Zack Snyder Finds His Superman

Posted by on January 30th, 2011   Filed under: Action, Books/Comics, Featured
Source: Coming Soon

After months of speculation, Warner Brothers has officially announced the next actor who will don the blue tights of Superman on screen. No, it’s not Jon Hamm, and no, Brandon Routh will not be reprising his role. According to an official press release, British actor Henry Cavill will play Clark Kent and Superman in the upcoming film, tentatively titled Superman: Man of Steel. Cavill is probably best known for playing Charles Brandon on Showtime’s The Tudors. Director Zack Snyder had this to say about the choice:


“In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honored to be a part of his return to the big screen. I also join Warner Bros., Legendary and the producers in saying how excited we are about the casting of Henry. He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield.”

Cavill seems like he should be a pretty good match physically, and although he has plenty of acting experience, he’s not so recognizable that he will be difficult to see in this iconic role. He is also 27 years old, which kind of puts to rest the rumours that Snyder was looking for a middle-aged Man of Steel. Cavill’s other credits include Tristan + Isolde, Stardust and Whatever Works, and he will also appear in Tarsem’s Immortals and The Cold Light of Day starring Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver. Superman: Man of Steel is being planned for a December 2012 release. Do you think Henry Cavill is a good choice to play Superman? Better than Jon Hamm?



  • Elio

    John Hamm would have been my choice. Strikes more like a hero.

  • kyri

    Isn’t he a bit short??

  • Unless they involve the universe more like Green Lantern, this movie will be boring.

  • SurlyMona

    The British are taking over,dark knight, spiderman and now Superman. I’m really excited, Henry was great in the Tudors.

  • Jonny Ashley

    Old superman would have ruled, but whatever. The official statement seems really canned. I just hope he doesn’t pull any punches. Superman doesn’t have to explode someone’s head or have a steamy fuck scene with Lois, but I really hope it will do something interesting that we haven’t seen before.

    I wonder if he will take a clue from Red Son or Irredeemable, and delve into the dilemma of superman as a WMD who has to carry the weight of an ungrateful world on his shoulders. That might be much too similar to Dr. Manhattan of Watchmen. Maybe there could be elements of that, but IMO I would much rather watch a really well written battle of wits between Superman and Lex Luthor or Brainiac. I get really annoyed when the extent of an evil genius’ intelligence are his high-tech weapons.

  • kyri

    And.. By the way..
    British? Of all the superheroes on the planet, Superman really needs to be played by a Canadian actor…

  • Strand0410

    AHahhaha British actors playing all these roles in Americana films.

    Whatever happened to “Truth.. Justice… and the American way.”

    Oh well, at least there’s Cap.

  • Napalm

    He looks great in all the Photoshops I’ve seen so far.

    I’m really excited to see this, especially because of Nolan’s involvement as writer and producer. Also, I think Zack Synder is competent enough to make something fun out of this.

  • Fatbologna

    He seems like a very nice young man.

  • Aaron F.

    Brilliant choice. This kid’s a star in the making.

  • Can’t really critique this choice. I’ve only seen this guy in THE TUDORS and I’m not really sure of his abilities as a whole.

    The thing I really care about is this: Superman needs to get into a superfight. I wanna see Superman get knocked into a building. I want to see his cape in tatters. I want a moment where innocent bystanders are all doodly-do on their computers in an office building and all of a sudden Supes comes smashing through.

    As long as they don’t waste millions of dollars just to have Supes save crashing airplanes then I’ll be relatively happy with this. If the script is terrible, then I can take solace in the Richard Donner movies, Lois & Clark, and the DC direct-to-dvd stuff.

  • I think Jon Hamm would have been a better choice. I just hope the movie will end up better than the last one.

  • HerlyGirl

    IMO Henry Cavill has a great facial structure to play Spiderman. Everyone here is talking about John Hamm really? He’s so blah looking though? Superman’s gotta have a strong looking face which I think Cavill has, can’t really say much about his acting abilities, but I agree that getting a lesser known actor to play Superman is likely key and Cavill fits this role also. I wish they had’ve done this for Captain America also.. still upset about Chris Evans :(

  • Nelson

    I wish this movie was out…YESTERDAY. I am extremely impatient and excited for this and I hope that the movie will live up to and even exceed expectations. I honestly have no idea where they will go with the story and until the movie comes out I will be occupied anticipating it.

    The names attached to produce and direct are excellent and I am really looking forward to what they come up with.

    I have seen some really awesome fight scenes in lesser known comic and sci-fi properties in the last several years and I hope that the lessons learned from those movies are applied to the special effects on this.

  • Angela

    I think Henry is an excellent choice. Physically he can carry the role very well. He’s also a fine actor. I really enjoyed him on The Tudors. I just can’t imagine John Hamm in this role. It would have been nice to see Tom Welling transition from his Smallville role into the real thing. Would have been perfect since the show is ending this season.