Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

Superman: Man of Steel

8/3/11 - Laurence Fishburne will play Perry White, the no-nonsense editor of the Daily Planet, in Zack Snyder's Superman movie Man of Steel, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures confirmed Tuesday.

7/21/11 - Warner Bros. announced that Superman: Man of Steel movie has an official opening date of June 14, 2013.  The move appears to come as the studio reviews its overall release slate. It had never committed the Superman tale to a specific date in 2012 and now that it also has Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey set to open on Dec. 14, 2012, it decided to space out its tentpoles and move Man of Steel into 2013.

7/8/11 - Harry Lennix is joining the cast of Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Lennix’s character description is being kept shrouded in mystery, although is it known that he plays a high-ranking military officer named Sgt. Stanwick.  Man of Steel’s cast includes Henry Cavill as Superman, Michael Shannon as the villainous General Zod, Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Antje Traue as Zod’s henchwoman Faora. And the familial side, Russell Crowe is playing Superman’s Kryptonian father Jor-el, Julia Ormond his mother Lara, while Kevin Costner and Diane Lane set to play Jonathan and Martha Kent. Christopher Meloni is also playing an undisclosed part.  Production is eyeing an August start in Vancouver.

6/15/11 – Variety reported that Russell Crowe is in negotiations to take the role of Jor-El, Superman's biological father, in Man of Steel, which Zack Snyder is on board to direct with Henry Cavill set to play Superman. Warner Bros. had no comment on Crowe's casting.  Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Michael Shannon have already joined the cast. David Goyer penned the script and developed the story with Nolan who, as is his way, has kept plot details under wraps.  Charles Roven will produce along with Emma Thomas, Nolan and Deborah Snyder. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are producing for Legendary Pictures.  With production set to start next month, Jor-El was one of the last roles to cast, though they also are looking for a big name to play Superman's biological mother.

4/27/11 - German actress Antje Traue has emerged as a strong contender for the role of the villainess in Warner Bros’ Superman: Man of Steel movie.  The story is calling for a female counterpart although it is unclear if the character’s name is Ursa, who appeared memorably in Superman II as well as Smallville and the comic books, or Faora, a comic book character. Both are super-powered Kryptonian antagonists.  Traue has no offer but has tested for the role. It is unclear which other actresses have tested for the part as well.

4/11/11 - Michael Shannon will be cast as villain Zod in director Zack Snyder's upcoming Superman reboot.  "This Superman thing is ridiculous. It just came out of nowhere," he said. "I was talking to my agent ... she's like, 'How about 'Superman'? I'm like, 'What?' The idea that I would ever be in 'Superman'! I'm like, Are you serious?"  When he met Snyder, Shannon said he was “seriously sitting there and he's telling me, 'You can't read the script, so I'm just gonna tell you what happens.' And he spent a half hour telling me every scene in this movie.”   Snyder eventually decided Shannon was perfect fit. To convince others, he had Shannon and Henry Cavill (who plays Superman) do a reading together. "They said, 'You have to come back because we want to see if you and Superman have chemistry,’” Shannon recalled.  He got the part a month after their reading.

3/28/11 - Amy Adams will play Lois Lane in the upcoming Superman reboot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  She will play the enterprising Daily Planet journalist and key love interest opposite British actor Henry Cavill, who was previously cast as Superman/Clark Kent. Diane Lane and Kevin Costner will play his adoptive parents.  "Second only to Superman himself, the question of who will play Lois Lane is arguably what fans have been most curious about," Snyder said. "So we are excited to announce the casting of Amy Adams, one of the most versatile and respected actresses in films today. Amy has the talent to capture all of the qualities we love about Lois: smart, tough, funny, warm, ambitious and, of course, beautiful."

3/18/11 – Kevin Costner will play Clark Kent's adoptive father, Jonathan Kent, according to a Warner Bros press release. He joins the recently cast Diane Lane, who is set to play Clark's mother, Martha.  Snyder said in a statement, "Jonathan Kent is the only father figure Clark has ever had, the man who was there to help Clark understand what he was meant to do in the world as Superman. Kevin will be able to communicate the quiet strength of this rural American man who raised the greatest super hero of all time."

3/3/11 - Diane Lane is joining Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot.  Warner Bros. announced on Thursday that the actress would play Martha Kent.  "This was a very important piece of casting for me because Martha Kent is the woman whose values helped shape the man we know as Superman," director Snyder said in a statement. "We are thrilled to have Diane in the role because she can convey the wisdom and the wonder of a woman whose son has powers beyond her imagination."

2/17/11 - Henry Cavill speaks about landing the title role in Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot.  "All I could think was, 'Oh, God, they're going to look at me and go, 'He's not Superman, Not a chance,'" the 27-year-old actor told Entertainment Weekly. "The actor inside me was going, 'You're not ready! You're not ready!'"  Director Zack Snyder, however, felt differently - especially when he laid eyes on Henry in the iconic costume.  "He walked out and no one laughed. Other actors put that suit on and it's a joke, even if they're great actors. Henry put it on, and he exuded this kind of crazy-calm confidence that just made me go, 'Wow. Okay, this is Superman,'" Zack told the mag.

1/31/11 - Henry Cavill will star as Superman in the next installment of the movie franchise, Warner Bros. Pictures announced.  The film is to be directed by Zack Snyder.  No title has been announced for the film.  Warner Bros. is targeting December 2012 for release.

10/4/10 - Zack Snyder has been chosen to direct the new Superman movie, which Christopher Nolan is producing for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Snyder had been on the list of filmmakers ensconced in meetings with Nolan and Warners executives, who in recent weeks have talked to Darren Aronofsky, Ben Affleck, Matt Reeves and Tony Scott.  The Superman movie is one of the studio's top priorities, not only because it serves as the linchpin for its line of films based on DC Comics superheroes, but because Warners needs to be in production on a new Superman movie by 2011 or risk losing certain copyrights to the heirs of creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Seigel.

9/28/10 - Darren Aronofsky is in the running to direct the new Superman movie at Warner Bros., according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Word began to leak last week of directors who were meeting or will meet with producer Christopher Nolan and Warner brass for the relaunch of one of Hollywood's biggest franchises.  Duncan Jones ("Moon"), Jonathan Liebesman ("Battle: Los Angeles"), Matt Reeves ("Let Me In"), Tony Scott ("The Taking of Palham 1 2 3") and Zack Snyder ("Legend of the Guardians") are on the list.  Nolan and his producer-wife Emma Thomas will be heavily involved in the movie, so he's looking for a director who is able to handle the elaborate production and willing to collaborate.

5/27/10 - Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Barry Meyer announced that Warner will soon give the go-ahead for a movie about beloved DC Comics superhero Flash.  Meyer highlighted that DC Comics characters are key parts of Warner's future, mentioning a July 20, 2012 release date for the latest Batman film by Christopher Nolan and a holiday season 2012 Superman film. He added that the studio is planning films featuring Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Mad magazine characters as in development.

2/24/10 - Latino Review reported that Warner Bros. is making its moves to send Superman on his next adventure.  The studio and Legendary Pictures are negotiating with David Goyer to pen a new script, tentatively titled Man of Steel, that would help Warner Bros. get a new Superman film on the bigscreen before it loses the copyright on the character in 2013.  Both Warner Bros. and Legendary are high on Goyer after he helped breathe new life into the Batman franchise in 2005 by co-writing Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.  According to sources close to the companies, Goyer pitched a more action-packed idea that involves Superman battling arch nemesis Lex Luthor and super villain Brainiac -- far different than the original story that was seen in Superman Returns in 2006.  Warner Bros. is under a timeline to get another film in production by 2011 or risk having to pay the heirs of Superman-creator Jerome Siegel considerable coin for the studio's exploitation of the character over the years. The Siegel heirs and the heirs of co-creator Joe Shuster will own the entire Superman copyright in 2013, according to an ongoing court battle over who owns the character.

2/9/10 - According to Deadline Hollywood, Warner Brothers is going to try to reboot its Superman franchise with The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan.  Nolan is providing an oversight role and ensure The Man Of Steel gets off the ground after a 3 1/2-year hiatus. Nolan's leadership of the project can set it in the right direction with the critics and the fans, not to mention at the box office.  Superman is in the early stages of development and unlikely that Nolan would direct. This wouldn't be a sequel to Superman Returns but a completely fresh franchise.

7/9/09 - A court ruling on Wednesday over the rights to Superman are such that the rights revert back to the heirs of creators Jerome Siegel and Joe Shuster in 2013 and that Warner Brothers has no script and no development plans for a sequel to Bryan Singer's 2006 Superman Returns.  The studio wouldn't be able to release a sequel until 2012 at the earliest, meaning that the clock is running out for Warner.

3/27/09 - Comic writer Mark Millar, who had pitched an eight-hour epic trilogy of Superman films, is now saying that the proposed project is on ice for now.  "Warner's talked to us and a few other writer/director teams, but things seem to be in stasis right now," Millar reportedly said. "As far as I understand, nothing is happening with Superman at the moment, and so the director and I are just working on another project. If it happens, great. If it doesn't, no biggie. Kick-Ass taught me that creating your own stuff can be at least as much fun, and you don't have to answer to anyone. It's the future, baby."

2/20/09 - SlashFilm is debunking a rumor, first reported on Ain't It Cool News, that the Wachowski brothers were in talks to reboot the Superman film franchise.  The site cites two independent anonymous sources saying that the report is completely false.  The Wachowski Brothers have definitely never had any talks with DC or Warner Brothers to helm a Superman film.

07/02/08 - Mark Millar said recently that he's got a director and producer lined up for yet another cinematic reinvention of Superman: "Sadly, I can't say who the director is, but we may make it official by Christmas," with the film eyeing a 2011 release.

05/05/08 - Brandon Routh said recently that he expects to be working on the next film installment, Superman: Man of Steel, with director Bryan Singer beginning early next year (2009). "Of course, that's my timeline, not anyone else's," Routh said.  "Bryan keeps me up with what's going on, and I think he'll get a script together later in the year, and we'll begin filming early next year.  The actor joked about wanting to be able to hit more villains in the sequel and added that he has stayed in shape, albeit in a less-regimented workout routine.

12/31/06 - Warner Bros has confirmed plans for another Superman movie and a sequel to Superman Returns.  No word on plot or release.

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