Superman played by Jared Padalecki
Lois Lane played by Mandy Moore
Lex Luthor played by Michael Rosenbaum
(which honestly feels like saying "Lex Luthor played by Lex Luthor")
And finally, the main villain of the first film of our franchise...
Metallo played by Adam Baldwin
Metallo, you say? Why would you choose Metallo as the opening villain? Well, for the same reason Joker wasn't the villain of Batman begins. In a massive world such as this, it's important to save the really big guns until when they're important. Don't worry, we'll bring in villains like Zod and use Luthor as a supervillain later in the franchise. For now, though, Metallo can be big bad Superman has to face.
Theme: This isn't going to be an origin story. Everyone knows who Superman is, what he is, what he can do. What this WILL be is a sort of coming of age story. This is a younger, slightly more naive Clark Kent. He's grown used to who and what he is, and has done some of the hero-ing in his life already. This is the story of how he becomes Earth's Mightiest Hero, where he becomes the champion of Metropolis.
PLOT
Act 1
The movie will start with Lois Lane doing a report on a bank robbery or some such criminal shenanigans. As print news is a dying art in modern times, we're restructuring the Daily Planet into an online news paper, for which Lois Lane does the majority of the video segments. During this, something goes awry and Superman needs to come in to the rescue. Superman saves the day, Lois says "Thank you Superman," and everything comes off okay.
Cut back to the apartment where Clark and Lois lives. We find out that in this franchise's continuity, the two are already married and Lois knows who Clark is. She chastises him slightly, saying that the police could have handled the situation, and that if Superman keeps saving Lois then people will figure out the secret. We see that Clark is still a young man, somewhat naive and a bit of a boyscout. Through some minor exposition we learn that he's a writer for TheDailyPlanet.net and meet his cowriter Jimmy Olsen (played here by Seth Green). Clark is sent to write a piece on the new technology expo being put on by LexCorp. Cut to...
Lex Luthor (Not yet evil, just profoundly arrogant - think RDJ's Tony Stark before the kidnapping and developing a conscience) is the CEO of the nation's largest weapons and technology manufacturing company, and is the U.S. military's number one contractor. He is demonstrating advanced new weapons systems at this expo, but what we see is his most impressive development. He talks about how soldiers are fragile, and that machines and computers can be more efficient in wartime (it is also hinted here that there is much more political strife in the world, and that there might be a new world war brewing - more on that later!). Suddenly, a pilot (who is being played by Jensen Ackles - seemingly a cameo, explained later) says something along the lines of "no machine can beat a real pilot in the cockpit". Lex replies that he is not replacing human soldiers, just improving them. Here we meet our Metallo, a member of the Marine Corps who was badly injured in conflict abroad. However, to save his life, LexCorp. implanted him with a bio-adaptive regenerative cybernetics - a fancy way of saying if something gets damaged, it is quickly replaced by metal. At this point, Metallo looks mostly human, though Lex explains that most of his bones have replaced. When it is asked what powers the whole affair, Luthor reveals that Metallo's functions are powered by a highly energized element that Clark immediately recognizes a Kryptonite. There is a demonstration of Metallo's ability to endure damage by being shot in the head at point plank range, the crowd applauds, Clark looks concerned.
Act 2
Clark decides to try to get an interview with Lex Luthor, purportedly to get more information for the piece, while the actual reason is to get a closer look at LexCorp's facilities and try to convince Luthor to shut his super soldier program down. The focus of this arc, however, is mostly on Metallo himself. The military wants further testing on the technology that has made him what he is, and as such they continue to subject him to more intense testing, but each time he takes more damage, the more he becomes a machine and less a man. As time goes on, he begins to forget more and more of who and what he is. Eventually, he goes berserk in the labs, fighting his way up through Luthor tower until he reaches Lex's office. Lex makes a run for it, leaving Mercy to hold him off. The two fight for a short time, but Metallo eventually overpowers her and goes after Luthor. He is about to kill his "creator" when Superman arrives on the scene. Luthor escapes here as the two fight, but Metallo eventually renders Clark powerless thanks to his Kryptonite. Metallo nearly kills Clark, but he is rescued by the timely arrival of Lois, who gets him into the car and escapes.
Act 3
The showdown. Metallo is on a rampage through Metropolis, every attempt the national guard makes at fighting him only takes more of his humanity away until he is nothing but machine. Superman, knowing that he must defeat Metallo to save Metropolis, confronts the machine once more. There is a massive fight between the two where Superman eventually gains the edge and emerges victorious. The exact turnabout is unimportant. The point is, Superman overcomes a truly deadly foe, Metropolis is ever grateful, Superman becomes Earth's Mightiest Hero. Credits.
Post Credits Scene
After the credits finish, we cut to a fighter-jet crash on a beach. We now see Jensen Ackles' character slowly wake from consciousness, where he turns and looks at where he has crashed. "What in the..." The camera cuts to behind him and rises, showing a tropical island with gleaming buildings of greek architecture. The pilot looks baffled, then three arrows fly out of the jungle and land at his feet. Blackout.
