Superman Returns Man of Steel: The Official Brandon Routh Thread

[Rust]

3) Getting the part BACK. Routh isn't auditioning for some new role here. He's taking BACK what's rightfully his. He won it the first time around, and he's established himself (at least visually) as the "Superman of Today."
Let the man have his role back!

Sorry, dont quite agree here. This will be a different take on the character, so Routh would basically have to start from scratch. With more emotion, please.

 

[Ultimate_Superman]

Sorry, dont quite agree here. This will be a different take on the character, so Routh would basically have to start from scratch. With more emotion, please.

Agreed

 

[BH/HHH]

You forgot to include that he is still pretty much the face of Superman. His image is still used somewhat for Superman even DC artist use him as well.

I went to card shop the other day to get a birthday card and there were several Superman cards two of the designs both had Routh as Superman on

 

[GoblinWhirlwind]

Sorry, dont quite agree here. This will be a different take on the character, so Routh would basically have to start from scratch. With more emotion, please.

More all around presence, too.

 

[hippie_hunter]

But that had more to do with Singer's direction of the film, not Routh himself.

 

[Man of Tomorrow]

Shane Davis used Routh's image again for Superman in Earth One?

Not surprising. I called this a while back.

 

[Rhiannon]

I tend to agree, hippie_hunter. The story and direction didn't give Routh many opportunities to exude a commanding presence. I don't think it was Singer's objective to portray him as such; during scenes such as Superman crying as he flies away from watching Lois at her home and being beaten mercilessly by Lex and a group of thugs, he wanted Superman to come across as someone who is plagued with human weaknesses despite his godlike powers. The self-sacrificial angle was overplayed to the exclusion of showing Superman as a powerful guardian, unfortunately. None of that is Routh's fault. He played the character as he was written.

 

[Herolee10]

I think it would be so foolish for WB to just let him go right away. I mean, let's look at the fact:

1) It took FOREVER to cast Superman the first time around. Think of how many actors, direcors, and years went by between Reeve and Routh!

2) Routh seems to have unanimous support from the online entertainment journalism community. Additionally, actual filmmakers have already come out saying that Routh should get the part back, particularly Edgar Wright.

3) Getting the part BACK. Routh isn't auditioning for some new role here. He's taking BACK what's rightfully his. He won it the first time around, and he's established himself (at least visually) as the "Superman of Today."

Let the man have his role back!

ITA with all of this. One of the main reasons why no other superman project was able to get off the ground in the past was because Directors had a hard time finding an actor that would bring credit to the role.

Right now, brandon is Warner Bros. Safest bet at the moment. He's still the right age for the role, he hasn't been involved in any scandalous affairs in the eyes of the public, and quite honestly, he's the closest that I've seen so far that's able to emit the strength and sincerity present within Superman's facial features than any of the other actors that are being discussed for the role.

 

[I Am The Knight]

I'm not sure about this. I love Routh, but I don't see this happening....Also, it might be best if they recast the role. Frankly, Routh or Recast would be good for me.

 

[Superman2007]

I love Routh as Superman aswell...but he just doesn't work for what Snyder and Nolan are trying to do.

If they cast him in a potential "established Superman" storyline, people will think it's a sequel and question where the kid and all the other key players are.

If they cast him in an origin for Superman, the movie will come off looking like a prequel.

We know Snyder, Nolan, Goyer and Co want this Superman film to be apart from everything else that has come before...in that sense...Routh just doesn't work. It's a shame, but it is what it is. Routh will be fine, he got his shot, he got paid and he'll move on.

 

[I Am The Knight]

I'm pretty sure this is Superman Begins, so yeah I think everything will be new. WB will hit the reset button.

 

[Herolee10]

but..IF..and this is a big IF..if the rumors are true, and that Synder is actually putting Routh into consideration, doesn't that say something about their potential willingness to use him for the role again despite his connection with Singer's film?

 

[I Am The Knight]

Well, obviously there's a lot of people that love him and liked him in the role, so he has that going for him. But I don't think the storyline they are apparently going with supports using him again. If they are fully rebooting, and doing an origin story, then it doesn't makes much sense.

It's not like Batman Forever, where they wanted Keaton back and that would have made sense because they were basically continuing the series under new lenses, not resetting the franchise, like they seem to be doing here. Therein lies the problem with Routh.

 

[stargazer]

Hey gang, I love that pic too, did some digging and found it on the DC blog...link below...


http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/10/15/process-piece-a-look-at-superman-earth-one/

Nice, thanks!

If they cast him in a potential "established Superman" storyline, people will think it's a sequel and question where the kid and all the other key players are.

They will think that any way. But soon they'd realize it is a new continuity once they see that everything else is new. I don't think they'd have a problem with it really as long as Superman looks great and the movie is fun and entertaining. I think casting the right man for this role is very important, and IMO Brandon is a fantastic choice and general audiences have already accepted him in the part.

If they cast him in an origin for Superman, the movie will come off looking like a prequel.

Not necessarily if everything else is new. People are smarter than one might think.

 

[Compi716]

Unless they pulled a Judi Dench as M move. She played the same role
in TWO different Bond continuities.

 

[elgaz]

She wasn't the lead character though. I think it's easier to get away with recasting supporting roles.

Despite that though, I agree that the general public are not as stupid as some people would have you believe. All this worry and hype about whether keeping Routh in the role would be confusing or not - you know what? Once asses are in cinema seats and Superman is on screen doing his thing, no-one will give a damn. Once a movie starts you tend to immerse yourself in it and as long as the marketing and PR machine make clear that this is a new take on Superman, it won't be a problem.

It's a very unique situation, I'll give it that. You have this capable actor who's the right age for the role, has the right look and build for the role, wants the role, and has played the role before. An actor who's face was on every bit of merchandise associated with the role and who many people still see as 'Superman' - that's how he's introduced in just about every interview, magazine article and TV show he's ever on.

And whilst the film he was in wasn't a critical success, it still made a lot of money - don't confuse the relatively low profit made by the film as a sign of failure. Plenty of people saw the film but the huge budget ate into most of the profits.

Yet because the film's director chose to take the entirely wrong direction with the film, we have this situation where the studio want a new movie which is totally distanced from the old one.

In a way, I liken it to the James Bond movies. After the release of Die Another Day with Pierce Brosnan, the film was criticised for dodgy effects, questionable plotlines and silly gimmicks. An invisible Aston Martin??? It became clear that a new approach to Bond was needed and Casino Royale took a much more realistic, edgy and gritty approach to the franchise, with great success. But with Daniel Craig replacing Brosnan in the role.

The question is, putting aside age and physicality ........... would the public have accepted Brosnan returning to the role, playing the same character in a much different film?

As long as he played the character differently - in a serious manner more suited to the style of Casino Royale - I think they would have. This is the closest comparison I can think to the current situation with the question mark over Routh's recasting.

 

[Micromind]

Routh can play Supes but look a lot different than he did in SR, In SR everything was color corrected to have a brown tint.

His face has matured a lot and now he looks the part more. In addition to that make some changes -

1. Routh's hair is black but in SR he had Dark Brown hair, Just make his Hair Black and part the hair other way, and make his hair short, this will make him look different.

2. Change his costume, make a wide neck and a different type of cape attachment, make Suit colors bright.

3. Make him put on more muscle, that will surely give him a different look.

4. Do not include any of the supporting cast of SR, which will make it clear to everyone that this is not the continuation of SR.

Nobody remembers Chris Evans as Jonny Storm (Human Torch.) in Fantastic Four and thinks that he is the same guy who is now playing Captain America.

So, Routh as Superman will not be a problem to most moviegoers.

 

[annie.j88]

he's not gonna get it.

if he does, it'll be the first time i've ever experienced this, apart from re-casting judy dench as m in a prequel/reeboot, but even then , she was just a supporting character.

i think the GA would get too confused

 

[raybia]

She wasn't the lead character though. I think it's easier to get away with recasting supporting roles.

.

Could be that its easier which means that Snyder would have to work a little bit harder in order to make it work. The first place he can start is Routh's look. In my opinion Routh's Superman didn't have a traditional look. From the costume to the hairstyle and even his face which was young looking, he didn't have the classic look, which wasn't his fault. So if Snyder can make him look like he was lifted straight from the comics and then have him play Superman more like he is portrayed, say like from TAS. Then right away I think people will see that this is not connected to SR. There are other things they can do as well, such as a massive ad campaign so that by the time the movie is release, most people will know its not a prequel or a sequel. Of course there will be a couple of idiots who will be confused as there were when BB was made, who thought it was a prequel to Keaton's Batman, but of course then eventually learned the truth.

 

[annie.j88]

just seems like a massive risk and too much effort.

just re-cast. brandon has too much baggage, thanks to singer

 

[Rust]

Yeah, too much negative baggage. Maybe if he had totally nailed the part. But then we might've been looking at a sequel. I dunno...

I prefer a completely fresh start.

Sorry, Routh...

 

[Daybreak_st]

Sorry, dont quite agree here. This will be a different take on the character, so Routh would basically have to start from scratch. With more emotion, please.

Agreed completely. I think it's funny that Routh's natural appearance looks more like Superman than he did after Hair and make up for Superman Returns. Now if your guy naturally looks better for the role than he does once you've made him up and placed him in the costume their something seriously wrong with your production.

He's older now, looks even more like Superman, and with the right direction i think he'll cement his place as the iconic character. His look could be as good as or better than Reeve, they just need to work with his natural look and avoid making him look so "plastic" and "artificial". Look at the difference:

vs

 

[Rust]

Also, I think the contacts which actually help make him look more "alien" also put up a barrier. They make him look even more inhuman and distant which should fit the character, but in this case didnt really help the actor.

 

[BH/HHH]

he's not gonna get it.

if he does, it'll be the first time i've ever experienced this, apart from re-casting judy dench as m in a prequel/reeboot, but even then , she was just a supporting character.

i think the GA would get too confused

I disagree with that, I don't think he wil get it but the general audience won't be confused, trust me people who just watch these movies don't always realise things I know people that didn't know Batman Begins was a reboot. I don't think it would confuse the public at all.

 

[stargazer]

Yeah, too much negative baggage. Maybe if he had totally nailed the part. But then we might've been looking at a sequel. I dunno...

I prefer a completely fresh start.

Sorry, Routh...

Actually, to most people he NAILED the part. You may not have liked his work much, but the fact is that to a lot of people he did a great job with the story and material he was given to work with. It's NOT his fault there was no sequel, there were other factors at work, especially Bryan Singer.

Brandon won awards for his work in SR such as:

“Superman Returns” Tops Saturn Awards, including Best Actor for Brandon.
http://www.supermanhomepage.com/news/2007-news/2007-news-movie.php?topic=2007-news-movie/0511

Best Superhero- Spike TV's Scream Awards Awards 2006 (beating up contenders like Jackman and Bale)
http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEIwlILJAWBSNI

Empire Award 2007 for Best Male Newcomer
http://www.empireonline.com/awards/malenewcomer.asp

Link to pic: http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/...Brandon-Routh/photo/2582835/Brandon-Routh.jpg

And sorry but this 'too much negative baggage' is a myth among online fanboys. Yes, many people expected a different approach with this film, but a lot of people also loved the film as it is. General audiences just wanted MORE action. I don't really think there was a need for a reboot, but I don't make the calls so...