the Christopher Reeve films, and decided to make Superman Returns a quasi-sequel, with the events of Superman and Superman II - but not Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest For Peace - serving as a loose backstory.
The film was a modest box office success, but not to the level Warner Bros. was hoping. Add in decidedly mixed reactions from audiences and critics, as well as the costs of all the aborted reboot attempts since the '90s, and WB decided not to follow up on Singer's love letter to the Richard Donner-directed Superman films. Most agreed that Routh was well-cast in the role, but there were many roads not taken with casting the 21st century Clark Kent.
While Singer decided his Superman would be an unknown relatively early on, a handful of other directors were attached to the project first and had big name stars in mind for the role. Both McG and Brett Ratner spent time developing the film before ultimately making way for Singer's version. Myriad stars were attached to the film at different points, with the likes of Will Smith, Josh Hartnett, Paul Walker, Brendan Fraser, David Boreanaz, and Jerry O'Connell all considered for the role.
Interestingly, another name in the running to play Superman was a young Henry Cavill. Had he won the role, he would have been 23 years old when the film was released, probably too young to credibly portray a version of Superman who had already been active for at least a decade. Cavill would of course get another crack at the role in 2013's Man of Steel, and he currently remains the DCEU's Superman, though it's unclear if he'll get another shot at a solo Superman film.
Superman Returns is a film with a lot of problems. It leans heavily on Christopher Reeve-fueled nostalgia, often to its detriment. Lex Luthor's plan doesn't really make any sense. And perhaps worst of all, the film unintentionally makes Superman come off like a deadbeat dad. But casting Routh is likely the best decision Singer made on the film - he even reprised the role in the Arrowverse's Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover, to much acclaim. There were certainly bigger names associated with the role, but Brandon Routh was the right man for the job.
