The film began, but not as he remembered it. The Warner Bros. logo melted into grainy, handheld static. Then, a shot of a city—not Metropolis, but a real one. Cleveland. A familiar intersection near his old job. A figure in a red-and-blue blur landed on a parked Chevrolet. It was Brandon Routh, but younger, sweatier, the cape not billowing majestically but hanging limp with humidity. He looked lost.
The next scene was a warehouse. A man in a cheap Lex Luthor bald cap—Kevin Spacey, but hollow-eyed, chain-smoking—was arguing with the director. Superman.Returns.2006.1080p.BluRay.x264-HANGOVER
“You don’t get it,” Spacey whispered, voice cracking. “He’s not the villain. I’m just the guy who realized real estate bubbles are the only things that bring America to its knees.” The film began, but not as he remembered it
“Cut,” the voice said. “That’s the one. He doesn’t save her. He just reminds her she’s still here.” Then, a shot of a city—not Metropolis, but a real one
The director—his voice now recognizable as someone famous, someone who’d burned out after a massive superhero flop—said, “No, Kevin. You’re the guy who can’t separate the part from the person. We’re done.”
“Okay, take one hundred and four,” the voice said. “Superman returns to Krypton. Action.”
Superman—Routh—stopped. He turned to the camera. He smiled. Not a heroic smile. A tired, honest one.