Brandon Routh Explains Why Superman Returns Sequel Didn't Happen

In 2006, Warner Brothers made an attempt to relaunch their DC Comics on the big screen with Superman Returns. The film starred Brandon Routh as the titular super hero icon, an actor who would go on to play another DC Comics on the CW. Superman Returns was not exactly a hit. The film got mixed reactions from critics and fans and its box office was not that of a super hero movie blockbuster, though to be fair, it arrived before the big boom in 2008 which saw The Dark Knight and Iron Man propel the genre to new levels. In a recent interview for Speedy Comics Con, Routh opened up about Superman Returns having planned for a sequel.

"The intention was to do a sequel, always to do, with a big tentpole movie like that," Routh explains in the video above. "They want to make more as long as they feel like they've recouped the money that they invested into the film. At the end of the day, the studio, Warner Brothers, decided it was too much of a gamble for them to do a sequel. The creative entities, the writers and the directors were on to other things. Certain people at the studio who were excited a out Superman had left to go on to other projects at other studios. So, it was both the passion and the interest in Superman dissipated and the movie, I guess for them, didn't bring back enough monetary success for them to pull the trigger on it."

As the story goes, Superman Returns took in $391.1 million at the worldwide box office. The character wood be rebooted again in 2013 with Henry Cavillin the leading role for Man of Steel, which would nearly double the box office haul of Superman Returns.

Still, Routh's days of being Superman are not necessarily a thing of the past. The actor played Superman in CW's Crisis crossover and with Michael Keaton reprising his role as Batman to expand the multiverse in DC Comics movies, the actor won't rule out a possible return.

"That's always a possibility and, of course, as they're bringing in Michael Keaton which I'm excited about and some other people from the past DC projects," Routh said. "I think it's very exciting. It worked really well with Crisis on Infinite Earths and I was proud and honored to be a part of it and to reprise my Superman. So, it's an absolute possibility, you can do anything. Everybody lives and dies all the time."

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