Maps of Movies

Superman Returns (2006)

Where Superman Returns says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

Superman Returns is a Kansas farm and a Metropolis that are really New South Wales and Sydney

Scenes and places

The wreckage of Krypton (2006)

Superman has been gone for five years, ever since he flew out to see the supposed wreckage of Krypton for himself. The trip is what sets everything else in the film in motion.

Set in Remains of Krypton (deep space) — The place in space where astronomers believed they had found what is left of Superman's home world.

A purely story-world setting in space; no real place stands in for it.

Lex Luthor's new home (2006)

Luthor, newly out of prison, has moved into a rich widow's house. His plans for the world start here, while her relatives shout at the door.

Set in Vanderworth mansion (Metropolis) — The mansion of the wealthy widow Gertrude Vanderworth, whose fortune Lex Luthor is after.

An old estate in Sydney's west that stands in for a Metropolis mansion.

Luthor in the Arctic (2006)

Luthor and his henchwoman Kitty arrive at Superman's Arctic hideaway. He boasts about stealing fire like Prometheus, and the old Kryptonian crystals begin to answer him.

Set in Fortress of Solitude (Arctic) — Superman's crystal fortress in the far north, which Luthor reaches in search of Kryptonian technology.

A story-world place with no source naming a real location; the film is mostly set-built.

Home in Smallville (2006)

Clark returns to his mother's farm after five years away. She asks whether he found what he was looking for.

Set in Kent farm, Smallville (Kansas) — The Kansas farm where Clark Kent comes home to his mother after five years away.

A farm in New South Wales stands in for rural Kansas.

Filmed at Farm near Breeza, New South Wales (Liverpool Plains · New South Wales, Breeza, Australia) — Scenes set in Smallville were shot on a farm near Breeza, about 45 km from Tamworth. The coordinates are the village centre, not the farm. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Back at the Daily Planet (2006)

Clark walks back into the newsroom and gets a warm welcome. He learns that Lois is engaged and has a five-year-old son.

Set in Daily Planet, Metropolis — The newspaper office where Clark takes up his old reporter's job.

A newsroom set; the sources only say most of the film was shot at a Sydney studio, not this scene.

Lois's house on the water (2006)

Lois, Richard and their son sit down to dinner. Richard asks whether she was ever in love with Superman.

Set in Lois Lane's house (Metropolis) — The waterside house where Lois lives with Richard and their son.

A canal suburb in Sydney's south, built around waterways.

Filmed at James Cook Island, Sylvania Waters (Sylvania Waters, Sydney, Australia) — Lois's house was filmed on James Cook Island in Sylvania Waters, south Sydney. The coordinates are the suburb, not the house. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The museum after closing time (2006)

Luthor's men slip into the museum just as it closes. They only need a few minutes to take what they came for.

Set in Metropolis Museum of Natural History — The museum Luthor's gang breaks into to take the Kryptonite.

A natural history museum in the middle of the city.

Filmed at Australian Museum, Sydney (College Street, Sydney, Australia) — Wikipedia says the Australian Museum doubled for the Metropolis Museum of Natural History. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Filmed at Art Gallery of New South Wales (The Domain, Sydney, Australia) — A film-location blog says the Art Gallery of New South Wales was the exterior and the Australian Museum the interior. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Kitty's diversion (2006)

Kitty pretends to have heart trouble to pull Superman away from the museum. He helps her, and she asks him out for coffee.

Set in Street in Metropolis — A city street where Luthor's henchwoman Kitty draws Superman away.

A pedestrian-only plaza in the middle of Sydney's business district.

Filmed at Lloyd Rees Fountain, Martin Place (Martin Place, Sydney, Australia) — A pedestrian plaza in Sydney's centre that doubled for the street where Kitty Kowalski makes her scene. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The street shakes (2006)

Metropolis begins to shake under Luthor's plan. Superman is already racing to keep people safe.

Set in Streets of Metropolis — City streets that shake as Luthor's new land begins to grow.

A street of banks and hotels in the heart of the city.

Filmed at Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, 27 O'Connell Street (O'Connell Street, Sydney, Australia) — The street outside this hotel in central Sydney doubled for a Metropolis street. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Outside the hospital (2006)

Lois goes to the hospital, where crowds have gathered outside. She says she wants to be there.

Set in Metropolis General Hospital — The hospital where crowds wait for news.

A city-centre entrance next to a train station.

Filmed at Wynyard railway station building, 11 York Street (York Street, Sydney, Australia) — The entrance of a Sydney building near Wynyard station doubled for the hospital entrance. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Filmed at Narrabeen Beach (Narrabeen, Sydney, Australia) — A tropical island beach late in the film Google Maps · Apple Maps

Characters

• Clark Kent / Superman — A Kryptonian hero who comes back after five years away and finds the world has moved on.
• Clark Kent — Superman's mild-mannered reporter alter ego at the Daily Planet.
• Lois Lane — A Daily Planet reporter and Pulitzer winner who now has a son and a fiance.
• Lex Luthor — Superman's old enemy, freed from prison and hunting for Kryptonian technology.