Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures and director Zack Snyder have found their new Superman! They’ve officially cast British actor Henry Cavill to take on the role of the Man of Steel.
Snyder had this to say in a statement:
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.
An executive at Warner Bros. had this to say about the casting,
He’s got an amazing quality. He doesn’t look too much like Reeve and Routh but he’s big and strong and he has a very modern feel to him. We’re really going to try and make Superman as contemporary as possible.
Here’s the Press Release:
Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Henry Cavill has won the coveted role of Superman, the iconic superhero.
The film will be directed by Zack Snyder, who stated, “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.”
Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film. The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.
Cavill recently wrapped production on “The Cold Light of Day” and stars in the upcoming “Immortals,” opening this fall.
Targeted for release in December 2012, the new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
When asked straight out about the reality of his involvement, Cavill laughed and responded, “Yes, there was talk about that, a while ago now. Must have been four or five years ago, maybe more. When McG was working on a script with them. I don’t know how close I came. I understand it was very, very close and sadly the movie was cancelled because McG didn’t want to fly. He certainly had a big fear of flying at the time; I think he’s since overcome it. He wanted to shoot in New York, they wanted to shoot in Australia for obvious reasons. He said, ‘I can’t do it,’ and they moved on. These things happen. It’s the nature of the business.”
The question, of course, was whether or not he would be interested in the role if it should be offered to him again for a rebooted version of Superman. “Very much so,” said Cavill. “I’m a fan of the character, and it depends on the script and the director, though not in that order necessarily.”
