At the Pusan International Film Festival held in South Korea, director Bryan Singer had most fanboys’ ears perking up when he mentioned: “I’m still looking to possibly returning to the X-Men franchise. I’ve been talking to Fox about it.” Singer was the director for both X-Men and X2: X-Men United, but decided to pass on what would eventually be X-Men: The Last Stand so that he could helm Superman Returns instead.

Rush Hour director Brett Ratner handled the third mutant installment while Rendition director Gavin Hood oversaw the spin-off X-Men Origins: Wolverine in Singer’s absence; the latter of which will birth another spin-off revolving around Ryan Reynolds’ character, Deadpool. Box office success was never a problem with these comic-themed movies, but both X3 and the Superman reboot didn’t stand up critically to some other feature films from the same genre.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Singer likes to “trick audiences into thinking they’re seeing fireworks, but they’re learning about themselves and listening to what I have to say.” He further stated: “The excitement about working in science fiction and fantasy is – the stories, if they are good, are about human condition.” This, combined with how the first two X-Men chapters were received, would seem to indicate that Singer has a good grasp of what the backbone of Marvel’s mutant population is all about, but at this time there has been no announcement or confirmation of Singer telling Wolverine what to do.

With DC Comics rebranding itself as DC Entertainment recently, many anticipated a slew of movie announcements and the like to emerge after the deed was done. One such update we hoped for was what plans the company had for Superman. Many hoped the franchise would get a reboot, or at the very least a sequel to Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns.  It should be noted at this point that while Superman Returns faced lackluster reviews, I for one liked it. Well, an update actually did come, and the news isn’t good.

DC Entertainment’s Diane Nelson told MTV:

“We actually don’t have any current plans for Superman,” said Nelson when asked if the new environment (and the recent legal decision regarding the character) made a “Superman” movie more or less likely in the near future… We’ve obviously done a lot of great things behind the property in our history, and it’s a key part of the family, but we don’t have current plans behind Superman,” she said.

No current plans? Nelson, and DC collectively, have to be aware of the recent lawsuit they lost which means they could lose all control over Superman by 2013 if they don’t do something with the property, right? Sure, this could be media spin and development is, in fact, underway. But what if it’s not?

If a project doesn’t start shooting by early 2010, it seems unlikely DC will able to bring a new Superman film to the big screen in time to satisfy their contract. Even more unsettling is the possibility that DC could lose the Superman rights in their entirety and the new Disney/Marvel giant could scoop them up. Welcome to “Bizarro World.”

After a US District Court judge brokered a settlement between the heirs of the Superman creators and DC Comics and Warner Bros., mandating that a new Superman must go into production by 2011, or a new legal battle would ensue, fans everywhere began wondering which Superman Returns cast members would be back for the long awaited sequel. An interview with Kevin Spacey posted on MTV Splashpage helps to shed some light on the future of Lex Luthor.

“They have me,” Spacey explained while promoting Shrink, an indie film about a pot-smoking Hollywood therapist. “We made a several picture deal.”

Sadly the recent court developments haven’t been able to jump-start a dialogue between Spacey and the studio. There isn’t a script and Bryan Singer has not been confirmed as the flick’s director.

Singer’s involvement is key to his reprisal. “If they make the movie and Bryan Singer’s directing the movie, then I will do it,” Spacey says. “If they make the movie and they go in a completely different direction and they decide they want other actors, then obviously that’s their purview.”

Relax, Superman fans, this doesn’t mean that Spacey isn’t looking forward to reprising his roll. “I’d be up for it,” he explains. “I had a great time doing it and it’s one of the great iconic parts.”