Antje Traue to Play Faora in Superman: Man of Steel

Posted by on May 2nd, 2011   Filed under: Action, Books/Comics
Source: Variety

It just wouldn’t be right to let a week go by without throwing some comic book casting news into the mix. Although one might have assumed that Zack Snyder was pretty much done casting his upcoming Superman movie Man of Steel at this point, he has decided to add one more villain with the hiring of German actress Antje Traue to play Kryptonian baddie Faora. So who is Antje Traue and who is Faora? Well, Traue has previously appeared in the sci-fi horror flick Pandorum, and is also in Renny Harlin’s upcoming war drama 5 Days in August. As for Faora, it’s still a bit unclear but the popular belief is that she will play a role similar to Ursa in Superman and Superman II.

Faora is a character that has had multiple incarnations in Superman comics over the years. One is a beautiful Kryptonian martial arts expert with an intense hatred for all men. She was eventually banished to the Phantom Zone for 300 years after torturing and killing 23 men. Another version of Faora was an assistant to General Zod in his country of Pokolistan who had the ability to disrupt molecular bonds. Still another Faora appeared as a bounty hunter who called herself “The Tigress of Zod.” Either way, it seems pretty clear that she will be an ally to General Zod (Michael Shannon).

Once again, I have to say I am a little disappointed that Zack Snyder is simply choosing characters that will repeat what has already been done in previous Superman movies. I suppose if you’re not a fan of the first two Superman flicks, you might want to see a new take on Zod and his cohorts, but I think they kind of got them right the first time around. As for Antje Traue, I haven’t seen Pandorum yet but she does seem to have a look that will allow her character to be simultaneously attractive and menacing. What are your thoughts on the casting of Faora in Man of Steel?



  • Derek McFarland

    I think Antje Traue would play an awesome Faora A.K.A.
    Ursa. I know they’ve used her character, in some of the previous films, but that was more than 30 years ago. I think bringin Kryptonians to fight Superman at the beginning of a new reboot will be a smart idea. Knowing that there are going to be villains from Superman’s home planet just tells me that there’s definitely going to be some hardcore brawling going on in this film (brawling…the one thing that was never put in the latest film).

  • Nelson

    If we’re basing our opinion about this simply on her appearance, then I am all for it :) , by all means.

    I am still not worried about the use of General Zod as a villian. You are assuming that this is going to be just another Superman movie, done “by the numbers”. You seem to have such a negative opinion of Zack Snyder.

    First of all, Christopher Nolan is the one that initially approached Warner Brothers with the idea for this new movie, as far as I know. You know he’s a smart guy, so if he got this idea from David Goyer about how to approach the movie and he was excited enough about what he heard that he ran to Warner Brothers, that should tell you something.

    You can’t dismiss the possibility that this could be an awesome movie simply because the villain has been used in previous Superman movies before.

    The character could be, and probably will be used in a completely original way in this new movie. Zod could be shown in a light that will make you look at the character in an entirely new way.

    Have a little faith. Sherlock Holmes is a character that has been done to death in various media over the years as well, but the BBC recently did a new “modern” version of the character that I enjoyed a lot, and even though I’ve seen Sherlock Holmes in television shows and in movies prior to this, I still very much enjoyed this new take on it and it wasn’t stale at all.

  • I have faith in Christopher Nolan… not so much Zack Snyder and David Goyer.

    The choice of villains obviously isn’t a deal breaker for me. I’m still curious to see what they do, and I think the cast looks good. My point is simply that Bryan Singer’s reboot failed partially because it was trying to be too faithful to the previous movies. You’d think they’d really want to set this one apart from the rest.

  • Nelson

    Superman is one of those characters that I feel the studios and everyone else involved is afraid to handle to wildly or too differently. I don’t blame them. He’s a character that if you change him even just slightly too much, people are going to freak out, because he’s just so established in our hearts and minds.

    This time I think the devil is in the details though. I think they will change and tweak the small things to make it modern and interesting, but they will steer clear of messing with the solidly established canon that people all know and love, regarding Superman and the mythology.

    They don’t want another flop on their hands with this movie, especially when they know that there is a potential for “The Dark Knight” size success and profit with this new film.

    I’m trusting that their greed and basic common sense will ensure that this movie comes out well AND the collective talent of everyone involved with the film.

  • Hugh

    There is a lot of potential in the Superman character and his mythos and relationships with other characters to make an excellent film; whether Mr Snyder is able to do this or not remains to be seen.

    His track record does not inspire much confidence, however, I will keep an open mind and see what he comes up with.

    Here’s hoping!!!!

  • Kiam Srewe

    The Faora character should be renamed into something less trivial. However the actress looks like an intelligent developement of Snake Plissken in a film noir. well chosen but never heard of her.