After endless casting rumors, we finally know who is going to take up the blue tights and the red cape in the newest installment of the Superman series. Henry Cavill has been cast as the Man of Steel. Now, you’ll probably look at Cavill and think, hmmm, I think I know that guy from somewhere. He’s been around, but he’s still a relatively fresh face, which is exactly what a role like Superman demands.
The twenty seven year old British actor is probably best known for his role in the Showtime hit, The Tutors, playing the Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. If you’ve got a keen memory, you may also remember Cavill as the fifteen year old son of James Caviezel’s Edmund Dantes in the 2002 adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo.
Superheroes in general are tough to get right, and Superman is one of the hardest to cast. Cavill seems like a promising choice – he has the right look but he’s just a little less perfect than Brandon Routh, star of the ill fated Superman Returns. Interestingly, Cavill was on the short list for Returns before a change in director sent the role Routh’s way.
Cavill will be seen later this year playing Greek warrior Theseus in director Tarsem Singh’s action picture “Immortals,” and opposite Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver in the thriller “The Cold Light of Day.”
“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,” director Zach Snyder said in a statement released by Warner Brothers on January 30th. “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.”
