Empire Online caught up with Superman Returns star Brandon Routh, who gave some tidbits about the upcoming sequel:

…and Routh commented on rumors that General Zod (from Superman II) will appear in the film:

“In the first one, the obstacle was Superman’s love for Lois and his son, and Luthor using that against him. I just know that in the next film there will be a lot of action and I’m gonna get to fight something, or someone. An enemy with real physical power might be worked in there, definitely.”

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“I don’t know,” laughs Routh. “I don’t know how much we want to reprise characters that have appeared in the series before, since we’ve reset and used the first film to pay homage to all that’s come before. Now I think Bryan (Singer) might want to go somewhere new with it, which I think will be exciting.”

The Untitled Superman Returns Sequel is in the pre-production process with an anticipated release date in 2009.