Old-fashioned value

The Fortress of Solitude, Superman's Arctic headquarters, is carefully designed to remind audiences of the one that Donner shot. The Kent farm in Kansas has the same layout too. John Williams' theme music from the original is used lovingly in the new one. Even Marlon Brando, who played Superman's father, Jor-El, is heard in "Superman Returns" -- the late actor's voice speaks words of wisdom to Routh, just as it did to Reeve. (There will be a dedication to Brando in the film's credits.)

Singer, raised in New Jersey by adoptive parents, said Donner's telling of how the last son of Krypton was raised on Earth always resonated with him. "He's an American superhero, but he's also the ultimate immigrant, isn't he? And it's interesting to go back to that story now, because things are different."

Different in the real world, different in Hollywood and different in the film too. Today's cynicism and expectations of darker hero tales are reflected in the plot of "Superman Returns." A huge crystalline spaceship (again a nod to the original franchise) crashes near a Kansas farm -- but this time, instead of an infant, the passenger is a grown man. Superman has been gone from Earth for five years on a failed quest to learn more about his origins. And in his absence, his adopted world grew sour toward its hero. That's exemplified by Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), now a single mom engaged to a new man (played by James Marsden, a veteran of both "X-Men" movies) and riding high in her journalism career after an award-winning Daily Planet series critical of the missing Superman.

"In a sense, the movie is about what happens when an old romance returns unexpectedly and also the anger we all have toward people that let us down or leave us behind," Singer said. "This is about the obstacles that befall an idealistic man. It's about an old-fashioned hero in a modern world that isn't sure it wants him."

Singer said all of this wincing. His neck and shoulders were tight -- "It happens when I don't get enough rest." Filming at Fox Studios Australia (which, thanks to Australian tax breaks, has become a hectic hub for production), Singer was clearly ragged from working on a film that, by its budget alone, is a high-stakes affair. But the early signs are positive. At the San Diego Comic-Con in August, thousands of die-hard fans -- the toughest crowd there is -- gave sneak-peek footage a rousing, extended ovation. And the cable channel FX this month inked an early-bird deal worth as much as $25 million to secure the television rights for the movie, which won't air until 2009.