After Superman Returns was released in 2006 to mixed acclaim and modest box office success, even hardcore fans worried they might never see another film following the superhero’s adventures.

But Zack Snyder is set to reboot the character yet again in 2013’s Man of Steel, which Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Letteri says devoted little time to worrying about Superman’s cinematic legacy.

Speaking to Celebuzz at the New York press day for The Hobbit, Letteri said, “It’s no different than doing King Kong and going back and saying, what do we owe to the 1930s version? Well, really, nothing.”

Letteri explained that he seldom feels the pressure of source material or audience expectations when he takes on a new project, no matter how iconic it may be.

“If a director comes to us and wants us to work on a film, we tend to not look at the history, just treat everything as a new project,” he said. “[We] look at the source material and [ask] what would make this film work?”

Meanwhile, Letteri indicated that his team did not work on many of the film’s action set pieces, which at one point were rumored to be populated by an entirely CGI Superman instead of star Henry Cavill in the cape and tights. Rather, he said they worked to cement that material to more identifiable human moments.

“The scenes that we’re working on don’t really require us to get into that aspect of Superman’s character,” Letteri said. “The things that we’re doing are the kind of character moments, the set-up pieces, so we’re not actually having to deal with that aspect of it – what does he look like when he flies and so forth.”

“So for us now, it’s about his performance, and we don’t need to do anything with it.”

The Hobbit opens in theaters nationwide Friday, December 14. Man of Steel opens June 14, 2013. Watch the trailer for The Hobbit below, and let us know how excited you are to see a new Superman movie!

It’s a bird… It’s a plane… No, it’s a boy!

Superman Returns actor Brandon Routh and his actress wife, Courtney Ford, welcomed their first child on Friday.

What did the couple name their new bundle of joy?

Leo James Routh! The baby boy weighed 8 lbs. and measured 20½ inches.

“We’re in awe … we can’t take our eyes off him!” the proud parents — who tied the knot in 2007 — gushed to People, with Routh praising his wife as a “rockstar.”

After long trying to keep the baby news under wraps, the couple confirmed in March that they were expecting their first child. Earlier this week, Celebuzz exclusively revealed the baby-to-be was a boy.

Routh, 32, and Ford, 34, met in 2003 while he was still working as a bartender in Hollywood. Ford is known for her roles on True Blood and Parenthood. 

In addition to fatherhood, Routh is taking on a new role in upcoming CBS comedy Partners, which premieres September 24. The new series also stars Sophia Bush, Michael Urie and David Krumholtz.

Congrats to the new parents!