Superman is a character that is extremely deer to my heart, so much so that it's a little difficult for me to put into words how much of an effect those original Richard Donner directed movies had on me growing up. And in some ways the two further sequels but that's more I think the residual effect of what had come before than anything else. The original series shaped the human being that I am today, without a doubt. They were my primal introductions to cinema alongside Masters of the Universe and Ghostbusters a couple of years before I became a unbridled Star Wars geek. They remain, I would think, the movies I have watched the most times in my life and I imagine if I become terminally ill - Superman would be the first movie I would pick from my Blu-ray shelf. So when Superman Returns happened.. July 25th, 2006... on my birthday, my world was crushed. In truth I had a feeling it was coming. I was scared to death about what Bryan Singer and his team were working on and when that full-length trailer hit (not that ironic teaser with Marlon Brando's voice, which was kind of awesome and creepy) - the kid, the romance, Kevin Spacey trying too hard to be Gene Hackman, Singer trying too hard to be Donner.... I knew I wasn't going to get me a new Batman Begins. But I honestly didn't expect it to be so bad. I've spoke about it loads, it's a well told story that this site was created to vent my anger against Superman Returns and to try, in some way, to put my voice out there into the websphere to stop those kind of films happening again. Not that I ever thought/think I make any difference in the world but I suppose my dreams were more likely to be heard by someone by blogging than praying. I haven't been entirely successful, it has to be said. The ratio or good/bad comic book movies since 2006 haven't been great and my radar is buzzing once again thanks to the trailers for next year's Green Lantern and Thor - and my fret over Captain America. But again, rather than praying, here's how I personally would cast Superman: The Man of Steel before it goes in front of camera's in June. This isn't how I think Chris Nolan and Zack Snyder will cast it, this is strictly who I would choose for the roles and the extra four choices I've put in for most roles you can consider to be back up choices if I can't get the people I want.
Brandon Routh (31) as Superman...
His Clark Kent was goofier than a pet raccoon, his Superman despite the lackluster character the screenwriters gave him was instantly believable, iconic in it's own way. He was way better than the movie he was asked to lead and has since become the victim of other peoples failings. Kind of like if you imagine Christopher Reeve made his Superman debut in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and then Warner Bros. unceremoniously dumped him because of it, partly blaming him for why a lame script/concept didn't work. Bryan Singer pulled off quite the casting coup when he found Brandon Routh from t.v. cameo obscurity and I think he was too good not to bring back. I would cast him in a heartbeat - no audition necessary. Sure this new Superman movie is looking to break away from all previous incarnations and from the sounds of things, it's an origin movie of sorts again but there's ways to promote this movie with Routh and getting over the fact it's a different universe. Please don't be so quick to delete him from your thoughts... and if you can bare it, pop in your DVD of Returns and you will believe a man can fly. Four other actors I would ask to audition.... Henry Cavill (27) We've mentioned before that Cavill has this black cloud offer his head, regularly losing out on highly lucrative, blockbuster roles by the skin of his teeth (Batman, Superman x2, James Bond, Green Lantern) or pure bad luck (Twilight, where he was eventually too old to play Edward). By the roles he has been going for, he is clearly a comic book geek and he would get a meeting from me for his sheer enthusiasm to keep rising from the dead the day after being knocked to the floor.Though he is British, which complicates matters for an icon of America. Jon Hamm (39) I have never seen an episode of Mad Men, so I only know of Jon Hamm by his film work, though he impressed be a great deal this year with The Town. He certainly has the physique, the screen presence, the jawline and face for the role - and the acting temperament. Of course though unless you are doing a latter day Superman story, he is too old for the tights but I would want to meet him anyway, just so I can slip him that Krytonite just make sure he isn't actually The Son of Krypton. Matt Bomer (33) He was Brett Ratner's Superman when we was to shoot J.J. Abrams' script seven years ago before that production failed, and you can certainly see why he was picked. He has the look, has the likeability and looks good in the suit (see the Japanese Toyota ads from last year). Him winning the Superman role this time around would be like Pierce Brosnan winning the James Bond gig in the 90's after losing out in the 80's. Armie Hammer (24) He impressed us in The Social Network and this young Californian native has a history of winning costumed roles, already securing the Batman gig in the ultimately failed JLA movie a few years back. He only has a few things on his CV, so he will be an unknown to the majority and has the face of a superhero, I'd say.
Rebecca Hall (28) as Lois Lane
Chris Nolan knows at first hand how good this young British actress is from her emotional and tragic turn as a magician's wife in The Prestige, and Warner Bros. will know precisely what she can do after her turn in their hit thriller The Town. Hall is on the cusp of a major A-list role, you can feel it. I hope to see a Lois Lane in this new movie who is a much stronger woman than the Margot Kidder or Kate Bosworth portrayals, she needs to be tough in her own right, feisty, super smart and she needs to be the most confident woman in a room. She is a future Pulitzer prize winning writer after all and the neurotic, self-loathing or goofy version doesn't work for me. She needs to be someone believable as a cutting edge news reporter and Hall is a classy actress, has the posture and the eyes that radiate she is the smartest person she knows. Four other actors I would ask to audition.... Rachel McAdams (32) She's already had a roll of the dice as a blogger reporter in State of Play, and again at the front of a news program on Morning Glory. She also, although underused and hardly memorable, has got blockbuster experience from Sherlock Holmes and she's even played the damsel in distress in Red Eye. Arguably her CV is more ready for this than any other actress working today. Anne Hathaway (28) She's recently found herself rumoured for this exact role and despite my reservations over whether she could play the strong-willed, ambitious nature of Lois Lane (she's more useful playing vulnerable characters as in Devil Wears Prada or Rachel Getting Married), she has a very likeable screen presence. The camera just adores her and it's that kind of quality that could see her fit for this role. She is attracting a guy who every woman on the planet wants to get her claws into, so her Rashida Jones (34) Perhaps a left field choice but probably the one actress on this list who immediately feels the most credible as an award winning journalist. See her brief but memorable lawyer turn in The Social Network. She is also a subtle actress, she has that Vera Farmiga quality of saying a lot which just a glance or a look. She wouldn't be the worst Indie actress to take a punt on for this. Lizzy Caplan (28) Possibly the choice on this list that most resembles Margo Kidder's turn as the character, the up-and-coming Lizzy Caplan would capture the spirited nature of Lois Lane and the smart wit. Her unconventional beauty and resume of playing quirky, independent characters is also a strength here for her to forge out her own and distinct take on the journo.
Josh Brolin (42) as Lex Luthor
In my movie, Lex wouldn't be the main villain or even a villain per say. Not for the first movie anyway. I would make Luthor an ambitious political candidate, ruthless to the core, without much sympathy or humility for his opponents. A candidate who has no problem with lying to his voters to gain power, and to twist the truth to suit his needs. I would make him older than Superman too but someone who has come up from the same kind of modest background to make something big of himself. This is why Josh Brolin is the man... If you have seen his turn in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and his turn as Bretton James, well that's Lex Luthor for me. Someone who has to be the best at everything and own the best of everything, who collects sinister art, who is keen for a sporting, recreational or cerebral challenge with anybody because he believes he can beat everybody at everything and who only lives for 'more'. Because of the younger actors likely to play Superman/Lois Lane - Luthor needs to be a huge name in the frame. Richard Donner knew this and he cast the formidable Gene Hackman. That's the kind of guy you need for this... someone who is so overpowering as a man that you believe he could be a great foe for the superman. Four other actors I would ask to audition.... Denzel Washington (55) First of all, you need to get over that he's white in the comics. I mean yes, ideally, you would like to keep characters the same race as they are in the comics but they aren't that many actual Movie Stars of the right certain age who could pull off Luthor. Seriously, try and think of them and you'll find it tough. Now that Denzel Washington has done the down on his luck middle-aged man in Pelham 123 and Unstoppable - let's see him return to that evil sinister guy he can play so well, whose screen presence is striking. Remember American Gangster-Washington? If he brought some of that to the dance as Luthor, wow what a movie we would have folks. Significantly older than the man I chose to play Superman, though he could still pass for a guy in his 40's and is in great shape. George Clooney (49) Ok, think about this one for a second. George has built a career on being the new Cary Grant charming, killer-smile star of the new Millennium and mostly for playing characters you would like to know or inspire to be. But... there's that darker side to his work, glimpsed at most recently in Michael Clayton, Up in the Air and The American that has a regal quality to it. He has the charsima of Lex and a dark touch when required... I would love to see this shock casting of him playing the greatest criminal mastermind that has ever lived. Kind of like Henry Fonda in Once Upon A Time in the West or Tom Hanks in Road to Perdition. Viggo Mortensen (52) Richard Donner's movies and indeed Christopher Nolan's Batman flicks have been built on character actors who have been given the chance to shine with iconic material. Now Viggo Mortensen - who when you are watching his films you need to keep reminding yourself that he might just be the best actor of his generation, has more screen presence than just about anybody on the planet. I imagine is Luthor would be chilling to the core. Mortensen is a modern day De Niro. And can do just about anything. Casting him would be like casting Heath Ledger as The Joker and just letting him run wild. Ralph Fiennes (47) Boy, doesn't he look like Luthor in that picture? A wonderful if perhaps over-used villain, Ralph Fiennes could play Luthor without battering an eyelid. In fact, if you close your eyes, you can probably already adequately imagine how he would play Luthor and you wouldn't be far wrong. Maybe not as creative a choice for Luthor and you wonder if he can do the charming, charasmatic side of the super criminal as well as the others.
Paul Bettany (39) as Brainiac
A confusing, wide-ranging and varying back story for Brainiac makes him the perfect choice as the main villain for Superman: The Man of Steel. I would change his methods for destroying Gotham from shrinking it, to perhaps causing a mass flood that destroys parts of Metropolis. I would also make him 100% alien, and 0% robot. A truly frightening villain, who needs an actor would can portray a cold menance and Paul Bettany is the man for this. Remarkably under-rated, Bettany is much more than the rent a villain roles he has previously been given to play in movies like Firewall and from the looks of things, the forthcoming Depp/Jolie spy thriller The Tourist. Four other actors I would ask to audition.... Jeremy Irons (62) Irons' voice is what I have always imagined for Brainiac ever since I first read the character in the comics. Don't ask me why, but I wonder if it's because I started reading Superman around the time of Die Hard With A Vengeance, and his distinct and other wordly voice just had such an effect on me. And hell, it's been a while since someone chucked a great role mainstream role his way. John Malkovich (56) Again, there's something immensely creepy about Malkovich. He truly does not look like he should belong to this world and after missing out twice on the comic book villain schtick in two Spider-Man movies (we don't count Jonah Hex), I'm kind of interested to see what he would do with this. Hugo Weaving (50) He would make an incredible Brainaic, who in many ways is similar to his Agent Smith in The Matrix saga but precisely because of that and because he's already got the role of Red Skull in Captain America, I would find it hard to justify giving him another comic book villain. Shame, because he would nail it. Ralph Fiennes (47) For the most part, see above and Lex Luthor.
Ed Harris (59) as Perry White
Quieter, more respectable than his Spider-Man counterpart J Jonah Jameson - Daily Bugle's Editor-in-Chief is a man of integrity and fairness. He is immensely respectable and the role would require someone who excudes that quality and who better than Ed Harris? I also like the idea of White desperately trying to get the inside scoop on Superman to save his dying newspaper in this economic climate (the offices of Bugle could be empty) in a Helen Mirren-State of Play esque portrayal. Four other actors I would ask to audition.... Chris Cooper (59) He has played countless number of supporting authority types over the years, though usually in serious movies. Giving him something a little leigther on this huge platform known as the WB blockbuster? Yeah - we like that idea. And on another note, although this is not a 'predictive' casting column, I wouldn't at all be surprised if Cooper won this role given he was Nolan's 2nd choice to play Comissioner Gordon in Batman Begins and has a quality that the producer of this new series is obviously keen on. Hugh Laurie (51) Originally cast by Bryan Singer for Superman Returns before scheduling on his t.v. show House ruled him out - Hugh Laurie is a fascinating choice for this role. He has the energy for witty put-downs and sarcasm - and although this role would essentially be a condensed version of House but as a newspaper chief instead of a medical man - who wouldn't want to see it? At 51, it's probably more of the age you would expect to land this part. John Slattery (48) Again, he has basically played Perry White for fifteen years, more or less. It's not his most well known role but if you have ever seen the NBC dramedy Ed from the beginning of the last decade, he was basically playing White as a school principal. He has already been rumoured as the new J Jonah Jameson and it almost seems inevitable that he will end up with one of the two acting vacancies. This one would be the smarter role to take though as it comes with less baggage. Mark Harmon (59) One day I was watching NCIS and it just hit me... Perry White. He would be my fifth choice but he has a memorable face and performance routine that would fit this character.
Anton Yelchin (21) as Jimmy Olsen....
The Jimmy Olsen character I would probably prefer to cast an unknown but because obviously I can't pick an unknown to satisfy this column (as that would be impossible) I am going to go with Anton Yelchin. Yes, this slightly breaks my rule of two franchies per actor (he's got Terminator, albeit that is now dead - and Star Trek) but the Olsen character is significant in the film as often he is our entry point into Clark Kent's world so he has to be somebody immeaditely likeable and charasmatic. I've heard a lot of people sound out about Paul Dano for the role, but come on... when has he ever played a character who you didn't find just a little creepy?
Kurt Russell as Jonathan Kent
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Jessica Lange as Martha Kent...
In my Superman movie - Martha would have more screen time (so you would need the caring mother type figure and Jessica Lange fills that purpose) and Jonathan would have less but would pack more of the emotional power punch. He would be seen completely in flashback and his death of a heart attack would for me be the instigating reason for why he leaves Metropolis in the first place. If you have seen Kurt Russell's turn in Vanilla Sky, it was a fatherly, embracing character he can play so well in his advancing career. He has that To Kill A Mockingbird/Gregory Peck quality of the perfect father figure. He can do more with one scene than most leading men could do with a lifetime, and he is instantly believeable as a blue-collar man who has led a great family life. Also by making him a believable sporting champion, it makes the scenes where he tells his son he can't do sports all the more poignant. So my Superman: The Man of Steel.... Brandon Routh as Superman Josh Brolin as Lex Luthor Ralph Fiennes as Braniac Rebecca Hall as Lois Lane Ed Harris as Perry White Jimmy Olsen - Anton Yelchin Martha Kent - Jessica Lange Jonathan Kent - Kurt Russell Feel free to sound-off your frustrations, etc.