Fast forward in our coverage of WonderCon 2006 to the highlight of most every attendee’s panel experience, when director Bryan Singer appeared to present "Superman Returns."
After entertaining endless questions about "X-Men: The Last Stand" (yes, he would have done it but had to choose "Superman" instead) Singer produced his first treat: an extended trailer. Granted, it had premiered at Comic-Con already, but it was still much cooler and much longer than the teaser trailer everyone’s been gaga over. Added to the mix are more scenes of Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), who’s moved on with her life in the years Clark/Superman has been MIA at the start of the film; her kid (adopted); her fiancé ("X-Men‘s" own Cyclops, James Marsden); and a delightfully scheming Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey).
Bryan Singer surprise number two: an appearance by Superman himself, Brandon Routh. The bright-eyed new Man of Steel bounded onstage at his first convention to field questions alongside Singer. As is the case with fan-driven Q & A sessions, audience members asked the tough questions; what’s with the size of the "Superman" S on Routh’s costume (a smaller S makes Routh’s chest look bigger); what’s with the size of Routh’s codpiece (it was one-size fits all); how did working on "Superman" differ from working on "X-Men" (a bigger task for Singer, lots more work for Routh).
A view of the jumbotron from the cheap seats:
The dynamic duo spoke more about the casting: how it took months and months to cast Routh in his first major screen role (strangely for some of us, he was the original Jess on "Gilmore Girls" before being replaced). Singer also eagerly dispelled internet rumors of a ballooning budget, assuring all that costs were around $184.5 million instead of an erroneously reported $250 million.
For more coverage of Bryan Singer and Brandon Routh’s "Superman Returns" discussions, check out IGN’s Film Force articles, here.
