Routh has lost the cape

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Somehow the news about Brandon Roush being stripped of his Superman tights and cape didn't cross my screen until this morning. Variety's Anne Thompson mentioned it at the end of a 12.27 story; Latino Review's George Roush re-reported it yesterday. (Routh, Roush...?) Bryan Singer won't helm the next Warner Bros. Superman flick, Thompson says. Routh, says Roush, "will be replaced in the stand alone sequel by whomever is cast as Superman in the upcoming Justice League of America movie."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 4, 2008 at 9:06 AM

comment #1

Balthazar says ...

Yawn. Wake me up when there's a superhero move worth caring about. Burton's original Batman might have been the last one.

Posted by Balthazar at January 4, 2008 9:20 AM

comment #2

le corbeau says ...

Not surprising-- Bryan Singer is the only person who seemed to think that what Superman needed was a big dose of Jason Schwartzmann-- but I'm sorry for Roush, who I think did a good job in the unfortunate position of having to imitate someone else's performance in a movie that was too slow and somber for its own good. I hope he gets the chance to play himself in something, and show us what he can do when he's not being forced to follow Christopher Reeve's mannerisms.

Posted by le corbeau at January 4, 2008 9:21 AM

comment #3

Mike Ock says ...

Latino Review is where I go for fifth grade level script reviews.

Posted by Mike Ock at January 4, 2008 9:24 AM

comment #4

corey3rd says ...

Ed Norton will be playing Superman

Posted by corey3rd at January 4, 2008 9:25 AM

comment #5

Rich S. says ...

Mixed feelings. Routh was about the only thing about Superman Returns that I didn't actively despise, but it may have been, as Mgmax points out, because of his nifty Chris Reeve impression. At least with Singer gone, they can jettison the dreary, "noir Superman."

Posted by Rich S. at January 4, 2008 9:29 AM

comment #6

lesterg says ...

This was all breaking news last summer. Did anyone really think that Singer's film would proceed with JLA in the pipeline?

Posted by lesterg at January 4, 2008 9:30 AM

comment #7

cm65 says ...

The actor's name is Brandon R-O-U-T-H. An alternative spelling would be L-A-Z-E-N-B-Y.

Posted by cm65 at January 4, 2008 9:30 AM

comment #8

Nick J says ...

Routh, not Roush.

Posted by Nick J at January 4, 2008 9:30 AM

comment #9

Josh Massey says ...

Routh was the last thing wrong with that film. Putting him in Justice League would at least allow a sliver of continuity, or at least give Superman Returns a reason for ever existing in the first place.

Posted by Josh Massey at January 4, 2008 9:30 AM

comment #10

DavidF says ...

Getting someone's name right is a pretty basic facet of journalism: It's ROUTH.

Anyway, SR was not a flawless film but there was nothing wrong with Routh and I was confident Singer would be able to pull off a strong sequel.

Anyway, Thompson is not definitive. She says Singer LIKELY won't return and says a younger actor will be cast in Justice League but not that Routh is out of a Supes sequel. Latino Review could be right on that, I guess...but they ARE Latino Review. A lot of conclusions are being jumped to, IMHO.

Posted by DavidF at January 4, 2008 9:34 AM

comment #11

mutinyco says ...

Guys, he's trying to be funny. Brandon ROUTH was Superman, but George ROUSH wrote the article.

Posted by mutinyco at January 4, 2008 9:45 AM

comment #12

Monument says ...

As a side note, the correct pronunciation of Routh is "Ruth" not "Rowth," which is how I pronounced it the first time I met him. He's a hell of a nice guy, and didn't bother to correct the mispronunciation; I was scolded later by some PR harpy.

Posted by Monument at January 4, 2008 9:49 AM

comment #13

DavidF says ...

You give him too much credit.
I will grant that that first ROUSH is probably a typo/brainfart rather than actually not knowing the guy's name.

After all, things won't get really confusing here unless it's Shia LaBeouf that gets the role. (And if someone named George LaBouef spills the beans on that casting call, God help us all).

Posted by DavidF at January 4, 2008 9:49 AM

comment #14

adaml says ...

Is it fair of me to say that anyone who likes superhero films is a simpleton?

No?

Well I'll say it anyway.

I don't like any of them. None. Not even the Nolan Batman film. Well maybe the first X-Men was okay. But that's it.

Posted by adaml at January 4, 2008 10:25 AM

comment #15

Gnome de Guerre says ...

Seriously, what's the reading comprehension level here? The Thompson blog entry doesn't say anything about Routh in relation to the Superman sequel. Only that he won't be the Justice League's Superman. Chud.com has it right.

Posted by Gnome de Guerre at January 4, 2008 10:53 AM

comment #16

Craptastic says ...

That's really sad news to me. Thought Routh was extremely good as Superman. Too bad Singer had to drag him down like that.

Posted by Craptastic at January 4, 2008 10:55 AM

comment #17

jeffmcm says ...

He was miscast, too boyish for the part.

Posted by jeffmcm at January 4, 2008 10:57 AM

comment #18

Craptastic says ...

Actually, hang on a second. I remember that he signed a deal for two sequels as well. So, without Thompson mentioning that at all... it's still not a done deal to me.

Posted by Craptastic at January 4, 2008 11:01 AM

comment #19

lesterg says ...

I'm seriously doubting that was a play-or-pay deal, Craptastic. As far as I know: WB has no further obligation to Routh.

Posted by lesterg at January 4, 2008 11:28 AM

comment #20

DavidF says ...

Thanks, Gnome De Guerre for confirming I'm not crazy.
An inconclusive sentence at the end of a blog entry on another topic is not the same as Variety breaking the story.

I don't think Bale has been confirmed as Batman for the movie either but if it's NOT him I don't think that means he's out of the Nolan films.

Yeesh.
The important thing is that Routh's name is STILL wrong.

Posted by DavidF at January 4, 2008 11:34 AM

comment #21

Sean says ...

Yeah, I believe those contracts are usually, "If we want you, we have you for two more, but if not, it was fun" type of deals.

Posted by Sean at January 4, 2008 11:35 AM

comment #22

lesterg says ...

...and considering that Routh's career options consisted of Superman or becoming a State Farm Agent, I'm doubting his agent had the best negotiating position.

Posted by lesterg at January 4, 2008 12:44 PM

comment #23

D.Z. says ...

I still don't see why WB thinks JLA's gonna be big, when SR flopped, and Batman Begins disappointed. Their properties just don't have the box office potential they used to like the Marvel properties. Hell, 300's been their only real success, and they don't even own the comic book for it! It might be a better idea for them to focus on a low-budget project, like New Line did with Blade.

Posted by D.Z. at January 4, 2008 2:31 PM

comment #24

jeffmcm says ...

Batman Begins did not "disappoint" financially. It's made tens of millions in profit and its sequel will have one of the biggest openings of this year.

Posted by jeffmcm at January 4, 2008 2:48 PM

comment #25

Josh Massey says ...

Hey Lester, there ain't anything wrong with being a State Farm agent.

Posted by Josh Massey at January 4, 2008 3:41 PM

comment #26

BurmaShave says ...

In the age of SPIDER-MAN 2, X-MEN and X2, and BATMAN BEGINS, I dont know why anyone is waiting on Superman, an immortal and deeply uninteresting superhero.

Posted by BurmaShave at January 4, 2008 4:14 PM

comment #27

Redmond says ...

Anyone else notice the quote in Thompson's story from Chris Nolan. He pretty much says The Dark Knight will be PG. What the hell?!?

Posted by Redmond at January 4, 2008 5:22 PM

comment #28

moviemaniac2002 says ...

You have to feel a little sorry for Routh...dragged down by Singer's woeful concept of "Superman Returns" - which played like a joyless painfully slow remake of Richard Donner's original...it looked like Donner's "Superman" if Donner had been duplicated by a
Body Snatchers seed pod..with all the standard
elements, but with the excitement and fun sucked out of it...or to put it more directly, a Merchant/Ivory Superman.

Posted by moviemaniac2002 at January 4, 2008 6:21 PM

comment #29