July
17 Superman Rocks the House

As expected, Warner Bros.’ “Superman Returns” panel on Saturday was packed and extremely well received. Director Bryan Singer, just off the plane from Australia where shooting on the pic is ongoing, held the giant stage in Hall H on his own, answering questions in ways that made fans very happy. When asked why he made the trip, Singer said: “This is Comic-Con and this is Superman. If it had been anything less, I wouldn’t have done it.” Among the tidbits Singer revealed:

• When asked by a fan which character was the true identity and which was the disguise, Singer said the Clark Kent persona was the disguise.
• The visual inspirations for the film come from the classic Fleischer cartoons of the 1940s, the 1978 Richard Donner film and the comics work of painter Alex Ross. The pic was shot in digital with a Genesis camera and will evoke a 1940s feel akin to seeing “Rebecca” if it was made in color.
• The pic is a definite follow up to Donner’s pic, and Singer said some aspects of “Superman II” will have a vague acknowledgement. The later films will be ignored.
• Singer said the costume was designed with keeping the essential elements of its colors, etc., in mind, and was modified to suit actor Brandon Routh after he had been cast in the part.
• The script tells a love story about these characters, though it happens at a different point in the story than previous incarnations.
• Images of Marlon Brando will be used for a short scene involving Superman’s father Jor-el.
• Lex Luthor, as played by Kevin Spacey, will be a combination of the slightly humorous approach of Gene Hackman and the more serious Lex played by Michael Rosenbaum on the TV series “Smallville.” Spacey did go bald to play Luthor.
• The music will be by John Ottman, but it will incorporate the John Williams theme from the Donner pic.

Singer then showed a short reel from the pic. Scenes definitely evoked the Donner pics with the scenes from the Kent family farm that even recreated the scene where young Clark discovers the remains of his spaceship in the barn. Superman returns from an absence to find that Lois Lane has married Perry White’s son and they have a daughter together. Brandon Routh does appear in the costume and was seen taking off in flight and later, in a scene reminiscent of one of Alex Ross’ work, looks down on planet Earth for a moment of reflection and then zips down.

The clip drew a standing ovation from the crowd and was immediately shown for a second time. Attendees later were able to pick up a Superman logo pin at the DC Comics booth.