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.

Batman 3 title revealed! No Riddler?

Big news from Gotham. L.A. Times reveal the title of Christopher Nolan's third Batman movie(which is set to be a trilogy). Its title is "THE DARK KNIGHT RISES" And the film's release has also been set to rise on July 2012.

In addition, Nolan went on to dispell what many had begun to assume to be a given – “It won’t be the Riddler,” reports L.A.Times' blog Hero Complex. So easy to get ahead of yourself, isn't it? Of course, true to form, the director wouldn’t reveal who it would be.

What Nolan seemed most interested in imparting was that he’s convinced Warner Bros. to keep telling his story in 2D, and to continue down the path of hi-def IMAX sequences. And he’ll get no argument from us on the subject – if it ain't broke, etc.

The post contains one other potentially juicy, enigmatic Nolan quote: “We’ll use many of the same characters as we have all along, and we’ll be introducing some new ones.”

If it's not Riddler, then there are still so many characters out there that are still in Nolan's Gotham. Two-Face could still be alive, Scarecrow is still alive, Zsasz may still be out running free, and the League of Shadows could return just to complete a circle from the first movie. Since Nolan's Batman series is grounded, we could put in a more realistic (& more based on the original comicbook concept) Penguin and Catwoman. We all know now that Tom Hardy is the new guy to join in on Nolan's Gotham universe. He could play a new character like Deadshot, Black Mask, Firefly, or Doctor Hugo Strange. Well at least we trust Nolan to do what's best for the series. Let's just hope this third movie will not be hit by the same jinx that hit Spider-man 3, Blade 3, and X-men 3!

Zack Snyder is directing SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL

Zack Snyder has been chosen to direct  the new installment of Superman for Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures. Snyder was on a short list of directors, as was recently revealed, who met with the studio as well as producers Chris Nolan and Emma Thomas. Other choices at the time included helmers Tony Scott, Matt Reeves, Jonathan Liebesman, and Duncan Jones. I think Snyder is a great choice. He is the visionary director who directed the films 300, Watchmen, Legend of the Guardians, and the upcoming Sucker Punch. Deadline revealed back on February 9 that the DC Comics stalwart Superman became a priority project when Nolan agreed to godfather it. He and David S. Goyer hatched the story and Goyer wrote the script. The new Superman's producers also include  Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder while co-financer Legendary Pictures' Thomas Tull will serve as executive producer.

Superman is one of those superheroes/superhero stories that require somebody who can really make it, not only one with a great storyline, but one hell of an action-packed movie. In my personal opinion, all the previous Superman movies failed because they diminish the action aspect and give too much weight on the love story aspect. And with the last Superman movie that completely diminishes the action aspect to almost zero content (all because its director wanted to pay homage to the old Superman movies), the franchise sealed its doom and was immediately set for a major overhaul (yet again). With Snyder on the helm, David Goyer on the pen, and Chris Nolan as its godfather; this certainly now looks immensely promising. 

source: Deadline New York