Even though Superman Returns actually grossed more money than Batman Begins and nearly the same critical reception, a lot of people seem to have convinced themselves that Batman is a bigger hit. Apparently, those people include the executives running around over at Warner Brothers because while Batman is already in the midst of filming a sequel Superman’s plans have been put on hold. Instead, he’s being teamed up with a bunch of other superheroes who everyone cares about a lot less.

The rumor comes from our friends over at Moviehole where they say Brandon Routh will star in the already announced Justice League movie WB is planning. Meanwhile, the Superman Returns sequel everyone has been promising has been put in turnaround and won’t happen unless Justice League does well. Batman on the other hand, the superhero who sold fewer tickets, will not be in Justice League.

What makes this rumor so easy to buy into is that it fits rather neatly into all the other news we’ve heard surrounding the project. For instance last week we heard that Bryan Singer was lining up two other movies to do before he’d bother with a Superman Returns sequel. Word was that this would delay more Superman indefinitely, and that the WB wasn’t happy. It would seem their solution to the problem is throwing Superman in Justice League until Bryan is ready to re-commit himself to the cape.

If this turns out to be true, it suddenly raises the profile of Justice League immensely. There’s a reason to be interested in it. However if you’re a Superman fan, there’s also reason to be pretty pissed. Sure the franchise cost a little more to get jumpstarted, but now Superman seems to be getting the red-headed step-child treatment while Batman gets the red carpet.

I have this sinking feeling that Singer has torpedoed yet another great superhero franchise. He helped Fox screw over X-Men and ruin it by jumping ship for Superman Returns, and now, unless Justice League turns out to be a lot better than it has any right to be, Routh’s Superman could be headed down the same path. The frustrating thing is that Singer is so damned good at this stuff. He’s brilliant. Both Superman Returns and X-Men 2 are bonafied superhero masterpieces; brilliant setups for future films which Singer seems to have no interest in delivering. Now, as Fox did, WB is moving on. At least Brandon Routh will be back.