Aside from my personal loathing of the inclusion of a child into the mix of the Lois/Superman relationship, I also think it's one of the largest impediments to their ever getting together.
Whether Lois thought so, or not, the world thinks that Richard is Jason's son. So, even though Lois and Richard aren't actually married we do have a family unit here. Superman can never publically acknowledge that Jason is his son, nor can he ever rationally come between Lois and Richard for that reason.
I've read elsewhere that many folks think Richard is a 'good guy' and they don't want him to die. Sorry, but there is no way that Superman and Lois can ever be together openly with Richard alive. He is the acknowledged father in the family unit Lois has entered into. Therefore, Richard has to die, and thus he becomes a cliche.
Also, even once Richard is gone, how do you go about putting Lois and Superman together? All the reason's why Superman can't have an acknowledged personal relationship still apply, even in this version of the mythos. It's one of the reasons why the Byrne revamp made Clark Kent into a real three-dimensional person. Lois can never actually have a relationship with Superman, she has to have one with Clark Kent. In the movie continuity, which takes it's cue from the older version of the Superman mythos, there is no real Clark Kent.
It's a point that I know Zoom has brought up. Even if there is no Richard, how can anyone believe that Lois would fall for the persona of Clark Kent that is presented. We were spoiled by Lois and Clark because it gave us a 'real' Clark Kent and so the blossoming relationship could actually be believed. There is no such base in the movie continuity.
I don't know what Singer has planned, but he either has his work really cut out for him to make the audience believe that Lois would turn to Clark in her grief over Richard's death, or she and Superman will never really get together.
Time will tell.
Tank (who thinks that one of the reasons why Lois and Clark seemed to get slighed by all the recent productions and shows about the worlds of Superman is because it was a licensed property owned and produced by ABC/Disney, not Warner Brothers)
