Henry Cavill will be the new Superman/Clark Kent for the newest Warner Bros. Pictures/Legendary Pictures production slated for release in December 2012.
No word yet from the studio as to whether the film to be directed by Zack Snyder will be in 3D or presented in IMAX theaters.
Of the casting of Cavill, recently of “The Tudors” TV series and having earlier roles in the 2005 DVD premiere movie “Hellraiser: Hellworld,” Snyder said, “He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield.”
Cavill recently wrapped production on “The Cold Light of Day” and stars in the upcoming “Immortals,” opening this fall.
Of his new take on Superman, Snyder said, “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.”
Warner resurrected Superman only five years ago in 2006 with another relatively unknown actor Brandon Routh in “Superman Returns” under then red-hot director Bryan Singer. The film nearly matched the U.S. boxoffice gross by Warner’s superhero resurrection the prior year, “Batman Begins,” with more than $200 million, and actually exceeded the worldwide boxoffice by about $20 million with more than $390 million.
Even though Warner’s 2008 sequel “The Dark Knight” made $533 million in the U.S. and more than $1 billion worldwide, there was no follow-up to “Superman Returns” and it did not become the franchise the studio built with Christopher Reeve in the title role in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the new film for 2012. 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.
— By Scott Hettrick