Regan Kaczon blog

New ‘Superman’ Movie To Be Filmed In Chicago

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CHICAGO (CBS) Chicago has already stood in for Gotham City, and now it will also stand in for Metropolis as "Superman" comes to town.

With an estimated budget of $175 million, the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film is sure to give the Chicago area a boost, just like the city got from last summer's filming of "Transformers 3" and the Batman movies shot in Chicago in recent years.

Citing industry sources,that "Superman: Man of Steel" will be filmed in the Chicago area over the course of two or three months starting in August, and production will be centered in the Kendall County town of Plano.

You may remember most of the 2008 movie "The Dark Knight" and part of the 2005 movie "Batman Begins" were shot in Chicago. "The Dark Knight" added about $40 million to the local economy and went on to earn more than $1 billion worldwide at the box office.

Last summer, the shooting of "Transformers 3" turned downtown Chicago into a hot destination. The movie generated a $20 million impact to the local economy.

"They love our locations," Betsy Steinberg, Managing Director of the Illinois Film Office, told CBS 2 back in October. "They know we've got the infrastructure, and the tax credit seals the deal."

The fictional Metropolis was originally based on Toronto, the city which, ironically, stood in for Chicago in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and the musical "Chicago."

In the 1978 "Superman" movie, Metropolis was shown to be New York City, down to appearances by the Statue of Liberty, while in the 1990s television series "Lois and Clark," Chicago landmarks such as the Jon Hancock Center, the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower were often spotted,

In the 2006 movie "Superman Returns," Metropolis was depicted as a cross between New York City as it appeared in the 1930s and as it appears in the present-day.

Unlike Chicago, Metropolis is divided into six boroughs, centered on the borough of New Troy which is based on Manhattan. But like Chicago, Metropolis has a suburb called Park Ridge.

So who will play Superman? Taking over the role made famous by the great Christopher Reeve is 27-year-old British actor Henry Cavill, who is best known as Charles Brandon in the HBO series "The Tudors."

Image: Christopher Reeve's costume from "Superman" is seen on display at an auction at Christie's auction house December 16, 2003 in London. (Credit: Ian Walton/Getty Images)