Right as it stepped across the $200 million mark, WB made good on their promise and inked a new contract with Singer for the Superman sequel. Among the changes the franchise will see are an increase in action sequences and a smaller production budget, though neither a final number or script have yet to materialize.

Warners and Legendary say they will still turn a profit from “Superman Returns,” with Singer inking his deal just as the film crossed $200 million at the domestic box office.

Insiders say Warners and Legendary are sure to insist that the sequel’s production budget comes in under $200 million.

“Superman Returns” fell under endless scrutiny for its production budget, which the studio puts at $209 million after tax rebates and incentives. The number is much higher when factoring in more than $40 million in development costs — “Superman Returns” was in the works for years –even though those costs were previously absorbed.

Critically, “Superman Returns” was disparaged for lacking in action. Singer has said he would address this concern in the follow-up.

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