The New Superman Has Been Cast

Warner Brothers has been trying to get another Superman movie off the ground for almost five years now. Even though "Superman Returns" raked in over $200 million at the box office it was considered a disappointment and the reviews were mixed. For a while "Superman Returns" director Bryan Singer worked on a sequel but eventually moved onto other things. Warner Brothers started to feel the pinch when a court ruled that if they didn't get a movie into production soon they would have to start paying for lost royalties to the families of Superman's original creators. The mastermind behind the current Batman franchise, Christopher Nolan, was brought in to "god-father" the project. With his Batman collaborator David Goyer they developed a story treatment that the studio liked. Soon after director Zack Snyder ("Watchmen") was hired to take the reigns and direct the film. Since then fans have eagerly been waiting to find out what actor would take on the role, now the wait is over.

It was announced over the weekend that Henry Cavill would be the latest actor to don the red cape and big "S" on his chest. Cavill has been acting in TV and movies for a decade but very rarely has he had the chance to play characters that most audiences would remember. Those who have access to the premium cable channel Showtime may know him as Charles Brandon on "The Tudors." This will be the 27 year old actor's first central role in a film. It's been reported that he beat out previous Zack Snyder collaborator Matthew Goode as well as several other up and coming actors. Interestingly Cavill was previously linked to the role of Superman back in the early 2000s when McG was going to direct. Eventually Singer took over the project and cast Brandon Routh in the role for "Superman Returns."

The casting of somebody who's not well know like Cavill is actually very much in keeping with how Superman has always been cast. Prior to donning the cape Christopher Reeve only had a handful of TV credits and one movie on his resume. "Superman Returns" star Brandon Routh had only managed to be a bit player in a few TV shows before being cast in the role. The goal always seems to have been to avoid big names because a well known actor would effectively be bigger than the character. If somebody more high profile like Dwayne Johnson was cast as Superman, audiences would never think of the character as Superman. Instead it would be The Rock in a Superman outfit. That's just an admittedly random example but the point still stands.

While this does now put a face on the titular Man of Steel himself there is still a great deal that is not known about the film. It's been called a reboot of the franchise however there have not been any real details given about the story. Some rumors have it as a retelling of Superman's origin, others have it as a semi-sequel to "Superman Returns" similar to how "The Incredible Hulk" managed to be both a sequel and reboot of 2003's "Hulk." There's been no confirmation of what other characters will appear, though it is assumed that Lois Lane will still appear and that Lex Luthor will not. It's been determined that part of the issue with "Superman Returns" was a lack of action, which was largely due to the fact that Luthor can't physically confront Superman. It's presumed that this time around the studio wants somebody who can actually engage Superman in physical combat. The character of General Zod (previously played by Terrence Stamp in "Superman II") has popped up in rumors several times but there's been no official confirmation.