December 20, 2005 | Celeb Watch

Superman's package an issue

He's "the man of steel." And in the upcoming "Superman Returns," it's clear that super strength isn't the only reason why.  In fact, it's not actor Brandon Routh's bulging biceps that are filling Superman's spandex--it's his super-sized manhood, which has Hollywood threatening to digitally castrate him.

According to British tabloid The Sun, film executives at Warner Bros. have ordered the makers of "Superman Returns" to cover up newcomer Routh's mighty member. It quotes an insider as saying, "It's a major issue for the studio. Brandon is extremely well endowed and they don't want it up on the big screen. We may be forced to erase his package with digital effects."

As Defamer reports, the rumor contradicts an article published in early September by Newsweek, which states that wardrobe artists have fit Routh with a special censor-friendly codpiece designed to hide the contours of his crotch.

A codpiece might protect Routh from the censors, but it does not, apparently, protect him from his co-stars. "He's got everyone touching him all the time," Parker Posey, who plays villain Kitty alongside Routh, says, according to The Sun. "He's lying on his stomach and he's got five people coming up and pulling his underwear down, sticking their hands up the butt of his suit."

Relax, Supes, they're just checking your rocks for Kryptonite.

• Inside the bulge, part III: Supermanhood returns [Defamer]
• Supermanhood [The Sun]