I'm not familiar with his work. I mainly know he was on The Tudors, which I did not watch. He was a front runner for the Superman role back when McG and Brett Ratner were each supposed to direct Superman movies before Bryan Singer did Returns, but now, at 28, he's finally the Man of Steel.
Also, he's British. Like Christian Bale and Andrew Garfield. Superman, Batman and Spider-Man, our three biggest superhero icons, are now played by Englishmen. Blimey.
Originally posted by John OrquiolaAlso, he's British. Like Christian Bale and Andrew Garfield. Superman, Batman and Spider-Man, our three biggest superhero icons, are now played by Englishmen. Blimey.
Thankfully, our Captain America is still Made in the USA! (For now...)
If there's ever an adaptation of Captain Britain, he should be played by Shia LaBeouf.
(edited by It's False on 30.1.11 2221)
"You wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man, you're a chicken, Boo!"
We'll get our due when they cast an American in the inevitable Harry Potter reboot.
Glad they went with someone older. Hopefully, it's good, but man, I don't want to re-live Superman's origin again. They really need to take the "Star Wars" approach and start a Superman story in the middle of the action.
I have to see Tudors which is now on BBC America and Netflix which means I will see it, maybe. It all depends on what he looks like in the suit and how well the script is. I did hear a rumor that they are not going to re-do the origin and just go into a Brainiac storyline with Lex in the background. The other key is who is going to be Lois, Brandon was ok as Superman, but god damn did that Lois suck. Without a good Lois, it falls a part pretty quickly. I think Kidder and Erica Durance are both undervalued to what they brought to their Superman mythos.
Originally posted by SKLOKAZOID Hopefully, it's good, but man, I don't want to re-live Superman's origin again. They really need to take the "Star Wars" approach and start a Superman story in the middle of the action.
This times 100x. Lotjx's rumor is hopefully true, since not only am I burned out on the origin, I'm also burned out on Lex Luthor as Superman's nemesis (or at least, the real estate-obsessed goofy criminal he always appears as in Superman movies). There are loads of Superman villains who could make great on-screen nemeses --- Brainiac of course, Parasite, Metallo, the Cyborg, even Mxyzptlk.
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." --- Bart Giamatti, on baseball
Still think they should wait on this another 5 years and just relaunch.
Tired of everyone whining about the origin. It is the best part of the Superman story because it allows us to identify with him. Doesn't mean you have to tell it the same way, or even spend a ton of time.
I'd go with a few scenes of Clark as a child and then maybe some time with him in college. Neither era has had any focus by the movies.
And they need to give us a real Lex Luthor and not some wig wearing goof.
There's a reason Superman's origin is the focus of most movies -- it is the most interesting story that can be told in a film. Most of the other great Superman stories have convoluted plots, too much necessary background information to explain, or are just kind of weird.
Aside from Lex, he has no truly iconic villains. Nobody knows who even Brainiac is. Superman is a great and timeless character because his powers and origin story are so ingrained into our perception of what a superhero is. The problem with that is that everything else seems secondary.
Lloyd: When I met Mary, I got that old fashioned romantic feeling, where I'd do anything to bone her. Harry: That's a special feeling.
Originally posted by samoflangeThere's a reason Superman's origin is the focus of most movies -- it is the most interesting story that can be told in a film. Most of the other great Superman stories have convoluted plots, too much necessary background information to explain, or are just kind of weird.
Aside from Lex, he has no truly iconic villains. Nobody knows who even Brainiac is. Superman is a great and timeless character because his powers and origin story are so ingrained into our perception of what a superhero is. The problem with that is that everything else seems secondary.
Agreed. I think part of the reason that Superman is always struggling for good sales in the comics is that they lose sight of the basics and go for convoluted sci-fi plots. Aside from Lex, his villains all have complex constantly retconned origins. Bizarro is sometimes from a goofy cube backwards planet, but sometimes is just a messed up Superman clone. Brainiac has had so many changes over the years that they made it a storyline to try and make it not so ridiculous. Then you've got the half a dozen other "Super" characters to further water down what makes Supes special.
The Hollywood Reporter has the rundown of the finalists for the title role role in the reboot to be directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan. Among them was White Collar's Matthew Bomer who, like Cavill, had been an early pick for the role back when McG and Brett Ratner were attached to direct Superman Returns.
The other four finalists for the Superman role this time out reportedly included True Blood werewolf Joe Manganiello (whose schedule was said to be an issue), The Social Network's Armie Hammer (who had been cast as Batman in the aborted JLA movie), Irish actor Colin O'Donoghue (currently raising hell onscreen in The Rite), and Brit actor Matthew Goode, who THR claims was Cavill's most serious competition having previously worked with Snyder on Watchmen.
Man, so we were either close to another British Superman or an IRISH Superman. Are American actors really so bad that they can't play the quintessential American superhero?
"You wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man, you're a chicken, Boo!"
Originally posted by It's FalseMan, so we were either close to another British Superman or an IRISH Superman. Are American actors really so bad that they can't play the quintessential American superhero?
Maybe it's because I grew up on Marvel or maybe they just tricked me by putting "America" right in his name but I always considered Captain America to be the quintessential American superhero and the American actors still have him and Iron Man. But really, despite the bad later seasons, I still think Smallville is the best version of Superman for the past couple of decades and Tom Welling is American.
I just can't believe we lost Green Lantern to those Canadians! (Oh well, at least Australia took Wolverine from them).
Originally posted by samoflangeAside from Lex, he has no truly iconic villains.
I'll grant you iconic, but Superman has some other villains that would be able to work in a film, even if the average joe doesn't know who they are at the start of the film. Brainiac, Parasite, and even Darkseid to some degree can all be explained inside of a two-hour film and still be compelling challenges for Superman. And if you've ever seen the first Metallo episode from Superman: The Animated Series, where he was voiced by Malcolm McDowell, you know he could be very compelling as a villain, although that is a setup that almost requires Lex as a secondary villain.
Originally posted by samoflange Aside from Lex, he has no truly iconic villains.
Um... NUCLEAR MAN ring a bell? He had the power of hundreds of nuclear bombs, razor sharp nails that could pierce Superman's flesh, and the voice of Gene Hackman!
How quickly people forget Superman IV: The Quest for Peace!
Originally posted by samoflangeAside from Lex, he has no truly iconic villains.
Personally, I'd pay a good $20 to see a Superman/Doomsday fight on IMAX.
And that's the thing about making another Superman movie. Yes, he may not have a lot of recognizable villains. But a movie gives you an opportunity to make those villains iconic. For every time you get a forgettable villain (Whiplash), there's also just as good a chance of creating a household name (Doc Ock).
"You wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man, you're a chicken, Boo!"
Originally posted by samoflangeAside from Lex, he has no truly iconic villains.
I'll grant you iconic, but Superman has some other villains that would be able to work in a film, even if the average joe doesn't know who they are at the start of the film. Brainiac, Parasite, and even Darkseid to some degree can all be explained inside of a two-hour film and still be compelling challenges for Superman. And if you've ever seen the first Metallo episode from Superman: The Animated Series, where he was voiced by Malcolm McDowell, you know he could be very compelling as a villain, although that is a setup that almost requires Lex as a secondary villain.
Lex should be a background threat throughout the series since he can be a catalyst for creating villains like Metallo and Bizarro.
Originally posted by ScottyflamingoTired of everyone whining about the origin. It is the best part of the Superman story because it allows us to identify with him. Doesn't mean you have to tell it the same way, or even spend a ton of time.
We're all tired of seeing it. Everyone knows his origin- like odessasteps says if you have to, stick it in the opening credits and get to the story.
Originally posted by ZeruelAngelina Jolie has been taking all the English female roles in the last decade or so. The Brits are due for some American parts.
This could just be confirmation bias, but at this point I can't think of many other actors who could have played Nolan's take on Batman as well as Christian Bale. He's got the right mix of suave and Captain Insano to make it work.
Then again, until I saw this thread I had no CLUE Christian Bale was British, so what do I know?