Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey has agreed to play Superman?s historic nemesis, Lex Luthor, in Bryan Singer?s “Superman,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Distributor Warner Bros. Pictures has also announced that Kate Bosworth is in talks to play Lois Lane. If in fact Bosworth agrees then it will mark the reunion of the two actors who currently star in the Bobby Darin bio picture “Beyond the Sea.”

The casting of Lane has been a long process that ultimately rested on a chemistry test between the actress and Brandon Routh, who is playing Superman, says the trade paper.

Bosworth reportedly beat out the likes of Natalie Portman, Keri Russell, Mischa Barton, Claire Danes, Linda Cardellini, and Michelle Monaghan. Routh was cast as the title superhero after a melee of numerous actors (Jude Law, Brendan Frasier, Ashton Kutcher, Nicolas Cage) were considered, but due to various issues, opted out of donning the robes of the caped crusader.

Spacey worked with Singer in his 1995 murder mystery, “The Usual Suspects,” and says he agreed to be in “Superman” because of him.

“The huge attraction for me was the chance to work with Bryan again,” Spacey told Daily Variety. Spacey had been rumoured to be in the next Superman movie since 1997.

Singer also told Variety that he and his writers chose a track that falls somewhere between the original film and the successful series “Smallville.”

“It’s a little like X-Men, where the mutants existed when the movie began,” Singer said. “It’s not an origin story; I didn’t want to remake what Richard Donner did so well in the original, and didn’t want to tread on the great work they’re doing on Smallville. He’s already part of the culture; he has left the planet. This is the story of his return.”

The film currently has a March 3 start date at Fox Studios Sydney, though Spacey may not report until the summer after he finishes work in London.






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