Superman in film that in his absence Lois Lane has given birth to a son and become engaged. Singer chose to follow Donner's lead by casting relatively unknown Brandon Routh as Superman, who resembled Christopher Reeve somewhat, and more high-profile actors in supporting roles, such as Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. Singer brought his entire crew from "X2" to work on the film. Via digitally-enhanced archive footage, the late Marlon Brando appeared in the film as Jor-El. "Superman Returns" received positive reviews and grossed approximately $391 million worldwide. In February 2006, four months before the release of "Superman Returns", Warner Bros. announced a
Superman (1978 film) because of a warrant out for his arrest: a sexual-obscenity charge from "Last Tango in Paris". Production moved to England in late 1976, but Hamilton could not join because he was a tax exile. Mark Robson was strongly considered and was in talks to direct, but after seeing "The Omen", the producers hired Richard Donner. Donner had previously been planning "" when he was hired in January 1977 for $1 million to direct "Superman" and "Superman II". Donner felt it was best to start from scratch. "They had prepared the picture for a year and not one bit was useful