Superman Returns
Short description
Superman Returns picks up after the Man of Steel has been away from Earth for five years, having travelled to the remains of his home planet Krypton. He comes back to Metropolis to find that life went on without him: Lois Lane has built a new life for herself, and Lex Luthor is once again free and working on a scheme with catastrophic consequences for the world. Balancing his efforts to stop Luthor with his feelings for Lois, Superman sets out to protect a planet that may no longer feel it needs him.
Bryan Singer directed the film, his fifth feature after The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, X-Men and X2. Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris wrote the screenplay, and Singer produced alongside Jon Peters and Gilbert Adler. Brandon Routh plays Clark Kent and Superman, with Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane, Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, James Marsden as Richard White, Parker Posey as Kitty Kowalski and Frank Langella as Perry White. The production involved 38 credited cast members and 239 credited crew.
Released in June 2006, the film runs 154 minutes. It cost about 223 million dollars to make and took roughly 391 million dollars worldwide, a return that fell short of its large budget. On IMDb it holds 6.1 out of 10 from around 302,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 5.8 out of 10 from about 4,700 votes. The critics' rating stands at 7.2 out of 10 from 290 reviews, noticeably higher than the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- James Caviezel expressed great interest in playing Superman, but Singer refused his services, believing that James had become "too recognizable" after playing Jesus in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" (2004).
- This film project can rightfully be considered long-suffering, as it was discussed as early as the mid-90s. At that time, only one person was considered for the lead role – Nicolas Cage.
- In July 2004, Brian Singer was chosen as the director.
- Kevin Smith was chosen as a screenwriter, but later declined, and the position was filled by two people: Dan Harris and Michael Doherty.
- Actors such as Josh Hartnett, Paul Walker, Matt Bomer, Brendan Fraser, Ashton Kutcher, David Boreanaz, Ian Somerhalder, Henry Cavill, and Jerry O'Connell were considered for the role of Superman at various times.
- Brett Ratner declined to lead the project as the confusion regarding the choice of the lead actor had dragged on, due to the carelessness of Warner Bros. executives.
- When Brett Ratner was at the helm of the project, he planned to cast Anthony Hopkins as Jor-El.
- Following Ratner's departure, the film project was briefly attempted to be moved forward by the well-known director McG, but he also failed to make progress. The director was unhappy with the producers' choice of filming location (Australia) and the allocated budget for the film.
- In early July 2004, McG left the project. During his short time leading the process, the director reviewed the following candidates for the role of Superman: Jason Behr and Jared Padalecki. During the casting for the role of Lois Lane, McG also carefully studied Scarlett Johansson's performance.
- Johnny Depp auditioned for the roles of Lex Luthor and Joe-El.
- Approximately $50 million had been spent on this project since 1993, most of which was wasted. The bulk of the expenses consisted of mountains of screenwriting material accumulated over a decade. In addition, a significant amount of money was spent on the initial development under McG's direction – computer work, various plot sketches by animators, and so on.
- Elisha Cuthbert, Claire Danes, Keri Russell, Mischa Barton, and Keira Knightley all auditioned for the role of Lois Lane.
- The script variant written by Kevin Smith was based on one of the 1993 comics in which Superman died from a creature nicknamed "Doomsday".
- Tim Burton's project, titled "Superman Lives," was in pre-production for some time and even acquired a teaser poster. The film was scheduled for release in 1998.
- Singer wanted to cast only Jude Law for the role of General Zod. After Jude's refusal, Singer decided to remove the character from the script entirely.
- Filming of the movie took place in Sydney, Australia.
- To play the role of Superman, Brandon Routh had to gain about 10 kg of muscle mass.
- Almost all script variations revolved around the theme of Superman's death and unexpected return to life. Among these numerous options, the plot by Jonathan Lemkin is particularly noteworthy, in which Lois Lane becomes pregnant shortly before Superman's death. She dies during childbirth, and the child born becomes the new Superman. This script was rejected almost immediately.
- The city of Gotham is mentioned in the film around the 60-minute mark. This is reported by a Black female news anchor.
- At the time of its release, "The Return of Superman" was the most expensive film in the history of cinema.
- After Superman caught the plane, he tells the passengers, "Statistically, an airplane is the safest mode of transportation." Then he flies off, and Lois Lane faints. The same thing happened in the film "Superman" (1978). Only then Superman caught a helicopter.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
