Little-known United States actor Brandon Routh has been chosen to don the cloak of the ”man of steel” in a Hollywood revival of its money-spinning Superman movies, studios officials said on Friday.
The 25-year-old was signed to star in the reincarnation of Superman, due to hit screens in 2006, following an exhaustive search for an actor to fill the role made famous by Christopher Reeve, who died earlier this month.
Hollywood’s latest heartthrob superhero was picked after a hunt for a lead actor that spanned the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia.
The Warner Brothers movie will be directed by Bryan Singer, who also made the hit comicbook hero X-Men movies, and will begin shooting in Australia early next year, said a studio source.
The cape and tights clad superhero will be reborn in the movie that will tell of his arrival on earth as a baby after his father, Jor-El from the planet Krypton, sends his son to Earth to escape an advancing army of baddies.
The young man is raised in a small town as Clark Kent, who grows up and moves to the city of Metropolis, where he becomes a reporter and falls in love with Lois Lane.
The 1,88m Routh, who hails from the midwestern state of Iowa, made his acting debut in the 1999 television series Odd Man Out and has played a guest roled on the hit sitcom Will and Grace
He has only acted in one other feature film, a dramatic thriller called Deadly which is due for release later this year.
Superman first hit the big screen when Reeve starred in the 1978 movie that also featured Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Marlon Brando as the superhero’s father and Gene Hackman as his evil nemesis Lex Luthor.
Reeve, who became an international star with the huge success of the movie, reprised his high-flying role in two hit sequels, Superman II in 1980 and Superman III in 1983. – Sapa-AFP