Warner Bros.’ eagerly awaited Superman Returns will splash onto those enormous IMAX screens on June 30, 2006, the same day it rolls out in conventional theaters. Directed by Bryan Singer (X-Men, The Usual Suspects), the movie follows on the heels of fellow franchise reviver, Batman Begins, which was a resounding success at both IMAX and standard venues.
Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the Superman character first appeared in the pages of DC Comics in 1939 and finally made the leap to the big screen in 1978. Christopher Reeve reprised the role of Clark Kent and his caped alter ego in three sequels before the franchise fizzled out and dropped off of Hollywood’s radar. The Superman Returns script, written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, acknowledges this gap and has the Man of Steel (newcomer Brandon Routh) returning to Earth after a mysterious absence of several years. While Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) plots to do him in once and for all, our hero faces the heartbreaking realization that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on with her life and the human race he once protected has learned to survive without him. Faced again with the task of saving the world from cataclysmic destruction, Superman embarks on an epic journey of redemption that takes him from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of outer space.
The 35mm version Superman Returns will be digitally re-mastered with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology for the release. Distributed exclusively by Warner Bros. Pictures to IMAX theatres worldwide, the superhero flick will mark the studio’s tenth IMAX release, and will follow the May 12 deployment of its remake of The Poseidon Adventure. Next up is The Ant Bully, an animated feature produced by Tom Hanks’ Playtone Pictures, which Warner Bros. will distribute in IMAX 3D and conventional formats on August 4.
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