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) as big an asshole as the Salkinds." Two more films, "Superman III" (1983) and "" (1987), were produced. "Superman Returns" was released in 2006. Director Bryan Singer credited the 1978 "Superman" as an influence for "Superman Returns", and used restored footage of Brando as Jor-El. "" also was released in 2006. The film's final sequence, which features Superman flying high above the Earth at sunrise, and breaking the fourth wall to smile briefly at the camera, featured at the end of every Superman film starring Reeve. Because "Superman" went into production prior to the releases of "Star Wars" (May 1977)