More Superman Returns The Game Previews!

PlayFrance.com has received three new screen captures from Superman Returns: The Video Game. The captures illustrate Superman facing off against more escaped Cadmus creatures.
(click on the images to see them larger)

Two Superman Returns Soundtracks

Well, as many have speculated, we appear to be getting two albums from Superman Returns. The first, John Ottman's symphonic score, will be released on June 27th, according to JohnOttman.com. It's also noted that Ottman begins recording the score in just two weeks. The second is an "inspired by" album featuring several bands performing both original songs and covers that are about or inspired by Superman. You can get more news on the inspired by album at MTV News.

Bryan's Journals on YouTube!

Now you can put your favorite of director Bryan Singer's video journals anywhere you want online! The journals have all been placed on YouTube.com. At the site, you can watch all of the journals, and you can also get code to drop them on your webpage, your MySpace profile, or anywhere else you want to promote the film online! Below is an example of one of the YouTube journals.

Superman Returns Cereal!

The Return of Superman blog has up some new images of an upcoming Superman Returns contest on boxes of Cap'n Crunch breakfast cereal. The box features some new Superman and Lois Lane art, and you can read the details of the contest here, which has a ton of cool Superman Returns merchandise for prizes. The site also has up some images from LIFE cereal boxes that feature the film and a memory-like card matching game on the back. Click the link above to see the boxes and read details.

Brandon Routh Interview in Australia

Superman Returns star Brandon Routh was interviewed by the Sydney Morning Herald recently. There are several quotes from Brandon's ShoWest appearance, and some interesting pieces on the film's status as a vague sequel.

While not a sequel, Singer said the movie follows in the spirit and draws on design elements from the earlier Superman movies. To that end, it will not hurt that Routh resembles Reeve.

"Bryan says in some scenes, I'm the spitting image of Chris," Routh said. "Even my intonations of a line. But other times, it's completely different. It comes and goes, which is pretty exciting to me, to think of Chris and all the other Supermans in the past, that now there are things I'm adding to it."

Click the link above to read the whole article.

Superman Returns: The Video Game - Metropolis

For Superman Returns: The Video Game, it was important for the developers to create a completely free-roaming environment, and to make it available to the player from the very beginning of the game. When you're dealing with a character who can fly hundreds of miles per hour, puting up invisible barriers around the city just wouldn't work. For the first time ever, players will get to experience the entire layout of the city of Metropolis, and all from a bird's eye view.

However, when building a virtual playground that encompasses 80 square miles of free-roaming territory, it's important that the player be able to quickly and easily find their way around. There's a lot of Metropolis to get lost in. To help players determine their location relative to the rest of the city, Metropolis has been broken up into several districts. The districts include places like the News District, with it's towering GNN building, a tech-heavy Hyper Sector, and even mythos-specific locations like Suicide Slums, which even features a local watering hole most comic fans will immediately recognize - The Ace of Clubs. Each sector of the city features it's own unique color pallettes and architectural styles. Within the greater whole, there's literally a Metropolis for everyone's preferred style, and more of it than ever before.

It's one thing to enjoy all this detail at street level, but when your'e talking about a Superman game, we need to look to the sky. From running along the streets like any third person city game, you can seamlessly transition into flight and go places no game has gone before. Metropolis was designed to be experienced vertically. EA developed new proprietary world-building software to create a Metropolis tailored to the Man of Steel. In addition to helping them differentiate sectors of the city, the world-builder can even give them a heroe's-eye view of the city so they can essentially carve flight paths into the city skyline. Even the heights of buildings are tailored to giving the player a smooth flying experience, which you're going to be thankful for when you're rocketing around at super-speeds. In addition, the team didn't stop designing at ground level. In Metropolis, civilization claws it's way skyward, with advertisements, sky-bridges, and railways sprinkled at all levels - there's even air traffic!

Keep checking back to SupermanBooth.blogspot.com in the coming weeks for more exclusive first looks at Superman Returns: The Video Game, due in stores June 28th.

More Sequel Comments for Superman Returns + Direct to Video?

AdAge.com has an article up about the impact that the Superman franchise has had on the many facets of Time Warner. In the article, there's some discussion about the film, and also an interesting remark about a potential direct-to-video Superman film.

There’s a plan in place, Mr. Globe said, to keep “Superman” fresh long after this summer’s movie leaves the multiplex. The studio already has announced another feature film with “Superman Returns” director Bryan Singer, likely for 2009, and possibly a direct-to-video movie in between the upcoming release and the 2009 offering. There will also be a steady stream of entertainment and product, directed by the studio’s global brand management team, which shepherds its franchise properties through every part of their life cycle.

Click the link above to read the whole article. A free registration may be required.

SR Video Game Target Render

EA has provided yet another target render from their forthcoming Superman Returns: The Video Game. Showcasing his powers, this image depicts Superman using his Super-Breath on another Cadmus creature - this time a living gargoyle.

Brandon Routh Latino Review Interview

LatinoReview caught up with actor Brandon Routh, star of Superman Returns, at last week's ShoWest event. He spoke with Brandon about becoming the Man of Steel, and about the danger the world now faces in the film, and about what he's bringing to the historic role.

Kel: How’s your Superman different than the late Reeve’s Superman?

Routh: Its different slightly because of the script, different demands. I think in this film we see Superman enduring a lot more emotional stress because he’s gone away and not said his goodbyes. So he’s having to work through relationships again, Lois isn’t happy that he left and so he has to reconnect with a lot of people, his mother, all these people. So emotionally he’s in a different place, he’s growing up and maturing and because these things he learns things and grows from that. So that’s a big difference in how my Superman is different. It’s in the story.

Click the link above to read the whole interview.

New Trailer Shown at ShoWest

WorldOfJK has put up two brief clips from the awards ceremony. Brandon Routh was presented with the award for Male Star of Tomorrow, and before the presentation, a montage of footage was shown. It included a healthy dose of new behind the scenes footage of Brandon on the set of Superman Returns.

- Intro Footage
- Acceptance Speech


ComingSoon.net is reporting that at today's ShoWest presentation from Warner Brothers, the highly anticipated new trailer for Superman Returns was shown, and received a great reaction.

During Warner Bros. Pictures' presentation, the studio showed three minutes from director Wolfgang Petersen's Poseidon, 10 minutes from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water, five minutes of the animated Happy Feet and the highly-anticipated new trailer for director Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. While Singer wasn't able to make it for today's event, the reaction to the trailer was great.

You can get a full rundown of the footage over at AICN.

New Superman Photo

WB has sent us this new photo, originally released in USA Today. The photo was originally used as a cover to Film Score magazine, but can now be seen in it's full glory here...
(click on image to make bigger)

New Superman Returns Photos

BoxOffice.com has an article up about Superman Returns. It features a few new photos from the film, and a great interview with Brandon Routh in which he demonstrates his natural Supermanish personality.

A rude blare of a car horn interrupts a conversation with Krypton's most famous export. Did someone just honk at Superman?!

"He did!" Superman confirms. "Hey, he just gave me the finger!" he adds, with wholesome incredulity, only to amend, "Oh my gosh! Two fingers!" (What does that even mean, swear-wise?) Meanwhile, the digit-waving motorist who has taken issue with the hero of our story can be heard in the background cursing a blue streak.

"Did we do something wrong?" Brandon Routh, who plays Superman in the Bryan Singer-helmed "Superman Returns," asks his sister (who's doing the driving) in a gee-whiz Clark Kent soundalike delivery that comes naturally to the Iowa native.

"I certainly don't know. He wasn't very nice," Routh remarks evenly regarding the altercation. "He's having a bad day. But that's okay. He can have a bad day. He's not going to ruin my day any."

Click the link above to read the whole article.

Old Rumors Come True?

A rumor from several months back has resurfaced today, and now the question on everyone's mind is whether or not it was a passing rumor at all. Variety has put up a report about actor Hugh Jackman being honored at ShoWest as Male Performer of the Year, and in that description they've included this interesting tidbit:

...and he has a cameo in Bryan Singer's upcoming "Superman Returns," playing the Man of Steel's young dad in flashback mode.

Click the link above for the full article.

Superman Torch is Passed

USA Today has a new article up about Superman Returns. They discuss Dana Reeve, and a special gift she sent to actor Brandon Routh during filming.

Midway through the filming of Superman Returns, star Brandon Routh received an envelope in the mail. It contained two pendants and a letter. The pendants, each emblazoned with a red S, said simply, "Go Forward."

The note from Dana Reeve, the widow of Superman Christopher Reeve, said much the same thing.

"She said she thought I'd be a good Superman," says Routh, 26, best known for a guest role on Gilmore Girls. "She wished me luck. I can't tell you what that was like to get her blessing. I was nervous, because I had never heard from the family, and it's frightening trying to fill Christopher Reeve's shoes."

Click the link above to read the whole article.

Superman Returns Prequel Comics

SUPERMAN RETURNS DIRECTOR BRYAN SINGER AND SUPERMAN RETURNS SCREENWRITERS MICHAEL DOUGHERTY AND DAN HARRIS TO PLOT FOUR COMIC BOOK PREQUELS TO SUPERMAN RETURNS.

March 15, 2006 – DC Comics, the largest English language publisher of comic books worldwide, and Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Superman Returns director Bryan Singer and Superman Returns screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris are providing the plots to four comic book prequels to Superman Returns. The four forty-page comic book prequels will be published by DC Comics throughout the month of June and will bridge the gap between the first Superman film and Superman Returns, which premieres in theatres on June 30, 2006.

About SUPERMAN RETURNS: Following a mysterious absence of several years, the Man of Steel comes back to Earth in the epic action-adventure Superman Returns, a soaring new chapter in the saga of one of the world’s most beloved superheroes. While an old enemy plots to render him powerless once and for all, Superman (Brandon Routh) faces the heartbreaking realization that the woman he loves, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), has moved on with her life. Or has she? Superman’s bittersweet return challenges him to bridge the distance between them while finding a place in a society that has learned to survive without him. In an attempt to protect the world he loves from cataclysmic destruction, Superman embarks on an epic journey of redemption that takes him from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of outer space.

About the SUPERMAN RETURNS prequels:

SUPERMAN RETURNS: KRYPTON TO EARTH
Story by Bryan Singer & Michael Dougherty & Dan Harris
Script by Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray
Cover by Adam Hughes
In the first of the four prequels, fans will revisit the Man of Steel’s origins and witness how the world has been transformed in Superman’s absence.
On sale June 7 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

SUPERMAN RETURNS: MA KENT
Story by Bryan Singer & Michael Dougherty & Dan Harris
Script by Marc Andreyko
Art by Karl Kerschl
Cover by Adam Hughes
The second special conceived by Bryan Singer and illustrated by Karl Kerschl spotlights the life of the woman who raised the Man of Tomorrow—and explores how she survived a world without Superman.
On sale June 14 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

SUPERMAN RETURNS: LEX LUTHOR
Story by Bryan Singer & Michael Dougherty & Dan Harris
Script by Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray
Art by Rick Leonardi
Cover by Adam Hughes
Lex Luthor always dreamed of a world without a Superman. How will Superman’s arch-nemesis react when he finally gets what he’s wanted for so many years?
On sale June 21 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

SUPERMAN RETURNS: LOIS LANE
Story by Bryan Singer & Michael Dougherty & Dan Harris
Script by Mark Andreyko
Art by Wellington Dias
Cover by Adam Hughes
Lois Lane has loved… and lost… the Man of Steel. How will this intrepid reporter rebound from Superman’s absence?
On sale June 28 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

About DC Comics: DC Comics, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world and home to such iconic characters as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Sandman. These DC super heroes and others have starred in comic books, movies, television series (both animated and live-action) and cyberspace, thrilling audiences of all ages for generations. DC Comics’ Web site is located at www.dccomics.com.

WETA Statues Revealed

UPDATE: WETA's website has been updated with a few new angles on the statues, including some amazing detail images. They can all be viewed on this page. Be warned, they're still pretty spoilery!

DC Direct's website has revealed the final versions of the previous two WETA statues, and now they've also revealed the two we hadn't seen before. You can click the titles below to view the statues, but be warned, they can be considered quite spoilery in nature:

SUPERMAN RETURNS: DISASTER AVERTED

SUPERMAN RETURNS: THE DAILY PLANET STATUE

SUPERMAN RETURNS: THE RETURNING SON

SUPERMAN RETURNS: FALLEN HERO


Each of the statues is priced at $345.00US and will be available on June 28th.

SuperTalk Concern! - Issue #4

Issue #4 - Underwear on the Outside
03/12/06

Download - Lots to cover today - more emails from listeners, a HUGE SR Photo Dump from WB, more video game information, Celebrate the Year Superman Returns, Spacey talks sequels, plus a ton of forum talk, including some clarity about the recent spoiler/non-spoiler forum split.

Remember, you can easily subscribe to the SuperTalk Concern podcast to be updated whenever a new episode is published. If you have iTunes, simply click the iTunes button in the left menu of the BT main page, and when your player opens, just click subscribe. If you're using another subscription method for podcasts, the feed url for SuperTalk Concern is -

http://www.DC-Kingdom.com/STC/stc.xml

Topps 'Superman Returns' Trading Cards

Topps has launched a new site dedicated entirely to their Superman Returns offerings, including temporary tattoos, movie cards, and collector tins.

• 90 ACTION-PACKED CARDS CELEBRATING THE MAN OF STEEL’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO THE BIG SCREEN!
  • CHARACTER CARDS
  • STORYLINE CARDS
  • BEHIND-THE-SCENES CARDS
• RETAIL SPECIAL INSERTS:
  • MAGNETS (ODDS 1:12)
  • STICKERS (ODDS 1:6)
  • PLUS EMBOSSED FOIL CARDS (ODDS 1:12)
• AUTHENTIC AUTOGRAPH CARDS
  • BRANDON ROUTH (SUPERMAN)
  • KEVIN SPACEY (LEX LUTHOR)
  • KATE BOSWORTH (LOIS LANE)
  • SAM HUNTINGTON (JIMMY OLSEN)
  • JAMES MARSDEN (RICHARD WHITE)
  • PARKER POSEY (KITTY KOWALSKI)
  • PLUS MEMORABILIA CARDS (ODDS 1:TBD) AND EMBOSSED FOIL CARDS (ODDS 1:12)
• 50 SUPERMAN TATOOS TO COLLECT AND WEAR!
• 6 COLLECTIBLE SUPERMAN TINS
  • EXCLUSIVE TIN LID CARDS
  • EXCLUSIVE TIN STORY CARDS
  • 35 MOVIE CARDS IN EVERY TIN

The collections reveal some interesting new Greg Horn art if you look close enough. Click the link above to check them out.

Celebrate The Year Superman Returns!

Warner Video has put up a new site to celebrate the Year of Superman. With Superman Returns coming to theaters this June 30th, Warner Home Video is releasing the vast majority of the Superman film and televion library to DVD - including a 14-Disc Ultimate Edition box set! It has never been a better time to be a Superman fan, and you can feed your Superman excitement at the link above!

Included in the site is info about the upcoming film, Superman Returns, the Superman legacy, and a whole schedule of their Superman DVD releases for 2006.

BlueTights.net Visits EA Tiburon - Preview

Here is wat Blue Tights had to say about thier visit to EA Triburon... lucky them!

Last weekend, EA Tiburon invited BlueTights.net to their facility to take a sneak peek at the upcoming Superman Returns: The Video Game. As the first 'civilian' ever invited onto the company's "Superman Floor," I am happy to report that this game looks like a winner. EA Tiburon has a very keen awareness of what they're up against - stereotypes about both licensed games, and Superman games of the past. They've gone to great lengths to turn everything from the past on it's head and deliver an engaging experience where the player truly gets to be Superman. In the coming weeks, I'll be bringing you reports full of great details on the game, including my thoughts on gameplay, weaving a game story around a film, sound design, and how EA made Superman's powers not only easy to use, but really fun to use. Keep checking back to BlueTights.net for the most in depth coverage of Superman Returns: The Video Game.

Superman Returns: The Video Game is due out June 28th.

Check out the Games Trailer HERE

Brandon Routh Interview

Des Moines Iowa news channel KCCI 8 recently interviewed Superman Returns star Brandon Routh. The interview can be heard in the channel's podcast, which you can access here. They discuss his feelings on the film so far, and Routh's growing excitement as the debut approaches.

There is also a brief piece here about a special gift that Dana Reeve sent to Routh. Dana, the widow of Superman actor Christopher Reeve, passed away today at age 44.

More Superman Book Covers

Thanks to KALELinRI for pointing out a handful of new Superman Returns book covers. You can see the new covers here, and preorder the books from BooksaMillion.com

New Superman Returns Video Game Screen

Superman Booth is happy to bring you another exclusive image today from the forthcoming Superman Returns: The Video Game. EA provided us with this target render from their development team. For those not familiar with the term, this image was created with models used in the game. The developers place those models into a 3D program, add lighting and shadows, then render out an image to use as a goal. The game's programmers use this goal image as a visual reference to build towards as the game progresses - basically, this is what they want the game to look like.


In this particular image, Superman battles a mysterious creature that's broken out of Cadmus Labs. Cadmus is best known to comic book fans as the institution where the Superboy clone came from, as well as a whole host of other genetic expiriments - some of which turned out better than others.

Kevin Spacy talks about Superman Return Sequel

Actor Kevin Spacey, who plays the villainous Lex Luthor in Superman Returns, was on the British television show Parkinson recently. He revealed to the host that he is indeed set to do a second and possibly third Superman film.

KS: It was a big movie, yes, it's the next Superman in the Superman series, and I play Lex Luthor.

MP: Was that fun?

KS: It was great fun. It's one of the great iconic parts... ever, and I was incredibly fortunate because the film was directed by a remarkable director named Bryan Singer who had directed me 10 years ago in the Usual Suspects, so it was a great opportunity to work together again with Bryan.

MP: And of course it's a franchise, so presumably that looks after you for the next few years?

KS: I will be doing the second one and possibly the third.

Book Cover - Art of Superman Returns

Amazon has added the awesome new cover image for the Art of Superman Returns to their website.

The Man of Steel is back on the silver screen when Superman Returns hits theaters June 2006. Directed by Bryan Singer (X-Men) and packed with explosive action, this blockbuster film documents the super hero's return—after a mysterious absence of several years—to a troubled Metropolis, where he is compelled to face his destiny in a world that has forgotten what it's like to have a hero. The Art of Superman Returns is an in-depth celebration of the concept and developmental art that served as an aesthetic foundation for the highly anticipated film. Nearly 200 pieces of gorgeous art capture all-new sets—a cosmopolitan, art deco Metropolis, a massive, shimmering Fortress of Solitude, and a spectacular spaceship—and showcase the film's inventive costumes and breathtaking locations. An informed text that includes interviews with the director, screenwriters, artists, and production and costume designers completes this thoughtfully crafted deluxe hardcover. For the many Superman fans anxiously awaiting his revival, The Art of Superman Returns is a behind-the-scenes tour not to be missed.

You can pre-order the book using the link above(despite the temporary cover image).

Exclusive New Superman Returns Photo!

Warner Brothers has provided us with this exclusive new photo from Superman Returns. While no official explanation came along with the photo, it appears as though Clark has had Martha Kent saving newspapers in the basment so he can do a little light catch-up reading upon his return. Click the image to see a larger version.

In addition, you can see another pic at IGN of what Clark could be reading - a Daily Planet front page on the disappearance of the Man of Tomorrow. It even includes a new black and white shot of Superman.

And if that's still not enough Superman goodness to hold you over, LatinoReview has yet another new pic of Clark Kent apparently making his return to the Daily Planet.

I know what you're thinking. There can't possibly be any more, can there? There can. SupermanHomepage also has an image up of Stephan Bender as young Clark Kent, exploring his new-found powers.

Tired yet? I hope not, because now SuperHero Hype has updated with a new pic as well, this one depicting Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen!

Superman Returns influencing Comics

Superman Returns has taken many nods from it's comic origins, and many feel that it was inevitable for Superman Returns to begin to influence the comics, whether it be artistically or in storylines, and we've already seen some subtle influences show up, including the re-introduction of the crystals to Superman's Fortress of Solitude. In what is possibly the biggest influence yet, Newsarama has posted this page from the upcoming Geoff Johns' "Up, Up, and Away" story arc. Some similarities to note:

* Daily Planet Globe on the roof similar to SR
* Daily Planet Globe at street level
* Wright-influenced pillars inside Daily Planet office, including LCD monitors on them
* The Daily Planet logo on the wall resembles SR
* Perry's office is much like the one in the film

I think it's safe to say that Superman Returns has definitely begun to influence Superman comics. Thanks to Mig El at The Planet for pointing this out this.

Brandon Routh named Male Star of Tomorrow

According to E! News today, the upcoming ShoWest event has named Brandon Routh, star of Superman Returns, as it's Male Star of Tomorrow. Click the link above to read the brief news bit.

About ShoWest 2006:

ShoWest is the largest annual convention for the motion picture industry. It is the only international gathering devoted exclusively to the movie business. It is also the single largest international gathering of motion picture professionals and theatre owners in the world, with delegates from more than 50 different countries in attendance each year.

This year's event takes place March 13-16 in Las Vegas.

Superman Returns: The Video Game - Exclusive First Look!

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Check out the first video of
Superman Returns™: The Videogame
from EA made from XBOX 360 in-game assets.

Witness Superman™ using his super powers to save Metropolis from Metallo, one of many classic super villains in Superman Returns™: The Videogame. Inspired by the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures feature film and more than 60 years of DC Comics lore, the game creates the first multi-dimensional open-world super hero experience.

As the Man of Steel™, you hone your unworldly super powers such as Flight, X-Ray Vision, Heat Vision, Super Hearing, Super Strength, Super Speed, and Super Breath to fight villains only Superman can defeat. Revolutionary new flight mechanics that give you full command of your aerial maneuvers. Explore and protect the truly living city of Metropolis, which is not only expansive (with 80 sq miles and more than 9,000 buildings), but also changes dynamically based on how you play the game: citizens run away in terror from newly erupting danger and exit their cars to cheer and snap photos as you fly overhead. Experience what it’s like to be Superman like never before with Superman Returns: The Videogame.

In development by EA Tiburon in Orlando, FL, Superman Returns: The Videogame arrives in stores June 28.

SUPERMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

WBIE LOGO: ™ & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.