UPDATE --

I just got off the phone with a very high-ranking mole who is absolutely in a position to know what's happening with this film, and he tells me that it is "absolutely false" that Brandon Routh is out as Superman for the stand-alone series.

The only thing that has been determined is that JUSTICE LEAGUE will not feature the actors from the other films. That's it.

Right now, Routh is still Warner's choice to return if they make another stand-alone SUPERMAN film, and that's based on conversations as recently as a few weeks ago.

Don't believe this one, kids. Routh's still the Man of Steel.

Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.

When SUPERMAN RETURNS was released, my wife and I went to a screening of the film on the Warner lot. It was a cast and crew screening about two weeks before it came out, and at the end of the screening, we were told that we could take a picture with either Brandon Routh or with Kevin Spacey.

I still have a footprint on my back from where my wife trampled me in her haste to get to Routh so she could take the picture. And in that photo, which she still proudly displays, she’s smiling like she just won the lottery.

I do not think the problems with SUPERMAN RETURNS... and there were many, no doubt about it... have much of anything to do with Routh. If anything, I thought he was one of the right choices that Bryan Singer made, and it seems a shame if the rumor that dozens of you have sent us from Latino Review actually is true.

You can read the original story here.

Basically, it just confirms that Warner Bros will be recasting the part for JUSTICE LEAGUE, but the larger implication seems to be that Routh won’t be invited back to the standalone SUPERMAN series, either.

I guess it makes a certain kind of business sense, but with JUSTICE LEAGUE most decidedly not tying in to the existing BATMAN franchise, it just seems like Warner is taking advantage of the situation to pretend like this giant $300 million mistake of theirs never... ever... happened. And Routh’s the guy taking the biggest hit here.

Damn shame if it’s true.