Spacey to be Superman baddie

Double Oscar winner Kevin Spacey has been reportedly signed up to play the villainous Lex Luther in the new Warner Bros version ofSuperman.

According to the magazine Variety, The Usual Suspects and American Beauty star will play opposite Brandon Routh, the newcomer chosen in October as Superman in the role once played by the late Christopher Reeve.

Variety said filming would start on March 3 in Sydney with Bryan Singer as director, and that Warner Bros is trying to secure Kate Bosworth to play Lois Lane.

Spacey and Bosworth starred together in Spacey's film Beyond the Sea, about singer Bobby Darin, which has just opened in the United States.