'Superman Returns' turns 15: Here are some lesser known facts
Superman Returns, starring Brandon Routh, released today, 15 years ago. The movie that was a reboot of sorts for the Superman franchise, received mostly positive reviews from the critics, while the audience gave a lukewarm response. It followed a new storyline, where Superman took a sabbatical of five years, before returning to his vigilante/savior duties. Here are some other interesting facts.
The film almost ended the lead actor's career
Routh scored the role after a lot of hard work, but wasn't benefited much, as the box-office collections weren't that impressive. There were plans of a sequel to be made in 2009, which were abandoned. Adding to Routh's bad luck, another movie that he was offered, Without Remorse, was also dropped. It was in 2010 when he got a recurring role on NBC's Chuck.
Will Smith was also considered for the role of Superman
When the casting for the movie started, makers found it extremely hard to find someone to fill in the shoes of Christopher Reeve, who played the role of Superman memorably in the earlier editions. They approached Will Smith, but he declined the offer. "I had already done Jim West and you can't be messing up white people's heroes in Hollywood," he sarcastically said.
'Superman Returns' was the first movie converted to IMAX 3D
The movie, even though was termed as a "disappointment" by many, was ahead of the curve when it came to technology. The film achieved the feat of becoming the first venture to be converted into IMAX 3D. Many scenes were picked by the director and turned to 3D. There were also signals developed to inform the audience when to wear their 3D glasses.
A scene related to 9/11 was scrapped later
Director Bryan Singer had revealed that there was a scene related to the 9/11 terror attacks at the Twin Towers that was eventually scrapped. Singer said, "I had a scene in the script which I never shot, where Superman-- after flying around rescuing people at night -- would be standing at dawn at Ground Zero." It was cut during pre-production due to sensitive nature.
A deleted scene had cost the makers almost $10mn!
An alternate opening to the movie was shot and then removed, which would have been unremarkable if it didn't cost a whopping $10 million to put together. The six-minute-long sequence was edited as it didn't sit well with the rest of the movie.
