He could have become a world famous star, but this movie destroyed Brandon Routh’s career

18 years ago, after an absence of two decades, the most famous superhero returned to the cinema! The legendary Man of Steel, whose legendary red cape has already slipped into theaters many times and most notably in Richard Donner’s memorable adaptation with Christopher Reeve, was making his big comeback in 2006 with the Bryan Singer reboot.

• $10 million for 6 minutes: One of the most expensive deleted scenes in cinema is in this superhero film

With a colossal budget of $270 million, Superman Returns was supposed to rock the box office and become the new superhero phenomenon of the moment. A performance that could – and usually should have – catapulted its lead actor, a very young Brandon Routh, to global superstardom.

Only 25 years old at the time, the American actress never set foot on the big screen, starting her career on television with small roles in series such as Gilmore Girls, Cold Case and Will & Grace.

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The one who had already tried to play the character of Clark Kent a few years earlier by applying for the main role of Smallville (eventually won by Tom Welling), so he was chosen as the new face of Superman in the cinema.

After giving a very honest performance in this excellent film, Brandon Routh never got a chance to don the blue and red costume (except for the episode Crisis on Infinite Earths in the TV DC version).

Indeed, despite a very good score of 391 million greenbacks at the worldwide box office, Superman Returns did not score high enough in the eyes of Warner, who decided to end the adventure. Brandon Routh’s portrayal of the Man of Steel didn’t really make much of an impression, and the fact that it was never followed by a feature film probably didn’t help his transition into posterity.

The new reboot will be directed by Zack Snyder after 7 years: Man of Steel, played by Henry Cavill, will quickly overshadow its predecessor.

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After Superman Returns…

As for Brandon Routh, after hanging up his cape, he unfortunately couldn’t find another major role on the big screen. Apart from supporting roles in the films Zack & Miri Make Porno by Kevin Smith or Scott Pilgrim by Edgar Wright, he almost abandoned filming and pursued a career in television.

In series, we could see him opposite Zachary Levy in the excellent series Chuck, as well as in the comedy Partners. He then re-entered the DC Comics universe playing Ray Palmer’s character, aka Atom, in the series Arrow, Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.

Would you like Superman Returns with Brandon Routh?

(re)discover the trailer for the film…