A Boeing 777 fragments in mid-air, passengers begin to fall. Miraculously, through the flames and debris, a caped hero flies to the rescue. Sound far-fetched, even for Hollywood? Not when you consider that, after a gap of 19 years, the Man of Steel is set to swoop again at the Las Vegas premiere of Superman Returns next week. At more than $200 million (£110 million), it’s Hollywood’s most expensive blockbuster.
The real story, however, centres on Brandon Routh, the Iowa boy plucked from TV obscurity who is playing the greatest superhero of all. Cue much spilt ink on his short-cut to megastardom; it is, he says, a dream come true, “and an awesome responsibility”.
But Routh has already learnt that donning the legendary red-and-blue suit requires real-life heroic qualities. There are the worried Warner Bros executives, murmuring publicly that their $200 million-dollar leading man isn’t macho enough for the job. And hardcore Superman fans question whether their hero’s bulging onscreen muscles are Routh’s own, or computer generated. Kryptonite looks tame in comparison.
Christopher Reeve had already shot to fame in the first Superman movie when Routh was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1979. He concedes that, growing up, he was more Clark Kent than Superman: “I tended to be quite clumsy, and definitely not the most popular kid in school.” Still, his chiselled good looks ensured that when he left university and headed to Los Angeles, TV roles in forgettable teen dramas such as Gilmore Girls and One Life to Live came easily.
Nothing, though, hinted at the shock casting that has propelled Routh into the A-list. It was, says Bryan Singer, the director, his very anonymity, combined with his all-American Midwestern roots and humble demeanour, that made him perfect. If those hardcore fans were initially less sure, many came round when Dana Reeve, Christopher’s widow, gave her approval, remarking on Routh’ s resemblance to her late husband.
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Many who queue up next week will want to gaze on Superman and see all that is best about America reflected back. Routh, a religious exerciser, has been at pains to deny that his muscles were enhanced using CGI: “It’s the only thing I get touchy about.” Matters weren’t helped when a gay magazine, Advocate, listed Routh’s Superman as a gay icon, alongside Judy Garland and Cher. The actor — who has been linked to the US actress Courtney Ford — understands the weight of his burden: “Superman is America. He’s as iconic as it gets.”