HOLLYWOOD It's been 10 years since Bryan Singer tried to reignite the Superman franchise with his nod to the classic Christopher Reeve films, Superman Returns.
Returns, starring Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey, actually scored much better with critics than Zack Snyders 2013 Man of Steel, and during watercooler chats, fans tend to admit Spaceys Lex Luthor was spot-on, Routh played a great Clark Kent and even Sam Huntingtons Jimmy Olsen worked for the squeaky-clean Metropolis director Singer was trying to recreate.
But in the end fans demanded more action from their man in tights, and they definitely werent on board with that ridiculous Superboy subplot.
So Warner Brothers and DC decided to go another direction. And now, a full decade after Luthors diabolical real estate venture, were getting ready to see Snyder's Superman go toe-to-toe with the caped crusader.
But before we do, lets take a minute to celebrate the Superman Returns 10th anniversary by answering that always looming question, where are they now?
Bryan Singer
Singer was the man behind the camera back in 2006, and while he took some of the blame for Returns lukewarm reception and later for the underwhelming Valkyrie, the writer/director/producer continues orchestrating large budget projects.
Singer is probably most famous for his film The Usual Suspects and his involvement with the X-Men franchise. He is currently working on several films, including X-men: Apocalypse, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and a documentary called In the Middle of the Middle East.
Brandon Routh
Routh still gets most of the heat for everything wrong with Superman Returns, and in my opinion, thats a huge mistake. Rouths Superman was definitely worthy of the nostalgia-saturated character Singer was asking for, and some of his later projects proved hes a capable and talented actor. If you dont already love him, check out his compelling portrayal of cheating vegan, Todd Ingram, in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
After Returns, Routh mostly picked up smaller parts in smaller movies until he found a home as Zachary Levis nemesis in the TV show Chuck. Since then, Routh has found most of his success on television where he currently plays another DC hero, Ray Palmer, aka the Atom, across several shows, including The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.
Kate Bosworth
Before Superman Returns, Kate Bosworth was making a name for herself in movies like Remember the Titans, Blue Crush and Beyond the Sea where she worked closely with Spacey. But Bosworths take on Lois Lane didnt land with critics the way her earlier works did, and since Returns she has chosen smaller films like Still Alice and Before I Wake.
Bosworth has also dabbled in singing, fashion and jewelry design, and has started her own jewelry line with celebrity stylist Cher Coulter called JewelMint. She can be seen in a TV mini-series in 2016 called SS-GB.
James Marsden
James Marsden has to be playing the best seemingly-nice-guy-you-dont-want-to-end-up-with-the-girl character out there. Whether its The Notebook, X-Men, Enchanted" or Superman Returns, Marsden has likable-wrong-guy down and his character in Returns was no exception.
Since Returns, Marsden has been acting in projects across the spectrum. Big comedies like Anchorman 2, television shows like 30 Rock and Sundance submissions like The D Train have kept the actor busy. In 2016, Marsden can be seen in the TV series Westworld and will also lend his voice to the upcoming animated film Henchmen.
Parker Posey
In 2006, The Queen of Indies took on the role of Luthors girl, Kitty Kowalski.
Parker Posey, who learned to play mandolin to get ready for her A Mighty Wind role, has done everything from singing to stage to improv to film to writing to who knows what else. BYUtv fans might recognize her as Alice White from Granite Flats, and non-BYUtv fans might recognize her from, well, you know her. In 2016 alone, Posey has five films sitting in post-production, including another Christopher Guest project Mascots and an untitled Woody Allen project.
Sam Huntington
You have to hand it to Huntington for transitioning from Jungle 2 Jungle to landing a lead role in a Superman movie.
After playing Returns Jimmy Olsen, Huntington tackled much smaller movies like Fanboys and Veronica Mars. He was also a regular on the TV show, Being Human and will soon be in the Clint Eastwood film Sully, which stars Tom Hanks.
Kevin Spacey
Easily my favorite part of Superman Returns, Spaceys Luthor was so good I was hoping Warner and DC would find a way to transplant him into the new films. They didnt have to explain anything, I wouldve quietly accepted it and been happier for it.
But as far as where is he today? Does anyone not know? Hes an evil politician on House of Cards. Hes going to play President Nixon in some bizarre true story where Michael Shannon plays Elvis which is super cool because that means two Superman baddies will get to hang out in the White House and hes doing voices in video games like Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. This is of course ignoring his long library of well-known films that have come out since 2006.
Between now and 2017, Spacey has six projects coming our way including Elvis & Nixon and Nine Lives.
Returns, starring Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey, actually scored much better with critics than Zack Snyders 2013 Man of Steel, and during watercooler chats, fans tend to admit Spaceys Lex Luthor was spot-on, Routh played a great Clark Kent and even Sam Huntingtons Jimmy Olsen worked for the squeaky-clean Metropolis director Singer was trying to recreate.
But in the end fans demanded more action from their man in tights, and they definitely werent on board with that ridiculous Superboy subplot.
So Warner Brothers and DC decided to go another direction. And now, a full decade after Luthors diabolical real estate venture, were getting ready to see Snyder's Superman go toe-to-toe with the caped crusader.
But before we do, lets take a minute to celebrate the Superman Returns 10th anniversary by answering that always looming question, where are they now?
Bryan Singer
Singer was the man behind the camera back in 2006, and while he took some of the blame for Returns lukewarm reception and later for the underwhelming Valkyrie, the writer/director/producer continues orchestrating large budget projects.
Singer is probably most famous for his film The Usual Suspects and his involvement with the X-Men franchise. He is currently working on several films, including X-men: Apocalypse, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and a documentary called In the Middle of the Middle East.
Brandon Routh
Routh still gets most of the heat for everything wrong with Superman Returns, and in my opinion, thats a huge mistake. Rouths Superman was definitely worthy of the nostalgia-saturated character Singer was asking for, and some of his later projects proved hes a capable and talented actor. If you dont already love him, check out his compelling portrayal of cheating vegan, Todd Ingram, in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
After Returns, Routh mostly picked up smaller parts in smaller movies until he found a home as Zachary Levis nemesis in the TV show Chuck. Since then, Routh has found most of his success on television where he currently plays another DC hero, Ray Palmer, aka the Atom, across several shows, including The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.
Kate Bosworth
Before Superman Returns, Kate Bosworth was making a name for herself in movies like Remember the Titans, Blue Crush and Beyond the Sea where she worked closely with Spacey. But Bosworths take on Lois Lane didnt land with critics the way her earlier works did, and since Returns she has chosen smaller films like Still Alice and Before I Wake.
Bosworth has also dabbled in singing, fashion and jewelry design, and has started her own jewelry line with celebrity stylist Cher Coulter called JewelMint. She can be seen in a TV mini-series in 2016 called SS-GB.
James Marsden
James Marsden has to be playing the best seemingly-nice-guy-you-dont-want-to-end-up-with-the-girl character out there. Whether its The Notebook, X-Men, Enchanted" or Superman Returns, Marsden has likable-wrong-guy down and his character in Returns was no exception.
Since Returns, Marsden has been acting in projects across the spectrum. Big comedies like Anchorman 2, television shows like 30 Rock and Sundance submissions like The D Train have kept the actor busy. In 2016, Marsden can be seen in the TV series Westworld and will also lend his voice to the upcoming animated film Henchmen.
Parker Posey
In 2006, The Queen of Indies took on the role of Luthors girl, Kitty Kowalski.
Parker Posey, who learned to play mandolin to get ready for her A Mighty Wind role, has done everything from singing to stage to improv to film to writing to who knows what else. BYUtv fans might recognize her as Alice White from Granite Flats, and non-BYUtv fans might recognize her from, well, you know her. In 2016 alone, Posey has five films sitting in post-production, including another Christopher Guest project Mascots and an untitled Woody Allen project.
Sam Huntington
You have to hand it to Huntington for transitioning from Jungle 2 Jungle to landing a lead role in a Superman movie.
After playing Returns Jimmy Olsen, Huntington tackled much smaller movies like Fanboys and Veronica Mars. He was also a regular on the TV show, Being Human and will soon be in the Clint Eastwood film Sully, which stars Tom Hanks.
Kevin Spacey
Easily my favorite part of Superman Returns, Spaceys Luthor was so good I was hoping Warner and DC would find a way to transplant him into the new films. They didnt have to explain anything, I wouldve quietly accepted it and been happier for it.
But as far as where is he today? Does anyone not know? Hes an evil politician on House of Cards. Hes going to play President Nixon in some bizarre true story where Michael Shannon plays Elvis which is super cool because that means two Superman baddies will get to hang out in the White House and hes doing voices in video games like Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. This is of course ignoring his long library of well-known films that have come out since 2006.
Between now and 2017, Spacey has six projects coming our way including Elvis & Nixon and Nine Lives.
