Superman Returns (2006)

Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Superman. It was directed by Bryan Singer and stars Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey. The screenplay was written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, based on a story by Bryan Singer, Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty.

Filming began in February 2005, and the movie was released in the United States on June 28, 2006 after sixteen months of filming and production. It was the first theatrical Superman film since 1987's Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. The film received mostly positive critical reviews and grossed over $391 million worldwide.

The film revolves around Superman's return to Earth after a five-year absence. He re-assumes his secret identity of Clark Kent, and discovers that Lois Lane—now in a "prolonged engagement"—has a five-year-old son. Superman's nemesis, arch-villain Lex Luthor has devised a new plan to defeat Superman. Director Bryan Singer has said that the continuity is "taking off from the first two Superman films with Christopher Reeve"which serve as its back-story, or as he put it, a "vague history". The late Marlon Brando's role as Superman's biological father Jor-El is reprised with the help of computer-generated imagery and earlier footage.

Superman Returns has similarities with the James Bond series of films in that it is implied that it shares common continuity with earlier films, despite the change of actors in key roles and time-setting. The most noticeable of these links is the use of John Williams' original themes from Superman: The Movie, much as Bond films continued to reference the original "James Bond Theme", and the use of Brando's voice and archive footage. A more subtle reference is the appearance of a photograph of Glenn Ford as Clark's now-deceased adopted father Jonathan Kent (a deleted scene included on the DVD release gives a clearer view of this image); Ford had played the role in the original film. Other links to the previous films include Luthor's "affinity for beachfront property" (his quoting of his father's words of advice echoes similar dialog spoken by the Gene Hackman version of the character in the first film), and Superman's encounter with Lois on the rooftop which similarly echoes their first romantic encounter. Luthor also shows knowledge of the workings of the Fortress of Solitude, as he had previously visited the place in Superman II. The kryptonite meteorite in the museum is labelled as having been found in Addis Ababa in 1978 -- the same location where the kryptonite meteorite was accessed by Luthor in the first film (released in 1978). The revelation that Jason is Superman's son ties in with the sexual encounter between Superman and Lois that occurs in Superman II. The presence of Martha Kent indicates that at the events of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, in which Martha is implied to have died (a fact confirmed by a deleted scene from that film) have been discounted.