Every where you look on the web, different sites are saying different things about both "planned" Superman films, "Justice League of America" and the semi-anticipated "Superman Returns Sequel". This is the Superman Database's attempt to collect all the rumors and post them in one arena. Hopefully we can all start to sort out the fact from fiction.

Superman Returns Sequel

Variety - October 22, 2007

Superman needs some ideas for what his next adventure might be.

"Superman Returns" scribes Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris have opted not to come back and pen a sequel to the 2006 summer pic that would have reunited them with helmer Bryan Singer. The three also worked together on "X2: X-Men United."

As a result, WB is now taking pitches for Supe's next outing from other scribes -- just as the studio is trying to figure out which actor will don the character's tights in "Justice League."

Industry chatter claimed the studio would start fresh with a new take on the Man of Steel, as if the previous pic never happened.

Reasons mentioned were the introduction of Superman's son with Lois Lane, as well as the film's less-than-expected domestic haul of $200 million and another $191 million overseas.

Marvel Studios is adopting that let's-try-again strategy with "The Hulk" at Universal, hoping a new pic, starring Edward Norton, will launch a franchise that Ang Lee's 2003 actioner failed to do.

But WB denies such plans and said next pic would be a sequel with Brandon Routh likely to wear the "S" on his chest again. Legendary Pictures is co-developing and co-financing the project.

New pic also will up the action quotient, however -- something Singer promised fanboys at last year's Comic-Con in San Diego.

Dougherty and Harris are pursuing more directing gigs, with Dougherty having recently completed "Trick 'R Treat" at WB as his first pic. He's also looking to pen a graphic novel and children's book.

Harris, who had previously helmed "Imaginary Heroes," is writing and directing "I, Lucifer," based on the book, with Daniel Craig attached to star.

Variety - July 10, 2007

Kevin Spacey will return as Lex Luthor in "Superman: Man of Steel" and appear in "Telstar," Nick Moran's film version of Moran and James Hicks' 2005 darkly comic West End play about flamboyant '60s record mogul Joe Meek.

"Superman" director Bryan Singer met with Spacey in New York while the latter was appearing on Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's recently wrapped "Moon for the Misbegotten." Singer was about to pitch his "Man of Steel" sequel to Warner Bros.; "Superman Returns" scripter Michael Dougherty is now writing the screenplay.

After Singer completes "Valkyrie" and "The Mayor of Castro Street," he plans to start production on "Man of Steel" next year for a 2009 release.

Spacey hopes to shoot his Luthor role in a six-week block, as he did on "Superman Returns," after he completes his run in David Mamet's "Speed the Plow" in April.

Los Angeles Times - August 16, 2006

The Los Angeles Times spoke with, Warner Bros. Pictures President, Alan Horn about the possibility of a Superman Returns Sequel. According to the article, Mr. Horn was quoted as saying "I thought it was a very successful movie, but I think it should have done $500 million worldwide," Horn said. "We should have had perhaps a little more action to satisfy the young male crowd." while speaking about Superman Returns. He hinted about reestablishing the Superman film franchise and stated that a sequel should be ready by the Summer of 2009.

ComingSoon.net Interview w/ Bryan Singer- July 22, 2006

CS/SHH: Is the sequel going to happen?
Singer: Yes, probably for a 2009 release.

CS/SHH: You planted a lot of seeds in the first film, what do you want to cover in the second film?
Singer: I'd like to build on the seeds that are planted, you know, expand upon relationships, you've got now a child, you've got these other elements, but also have the opportunity to have the characters more established to bring in some more action and have some more stuff going on.

CS/SHH: In the comic adaptation there were little hints that the New Krypton settled into orbit.
Singer: Yeah, New Krypton has got these crystals on it, so anything's possible.

Newsrama - July 21, 2006

Friday afternoon at the Warner Bros. Pictures Presents panel at Comic-Con, Superman Returns director Bryan Singer announced that while he doesn't have a deal set yet with Warner Bros. (though he has had metings, and noted that he didn't want to say anything at Comic-Con about it until he had met with WB specifically about doing a sequel), he does intend to direct a sequel to Superman Returns, to hit theaters in 2009

As for the story, Singer said that while Superman Returns allowed him to introduce the cast, the sequel would allow him to, “Go Wrath of Khan on it." While Singer didn't name any particular villains that would be in the sequel, he teased - more than once - an alien threat.

Justice League of America: The Movie

Cinematical/IESB - November 30, 2007

I'm already convinced we'll continually circle the same names over and over and over ... until, eventually, this whole thing will just go away. Yup, we're in Justice League limbo -- not quite development hell or greenlight heaven; we're here to just wait and speculate. It would appear that Warner Bros. has this film cast already. Then why are we hearing (yet again) from sites like AICN and IESB when it comes to casting confirmations? These names should've hit the trades a week or two ago, when we first reported on them. But no. So here we are. Again.

AICN claims they can confirm 100% with all sorts of inside studio sources, their siblings and their siblings' children that Megan Gale has officially landed the part of Wonder Woman in the new live-action Justice League Film. She's from Australia, used to be a fashion model, appeared in the movie Stealth and, well, that's all there is to know at this time. Additionally, and with the same certainty, IESB claims that dude Armie Hammer has landed the role of Batman. He played Barrett on one episode of Desperate Housewives. Kurt on one episode of Veronica Mars. And Student #2 on one episode of Arrested Development. And now he'll play Batman in the long-awaited Justice League flick. Don't try to find the logic people; I've been searching for months now and nada. Will an official announcement come soon? Maybe. Maybe not. So you'll have to make do with this for now.

Australian Film Commission - November 19, 2007

The Australian Film Commission has officially posted notice for the up-coming Justice League movie, which it lists as being titled "Justice League of America".

Production Company: Kennedy Miller Mitchell
Producers: Doug Mitchell, Barrie Osborne
Director: George Miller
Writers: Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney
Duration: 90 min
Synopsis: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash and other superheroes unite to fight against evil forces.
Status: Pre-Production

"Justice League of America" will reportedly start production at Fox Studios in Sydney in February 2008.

SuperHeroHype.com - November 19, 2007

Keep in mind that Warner Bros. has yet to reveal any cast members, but this is a list of names Superhero Hype! received over the weekend as to who might be cast in Justice League. Yes, we realize the much rumored Adam Brody is not listed here as The Flash. Our answer? We just don't know what's up, plain and simple:

Superman - D.J. Cotrona
Batman - Armie Hammer
Wally West/The Flash - Anton Yelchin
Aquaman - Santiago Cabrera
Iris - Zoe Kazan
Wonder Woman - Megan Gale
Talia al Ghul - Teresa Palmer
Green Lantern - Common

We must repeat, the above names are not confirmed. They might not be confirmed for a while, because a new article talking about the writers strike at The Hollywood Reporter says that Justice League might not be as sure of a thing as it seems:

At Warner Bros., "Justice League of America" finds itself without a shooting script and has options expiring on potential actors who recently were screen tested. As a result, it might have to postpone production.

AccessHollywood.com - October 15, 2007

Young Hollywood is getting ready to flex their super powers.

In an effort to fill out the cast of the upcoming DC comic book big screen adaptation of “Justice League of America,” director George Miller has lined up a who’s who of Hollywood up-and-comers to vie for a shot in the “super” cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Among the roles up for grabs are Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern and the Martian Manhunter.

Stars who Miller planned to see in a marathon casting call on Sunday and Monday included Adam Brody (“The O.C.”), Joseph Cross (“Running With Scissors“), D.J. Cotrona (“Windfall“), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“Grindhouse“), Michael Angarano (“Sky High“), Teresa Palmer (“Wolf Creek“), Max Thieriot (“Jumper“), rapper Common, as well as Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki and Scott Porter from NBC’s “Friday Night Lights.”

And while not all of the actors above would be considered household names, The Hollywood Reporter said that was by design, as Miller (whose directorial credits include “Happy Feet,” “Mad Max” and “Babe”) is looking for actors who can grow into their super-hero roles over the course of the film’s franchise.

No costumes were involved in the auditions, The Hollywood Reporter added.

“Justice League of America” is slated for a 2010 release, according to IMDB.com.

Variety - September 20, 2007

Warner Bros. is moving aggressively ahead with the bigscreen adaptation of DC Comics' "Justice League of America," with George Miller aboard to direct.

Project, which is in the initial phases of casting, is a pre-strike priority for the studio, which needs a superhero tentpole for 2009.

Still, making all the pieces fit has been complicated by overlapping superhero projects in the pipeline, since "Justice League" features a pantheon of superheroes including Superman and Batman.

Batman and Superman are active properties for the studio, though the next installment in the "Superman" franchise has taken a backseat to "Justice League" in part because Warners is so keen on the "Justice League" script by Kieran and Michele Mulroney.

Beyond the Caped Crusader and Man of Steel, "Justice League" will likely feature Wonder Woman, the Flash and Aquaman. The Green Lantern is also featured in the comicbook.

Several sources close to the project said that Christian Bale, star of the revived "Batman" film franchise, and Brandon Routh, star of Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns," would probably not appear in the movie.

Helmer Christopher Nolan, current steward of the "Batman" franchise for the studio, would prefer that Warners delay "Justice League" until after he finishes "Batman" projects in development; Bale has also let his uneasiness about "Justice League" be known.

To work around these issues, the studio explored making "Justice League" as an animated film or with motion capture, but all indications are that the pic will be an f/x-driven live-actioner.

Project is so complicated -- and casting-dependent -- that even those deeply involved are holding their breath until production begins.

"They're working very hard to get it to happen," said one party close to the project. "But there are so many characters, it's complicated."

It was for this very reason that many believed Warners would move ahead first with a follow-up to Singer's "Superman Returns." Singer, however, is busy with Tom Cruise starrer "Valkyrie."

Miller has a warm relationship with Warners. He last helmed "Happy Feet," which generated $379 million in worldwide box office for the studio.

This project could give the studio a launching pad for future Wonder Woman and the Flash pics. The studio has been developing bigscreen adaptations of both DC properties.

IESB.net - June 30, 2007

We all heard about the possible "Justice League of America" film that could possibly unite Christian Bale's Batman and Brandon Routh's Superman on the big screen.

IESB got the chance to speak to Routh, who said that he would be interested in doing a "Justice League" movie. "If they come at me about it, I would definitely be intrigued to work with Christian and whoever else wants to be apart of it," said Routh.

Unfortunately, that's all he knows. "I know nothing about it; they are apparently writing a script," he added.

Regarding the sequel to "Superman Returns," Routh confirmed that shooting and prepping will begin early next year, and that he's excited to do it all over again. "I'm getting a little itchy to get back in the suit now," exclaimed Routh.