Superman Reboot Relying on Characters, Not Recognizable Actors, to Sell Tickets

COMMENTARY | With its new Superman project, Warner Brothers has been opting for the tight-lipped approach when it comes to revealing much of anything about the film. This isn't all that surprising since current helmer of the Batman series, Christopher Nolan, is producing, and he's become notorious for keeping details from the public for as long as possible. However, while much of the story remains under-wraps, the cast has been slowly leaking. The actors for Superman, Lois Lane and a few other parts have been revealed over the last month.

Now Warner Brothers has announced the casting of Michael Shannon in the officially titled "Man of Steel" as the exiled Kryptonian megalomaniac General Zod. Shannon is currently part of the cast of HBO's hit "Boardwalk Empire." He will be directed by Zack Snyder in the film from a script written by David Goyer.

While neither Snyder nor Warner Brothers ever confirmed who the villain of the film was going to be prior to this announcement, the choice of General Zod is not a surprising one. First, it's been expected for some time that a physically strong character would serve as the villain in place of the usual go-to human villain Lex Luthor.

One of the major criticisms of the 2006 film "Superman Returns" was a lack of action, and part of that was due to the fact that Luthor can't possibly confront Superman physically. This meant that there was no real climatic battle as audiences tend to expect.

Since Zod hails from Krypton, he wields powers virtually identical to those of Superman, which makes him a formidable foe. The major hint that Zod would be the villain came when a few months back, when it was leaked that one of the female characters being cast was Ursa (played by Sarah Douglas in "Superman II"). Ursa has always served as the right hand of Zod, and the idea of having her appear but Zod being absent simply didn't make much sense. Various sources from the production have tried to deny the inclusion of Zod for some time, but once Ursa was revealed, this seemed inevitable.

The choice of Shannon is interesting in that it seems to clearly indicate Warner Brothers is banking on the characters to sell tickets and not well known actors. In previous Superman films, the villain was the one large role where a more recognizable star might be cast. This has happened previously with the part of Lex Luthor, who was played first by Gene Hackman and more recently by Kevin Spacey. Playing against a then-unknown Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh, respectively, each was the biggest star of the cast in the films they took part in.

With Henry Cavill already in place as Superman, the only well known stars have been relegated to supporting roles. This will include recent Academy Award-nominee Amy Adams as Lois Lane, as well as Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Superman's adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent.

With more cast members now in place, the question remains when more details about the actual story will be forthcoming. Warner Brothers and Snyder have been coy about clarifying whether "Man of Steel" will be a retelling of Superman's origin or if it will be something completely new. The inclusion of the Kents would seem to point to the former, but there's been no firm reports either way as yet.

The only other confirmation recently was that the film will be independent of and separate from the recently announced "Justice League" movie that Warner Brothers is putting together. The remaining cast will likely be revealed over the next month or so as the film is scheduled to begin shooting soon for a 2012 summer release.