The New SUPERMAN & the leading lady yet to be announced

Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that Henry Cavill will play Clark Kent/Superman in the Zack Snyder-directed Superman movie:

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.

Targeted for release in December 2012, the new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

So how about the Female Lead?
Alice Eve, Diane Kruger and Rosamund Pike have emerged as the three actresses being considered for the unknown character, says the trade.
Variety is reporting that these three actresses are in contention for the role - though it's not Lois Lane.

Not Lois Lane? Latino Review's insider information states that Lois Lane will still be in the movie but perhaps a smaller role? They're probably saving her up for a sequel. Since this Snyder-directed movie is under the watch of Chris Nolan, it's possible that they're having the same route with Nolan's Batman Begins, where they created the character Rachel Dawes, a character made only for this movie version, to play off the main hero's character development in the origin movie. But Latino Review says that the three actresses cited were auditioning for the role of Ursa, who Superman fans will remember from the 1980 sequel Superman II as General Zod's second-in-command. Snyder has mostly denied that General Zod would appear in his movie although that may have changed since he was last asked, and the choice of a European actress would follow in line with her casting in the earlier sequel in which she was played by British actress Sarah Douglas. I personally think that's borderline ridiculous, but hey, if Nolan is involved there's that assurance that it wont be all that bad.

Filming is expected to start this summer for a December, 2012 release.