I was always struck by a note from Mario Puzo’s early treatment for the original SUPERMAN movies about how, ideally, Jor-El should be played by the same actor as Superman. The father of a hero should’ve been a hero in his own time, right? For that reason, I find Russell Crowe more fitting to the part than even a fine actor like Anthony Hopkins (who was attached to the role for Brett Ratner’s unrealized Superman trilogy.)
Variety’s saying that Crowe’s in negotiations currently to play the man of tomorrow’s pops in Zack Snyder’s upcoming SUPERMAN reboot, THE MAN OF STEEL. Getting a huge name like this for the part had been part of Christopher Nolan’s agenda while he was still godfathering the project. And I suppose “godfathering” is a fitting term to bandy around in this discussion, because Crowe is obviously inherenting the role from Marlon Brando’s memorable turn in the Richard Donner classic. The parallels between the two actors are there. Brando and Crowe are both highly-respected, serious actors with that elusive, volatile animal magnetism and you’d never expect them to star in a superhero movie. Hell, Brando was even around the same age as Crowe is now when he starred in the first SUPERMAN.
When this gets locked, it’ll leave only one more major character remaining to be cast - - Supes’ mother, Lara. Which actress tops the Comic Vine fantasy casting call for that particular role?
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