I was shocked this past Sunday, when Warner Brothers made zero casting announcements regarding Zack Snyder‘s new Superman reboot Man of Steel. After Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, and Michael Shannon all officially joined the film on previous Sundays, the last two Sundays have come on gone with no announcement. We now have confirmation of a new role in the film.
Variety reports that Antje Traue, the German actress who starred in Pandorum with Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid, has been cast as the female villain lead Faora. It was rumored earlier this year the role may be that of General Zod’s accomplice Ursa, who appeared in Superman I and II, and is based on Faora, whose character was also previously rumored. Check out a more detailed rundown of the character from Variety:
There are multiple Faoras in the Superman universe, so it remains unclear which one Traue has been tapped to play. The first Faora, Faora Hu-Ul, was introduced in Action Comics #471 as a beautiful Kryptonian woman with an intense unexplained hatred for all men. She was an expert at the Kryptonian martial art of Horo-Kanu, which utilizes pressure points on the Kryptonian body and made her a dangerous foe for Superman to fight in hand-to-hand combat. In fact, he was forced to flee from their first encounter.
That said, it’s more likely that Traue will be playing the version of Faora that debuted in Action Comics #779 as a Pokolistanian aide of General Zod. That character was an orphan metahuman with the ability to disrupt molecular bonds, which allowed her to create a mutagenic virus that served as the linchpin of Zod’s plan.
It’s nice to see WB going after talent rather than star power, especially after the casting of Cavill and Shannon. This looks like even a more “out there” choice, and I’m all for it. Traue has previously tested for The Rite and Marc Forster‘s World War Z for Brad Pitt’s wife, but that role went to The Killing star Mireille Enos.
Written by David S. Goyer and produced by Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder, Man of Steel hits theaters in December 2012.
What do you think of this casting? Do you have hope for Man of Steel?