June 1, 2011: Brandon Routh to Star in Underdog Sports Film

Variety.com reports that "Superman Returns" star Brandon Routh will star in "Crooked Arrows," an underdog sports pic set in the world of lacrosse.

Steve Rash ("Can't Buy Me Love") is directing from a script by Todd Baird.

The story follows a rag-tag Native American high school lacrosse team that is forced to join the local prep school league, which is comprised of better trained and equipped rivals.

Routh will play the tribal chairman's part-Native American entrepreneurial son who is tasked with coaching the reservation's motley lacrosse team in the hopes that he'll reconnect with his fellow tribe members. An unlikely and uplifting journey to the prep league's championship game ensues.

"I was moved by the script," said Routh, whose ancestors hail from the Kickapoo Tribe. "While it has all the ingredients of a classic underdog sports movie, it actually appealed to me on a deeper level. I think the father-son and brother-sister dynamics of the story are compelling, as is [the] more spiritual Native American aspect."

J. Todd Harris and Mitchell Peck are producing, while Sports Studio ("Miracle") will co-produce with a focus on authentic athletic casting, outfitting and choreography. Reebok is the film's first athletic corporate sponsor. Production is scheduled to start this July in the Boston area.