I don't understand why they chose to make it a rehash of the first movie with the same villain who had the exact same plan instead of giving Superman a villain who could go toe to toe with him like Brainiac or Metallo to fight

>>212514590 (OP)
Because it was both a sequel to superman 1 and 2 and a soft reboot, the sequel to returns was going to feature Mongul or Darkseid before WB decided to move forward with Justice League Mortal

>>212514619
Yes I knew it was set in the same continuality, which made it being a rehash even weirder.
"Superman preventing man made natural disasters" type storyline was fine in 1978 since it's the first time the audience got to see Superman on the big screen but by 2006 standards? People couldn't care less about it.