New MAN OF STEEL Images From EW Featuring Zod, Jor-El And First Look At Faora

Lois Lane, General Zod And Jor-El Shown In New Images From MAN OF STEEL

Images From MAN OF STEEL Teaser Trailer

Full Trailer For Zack Snyder's MAN OF STEEL

Tahmoh Penikett Confirmed For MAN OF STEEL, Is He Playing Matello?

Battlestar Galactica's Tahmoh Penikett has confirmed via Twitter that he indeed has a role in Man of Steel. While his involvement was never announced by trades or studio but it had been rumored he was in the film. Henry Ackerson (the character the person asking is referring to) is the alias of the Superman villain Metallo.

A military cyborg who is powered by kryptontie, had been mentioned as a possible addition to J.J. Abrams/Brett Ratner take of Superman Returns. Before Bryan Singer made his Richard Donner homage replacing him with Lex Luthor. Rumors had Matello pegged as a villain even during the early days of the Man of Steel production. Above is concept art from the Abrams/Ratner project possibly featuring the baddie.

TRAILER: 'MAN OF STEEL' Teaser

FIRST LOOK: Official Logo For Zack Snyder's Man Of Steel

Iceman Poster Gives Us The FIrst Look At Michael Shannon As The Infamous Hitman

FILMS THAT SHOULD BE MADE: Frank Miller's Hard Boiled

Back in 2001, it was announced by Variety that Warner Bros. and David Fincher were going to be adapting the much praised and visually stunning graphic novel Hard Boiled from Frank Miller and artist Geof Darrow. Nicolas Cage was in talks to play the lead character Nixon. This ultimately didn't happen and everyone involved walked away from the film. The comic is similar to a mix of Fifth Element/Heavy Metal meets Blade Runner/Sin City. It features the setting of an over populated gritty futuristic L.A. littered with violence. The main character Nixon seems to live a double life but is unaware of it. Believing he's just an average family man. 

During the height of the successful releases of Sin City and 300 it was back in development. Frank Miller talking to MTV mentioned he was in talks to direct it. The project quickly went into limbo when Miller's directing debut The Spirit tanked. If Warner Bros. is dying to make more comic book films Hard Boiled should be on the top of their list since the material if prime for an adaptation. The studio is currently beginning production on the sequel/prequel to Miller's 300 in the next couple of months which is somewhat inspired by his new graphic novel Xerxes.

THOUGHTS ON A DIRECTOR:

My first thoughts went to Luc Besson mainly because of the design and scope of his film The Fifth Element. That film borrowed a lot of from the original Hard Boiled artwork by artist Geof Darrow. Yet it looks like he's got enough projects in development along with another original science fiction blockbuster on the way.



Ultimately the best director for this would be Paul Verhoeven who has tackled this satirical science fiction material previously with Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers. Yet, the Dutch director has stated many times his distaste for sci-fi. It's extremely assuming since he's one of the best directors of the genre. Personally, I'd love to Verhoeven return for one more crazy genre outing like Hard Boiled.



I wouldn't rule out a studio loyalist like Christopher Nolan tackling the material. Since someone like Fincher was originally interested I wouldn't dismiss Nolan taking on the subject matter. He's long stated that he's a massive a fan of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and has dabbled with science fiction elements with both Prestige and Inception. This film explores similar elements used in Blade Runner and other films based on Philip K. Dick stories. Nolan is exiting the Batman franchise but hasn't announced for sure what his next film will be. He's notorious for not committing to another film until the one before it is released, focusing his entire attention to one film at a time. Given that fact we have no clue what he'll do next.

Snyder has already proven he can handle large scoped projects and delivered somewhat successful comic book adaptations with 300 and Watchmen. The way Zack recreated a 1980's Manhattan could work when a super stylized future L.A. is the setting. It helped earn him the coveted directing gig on Man of Steel. If the studio does end up for an R-rated rating Zack seems like one of the best directors to pull this off. The only problem here is that it's expected if successful he'll be asked to make the sequel to Man of Steel. If a sequel happens I assume a trilogy will be worked out during the development of Man of Steel 2.

Newcomer directors James Mather and Stephen St. Leger seem like they could do big things with a large budget film like Hard Boiled. The pair are about to release their smaller budgeted science fiction actioner Lockout in April which they both directed and wrote with producer Luc Besson. This Hollywood-like film was made on the cheap and has some impressive sets/effects all things considering. I feel if Lockout is successful big studios will be knocking down their door very quickly. I get the impression that they could make a plausable adaptation and without a massive bloated budget. Along with writing a tailor-make script to fit both a low budget and their visual style.



WHO SHOULD PLAY NIXON?:

When the news first surfaced I originally had Bruce Willis in mind but that doesn't possible as the role seems more psychical than I believe he can handle stunt-wise at his age. This is something I picture a younger 90's Willis being perfect for. With that in mind a few names come to mind. They include Russell Crowe (Gladiator, American Gangster), Michael Shannon (Man of Steel, Take Shelter, Boardwalk Empire) and Clive Owen (Sin City, Children of Men) who are able to play the everyman but can be highly action driven as well when needed.

RUMOR: Bradley Cooper Playing Lex Luthor?

Bradley Cooper has been choosing a lot of odd projects lately which run the gauntlet of comedy, indie, action, blockbuster, genre and drama. Today's big rumor of the day brings Cooper back to the world of comic book roles. CosimicBookNews (via ComicBookMovie) "reports" that now that Paradise Lost's production is on hold Warner Bros. is looking for Cooper to make a cameo in Man of Steel as Lex Luthor.

At the moment this nothing but an interesting rumor but if the studio is really intent on making more Superman films Cooper isn't a bad casting choice for Lex. It had been mentioned a while back the studio might be already working on a sequel to Man of Steel. If true it could end up as brief as Russell Crowe's cameo as Jor-El, Superman's father.

Bradley had been previously rumored for Edgar Wright's Ant-Man. He also had some interest in Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) before being replaced by Ryan Reynolds and Eric Draven in the now dead Crow reboot.

FIRST LOOK: Russell Crowe As Jor-El On The Set Of Man Of Steel

Antje Traue Is Playing A Kryptoian Villainess In Superman!

German actress Antje Traue (Pandorum) has been confirmed by Variety and Deadline joining Superman: Man of Steel. They are giving conflicting characters Ursa (seen in Superman 1-2) and Faora both Kryptoian villains but she has joined the film none the less. This very well could be the role that Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) had been testing for. I haven't seen much of Antje's work but she did a decent job in Pandorum giving one of the better performances in the film. It's expected she will be an ally of General Zod (Michael Shannon).

RUMOR: Kryptoian Villain Faora Also In Superman?

LatinoReview is upping their previous rumor of the inclusion of a female Kryptoian villain. They state it's Faora who is an actual character from the comics with ties to Zod. She was the basis for the Richard Donner character Ursa which was featured in Superman II. It was rumored that actresses Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds), Alice Eve and Rosamound Pike were auditioning for the role of a villain and not the role of Lois Lane.

Michael Shannon Officially Playing Zod In Zack Snyder's Man Of Steel

Warner Bros. has finally announced the villain for Zack Snyder's Superman reboot which is now officially titled Man of Steel. Michael Shannon is set to play General Zod and is likely to steal the show. Shannon has been known as a character actor taking smaller roles but came into his own recently with his performance in the first season of HBO's Boardwalk Empire. It's still unknown if Lex Luthor, General Sam Lane or Metallo will also be involved in the film but at least we know Zod is for sure now. Shannon joins an impressive cast that includes Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Diane Lane and Kevin Costner.

Michael Shannon In Talks For Villain Role In Superman

Deadline reports that Michael Shannon is in talks for the unnamed villain in Zack Snyder's Superman. Shannon is best known for his role as a prohibition officer in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. He also earned an Oscar nomination for his role in Revolutionary Road.

Michael Shannon, James Franco & Benicio Del Toro Confirmed For Iceman

This could be the swan-song for Mickey Rourke's competing film based on the real life mob hitman Richard Kuklinski. MovieHole reports that Michael Shannon, James Franco and Benicio Del Toro have signed on to star in Iceman. There were teaser posters floating around online for months and the actors had been attached but it's now official. It's another high tension action driven project coming from Nu Image/Millennium Films. Who recently released The Expendables and the upcoming Mechanic remake.

Shannon will play the notorious hitman known for freezing his victims' bodies to throw off police to the time of death. Del Toro will play his mob employer Roy Demeo and Franco his mentor.