[4] The film stars Brandon Routh as Superman, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane and Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, with James Marsden, Frank Langella, Eva Marie Saint and Parker Posey in supporting roles.

In the film, Superman returns to Earth after five years and discovers that his love interest Lois Lane has moved on from him and that his archenemy Lex Luthor is planning to kill him and reshape North America.

Having failed to find any surviving Kryptonians, Superman returns to Earth and resumes his job at the Daily Planet in Metropolis as his alter-ego Clark Kent.

There, he learns that the woman he loves, Lois Lane, is engaged to Perry White's nephew Richard, with whom she has a 5-year-old son named Jason.

He reveals to them his plan to use one of the stolen Kryptonian crystals, which he has combined with the Kryptonite, to grow a new landmass in the Atlantic Ocean that will supplant the United States and kill billions of people.

Meanwhile, Superman attempts to minimize the destruction in Metropolis caused by the new landmass's growth, and Richard pilots a sea plane to rescue Lois and Jason.

Unwilling to let billions of people die, Kitty tosses away the crystals that Lex stole from the Fortress of Solitude before their helicopter runs out of fuel, leaving them stranded on a deserted island.

At the hospital, after removing another shard of Kryptonite from Superman's body, doctors learn that they cannot penetrate his skin with their surgical tools, and he remains in a coma.

Jack Larson, who portrayed Jimmy Olsen in the 1950s television series Adventures of Superman, makes a cameo appearance as Bo the bartender.

That same month, Singer was approached by Warner Bros. to pitch his idea for Superman Returns, as he was preparing to leave for Hawaii on a short vacation with his X2 writers Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris.

[25][26][27] Kevin Spacey was the only actor considered for Lex Luthor, because of his Academy Award-winning performance in Singer's film The Usual Suspects (1995), and friendship with the director.

[30] Bosworth studied Katharine Hepburn's acting for inspiration, particularly in The Philadelphia Story (1940) and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967),[29] as well as Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich (2000).

[31] Hugh Laurie was originally cast as Perry White, but he was unable to film due to commitments to the TV show House;[32][33][34] the part went to Frank Langella.

[38] The script required a scene of Superman safely delivering a Boeing 777 in a baseball park where computer-generated imagery was used as it would have been impossible to assemble the number of extras for the shots.

A second unit crew headed by Dan Bradley and Brian Smrz traveled to Dodger Stadium to photograph elements that were composited into the final images.

[52] Singer and screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris came up with the idea of publishing a prequel limited series, spanning four comic book issues.

[61] Warner Bros. made tie-in deals with General Mills, Burger King, Cheetos, Duracell, Pepsi, Doritos, Papa John's Pizza, 7-Eleven and Colgate.

[62] NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon also sported the "Man of Steel" look by promoting the movie on his #24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the 2006 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

[71] With a total gross of $84.6 million, Superman Returns dethroned The Matrix Revolutions to have the biggest five-day Wednesday opening for a Warner Bros.

[72] Superman Returns: An IMAX 3D Experience was released simultaneously in 111 IMAX-format theaters worldwide, which included 20 minutes of converted 3D film material.

[66] The film's second-week gross rapidly declined by 58% from the first week, due to the presence of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and The Devil Wears Prada.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Bryan Singer's reverent and visually decadent adaptation gives the Man of Steel welcome emotional complexity.

[82] Joe Morgenstern from The Wall Street Journal also gave a positive review, but observed Routh's and Bosworth's acting was "somewhat dead or super average.

Kate Bosworth, Tristan Lake Leabu, James Marsden, Parker Posey, and the visual effects department were nominated for categories.

[103] Brandon Routh,[104] Kate Bosworth,[105] Kevin Spacey,[106] Sam Huntington,[107] Frank Langella,[108] and Tristan Lake Leabu were to reprise their roles.

[110] Writer Michael Dougherty wanted the sequel to be "action packed", featuring "other Kryptonians"[111] with Brainiac[112] and Bizarro also considered for primary villains.

[123] Paul Levitz, president of DC Comics, expected Routh to reprise the title role from Superman Returns[104] before his contract for a sequel expired in 2009.

"[128][129] Set on Earth-96 in the multiverse of the Arrowverse, this version of Superman has become an aged and beleaguered superhero similar to the iteration from the DC Comics' mini-series Kingdom Come; adopting a black belt and an S-shield with a black background as a sign of mourning after losing his friends, notably Perry White and Jimmy Olsen, as well as his wife Lois (having been married at some point after revealing his secrets to her) to a terrorist attack on the Daily Planet by a psychopath from Gotham City.

He is also similar to another iteration, Kal-L (remained working as a newspaper's editor-in-chief instead of going into seclusion after what happened), making this Superman an amalgam of the two, as well as being a facsimile to Ray Palmer as a multiversal counterpart.

As the Monitor recruited heroes from across the multiverse to avert a Crisis caused by the Anti-Monitor, he specifically wanted to find "a Kryptonian who suffered a greater loss than most mortal men could endure" called the Paragon of Truth.