While another Superman movie is still rumoured to be on the cards, it appears that if the movie does come, there’s no guarantee Brandon Routh would be playing the lead. His original contract stipulated that he had to be available for sequels, but it also had a timeframe for when those follow-ups would have to go into production. However, Routh’s contract has now run out, with no sign of a start date for the filming of the sequel on the horizon.
It’s a real shame as while there were a few grumblings about Superman Return when it was first released – largely because it would have been impossible for it to live up to the hype – it’s a very good movie and really deserves a sequel. While Routh currently seems to be uncertain about whether Warner is still planning to make a follow-up at all (Superman: Man Of Steel was originally meant to start filming earlier this year, but now has no known start date, with just some mumurings it may appear in cinemas in 2012). Those who liked Routh as Superman don’t need to panic too much though, as there’s nothing stopping Warner reapproaching the actor, however if the rumours that they plan to take the character in a darker, more Batman-esque direction turn out to be true, they may want to cast somebody new.