Neither Brandon Routh nor director Bryan Singer will be returning for the sequel to Superman Returns, according to reports in the US. Latino Review reckons Warner Bros want the actor who plays the Man of Steel in the forthcoming ensemble superhero movie Justice League to take over for Kar-El's next solo outing. Meanwhile, Variety says Singer will be too busy filming Tom Cruise in Valkyrie and The Mayor of Castro Street, his biopic of gay rights crusader Harvey Milk, to take on Superman again.

Jon Favreau, the actor-turned-director who is putting the finishing touches to the summer's big budget Iron Man adaptation, has said he would be interested in directing Marvel's Avengers. The ensemble superhero tale is believed to be several years away from becoming reality, however Favreau's comments to MTV should be enough to set geek tongues wagging. "I think it's a good idea if you use the characters established in the other franchises that then come together for an event," he said. Favreau's eagerly awaited version of Iron Man stars Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow and is set to launch the summer blockbuster season when it opens around the world in the first weekend of May. The Avengers original 1960s line-up consisted of Ant-Man, Wasp, Thor, Iron Man, and the Hulk, with Captain America joining shortly afterwards.

Narc and Smokin' Aces director Joe Carnahan has scotched rumours that he is to team up with Marvel Comics on a series of comics based on the shadowy Taskmaster, which had raised speculation among bloggers over a new Hollywood action adaptation in the pipeline. The excitable film-maker set the record straight last night following a posting on his blog the day before in which he claimed he would write four to six comic books about the morally neutral mercenary who has the ability to replicate any physical movement he sees. "It's actually quite simple," he said. "I'm a fucking moron who blabbed out of school and blew it with my Taskmaster story earlier... The paperwork isn't done, the ink isn't dry."