One of the most used set designs in Superman Returns was the Daily Planet building where Superman is a clumsy reporter keeping an eye on Lois Lane. The building was created by production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas who wanted the building to be classic Art Deco, but with modern upgrades, particularly to the interior. It’s something director Bryan Singer had a deep appreciation for when he saw the designs.

“I think Guy did a brilliant job in blending the Deco feeling of the exterior façade and the interior lobby with the latest in plasma televisions and flat screen computer monitors in the bullpen,” comments Singer. “Here again, the old and the new combined to become timeless.”

But the building didn’t just sprout up overnight in Australia, where the movie was filmed. The design phase alone for The Daily Planet building took six months. It then took another four months to build and another month to properly light it, using approximately 3,000 lights. And to appease the director, the building was created with great detail.

“Bryan likes sets to have layers upon layers of detail so with the Daily Planet I was able to let my imagination run wild,” says Dyas. “Early in pre-production we did some research and visited the original Daily News building in New York which was designed in 1929 by Raymond Hood. That marvelous period of American Art Deco architecture was hugely influential on my designs, especially for the interior of the editorial office of the Daily Planet newspaper. And even though we wanted the film to be contemporary in style, I was inspired by the 1930s mode of geometric designs, glass and bold colors.”

While many of the sets for Superman Returns were constructed within stage buildings, The Daily Planet set was way too big. To solve the problem, the set was built between two soundstages at Fox’s Australia studios.

“Believe it or not, building it outside worked really well,” says Dyas. “The weather was fantastic and we were able to fill the nearby roads with yellow cabs, busses, and other street traffic. We also transformed an adjacent area into a mini Central Park and added a subway station. It was definitely one of our most challenging sets to build.”

For the interior newsroom, Dyas was going for a look that was realistic and not contrived. He wanted it to be fun to look at, but very realistic for a newspaper setting.

So what happened to the entire Daily Planet set when filming concluded? It was carefully taken apart and stored, awaiting confirmation of the next movie when the set will be taken out and reconstructed. After all, the Daily Planet offices will never rest as long as Superman is needed. Besides, Superman sells newspapers.