Hell/Sequel Gap: The fifth Superman movie took 19 years, with many, many projects for a fifth Superman emerging since 1987 (another Cannon film, a film directed by Tim Burton, written by Kevin Smith and starring Nicolas Cage, a team up film with Batman, etc).
• Star-Making Role: Brandon Routh never ended up playing Superman again (until 2019), but made enough of an impact to leverage into a respectable career. It helps this was his first big role (and maybe the mixed reaction helped prevent him from getting hit with I Am Not Spock), and has made some acclaimed appearances in other projects, including another DC hero Ray Palmer/The Atom in Arrow.
• Stunt Casting: The film homages the television show The Adventures of Superman with the casting of Noel Neill (Lois) and Jack Larson (Jimmy) in significant roles.
• Underage Casting: Lois Lane is played by Kate Bosworth, who was only 23 years old and looked it. She was supposed to be an experienced reporter with a Pulitzer or two under her belt, not to mention a kindergarten-age son. Brandon Routh (Clark Kent) was 26 during production. The most problematic part of all this is that the movie is supposed to take place five years after the events of Superman II, which makes these characters 35 at the very minimum.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Will Smith and Josh Hartnett were approached for the role of Clark Kent before Brandon Routh was cast. However, Smith turned down the offer due to his reluctance to portray a traditionally white character after doing Wild Wild West, while Hartnett turned it down due to fears of being typecast as the iconic comic book character.
    • Paul Walker, Brendan Fraser, Ashton Kutcher, David Boreanaz, Ian Somerhalder, Glenn Howerton, Ryan McPartlin, Chris Pratt, Sam Heughan, Daniel Cudmore, Jerry O'Connell and Henry Cavill also auditioned for the part of Superman before the casting of Routh. Cavill would eventually go on to portray the titular character in the DC Extended Universe, while O'Connell would voice him in the DC Animated Movie Universe.
  • Jennifer Connelly, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Elisha Cuthbert, Keira Knightley, Claire Danes, Mischa Barton and Keri Russell were considered for Lois Lane before the casting of Kate Bosworth.
    • Amy Adams auditioned for the role of Lois Lane as well before the casting of Bosworth. Adams would later go on to portray the character in the DC Extended Universe.
  • Topher Grace, Eric Christian Olsen and Shawn Ashmore were considered for the part of Jimmy Olsen before Sam Huntington was cast. Shawn's brother, Aaron Ashmore, would later portray Henry James "Jimmy" and his younger brother James "Jimmy" Olsen in Smallville.
  • Hugh Laurie was originally cast as Perry White before the casting of Frank Langella. However, Laurie dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts with House.
  • Shekhar Kapur, Michael Bay, Oliver Stone, Robert Rodriguez, M. Night Shyamalan, Stephen Norrington and Martin Campbell were initially offered to direct the film before Bryan Singer was hired. Campbell would eventually go on to helm Green Lantern.
  • Singer wanted Christopher Reeve to make a cameo appearance in the film but Reeve died before filming began. Singer then decided to dedicate the film to him.
  • In interviews, Kal Penn revealed he originally had a much greater role. It would have been revealed that his character was a disgraced former Daily Planet science reporter who was bribed by Lex Luthor to plant false evidence of Krypton's possible survival, thus inspiring Superman to leave Earth and explore Krypton's ruins.
  • Singer wanted General Zod to be in the film, with Jude Law playing him. After Law turned down the role several times, Singer eliminated the character from the script.
  • A scene dropped from the script had Superman visiting Ground Zero.

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