

Set five years after the events of Superman II, Superman ( Brandon Routh) returns to Earth after leaving to search for remnants of Krypton in deep space in the time between Superman's departure and return, Lois Lane ( Kate Bosworth) won a Pulitzer Prize for the article " Why the World Doesn't Need Superman" (ouch!), and the world has moved on in his absence.

#Superman returns movie
Bryan Singer, who directed the first two of the X-Men Film Series, crafted Returns as both a sequel and an homage to Superman: The Movie and Superman II - while also ignoring Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and (probably) Supergirl. Taking advantage of this popularity, it was decided that after nineteen years in limbo, the Superman film franchise should be revived as well. Smallville was in its sixth season keeping the Superman franchise alive on TV, Justice League was keeping the DC Animated Universe alive, and Batman Begins from only a year before had reinvigorated the Batman film franchise. By 2006, DC Comics was in a period of success.
