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 in film as Superman, but it was shelved in 2008 and the film series was rebooted in 2013 with "Man of Steel", directed by Zack Snyder with Henry Cavill starring as Superman. Snyder and Cavill worked together again in "" and "Justice League". Superman first appeared in cinemas in a series of 17 theatrical animated shorts from between 1941 and 1943. They were released by Paramount Pictures. Of those seventeen, nine were produced by Fleischer Studios and further eight by its successor, Famous Studios. The first appearances of Superman in live-action film were in two serials for Columbia Pictures: "Superman" in 1948