Zack Snyder has found Supes’ daddy for his upcoming rendition of one of the world’s biggest superheroes, Man of Steel. Variety first broke the news and Deadline updates that Russell Crowe has officially joined the film as Jor-El, the biological father of Superman, played by Marlon Brando in Richard Donner‘s 1978 blockbuster classic.
Update: Latino Review also reports Harry Lennix (Ray) and Connie Nielsen (Gladiator) have offers out to join the film. The former is an unspecified supporting role, but the latter is for Superman’s biological mom, Lara.
They join the surprisingly stellar cast which includes Amy Adams as Henry Cavill‘s love interest, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as his human parents, and Michael Shannon as the baddie General Zod. Antje Traue plays Faora, the female villain. With Christopher Nolan godfathering the project and David Goyer penning the script, we still have no confirmation of what the plot will entail.
Crowe battled out for the part, which was also considered by Sean Penn and Clive Owen. WB is still looking for another top-shelf cast member to play his biological mother. I can’t imagine Crowe will be an integral part in the film, but it is a nice addition to an already strong cast. He doesn’t have much on the horizon, just currently filming RZA‘s actioner The Man With the Iron Fists.
Man of Steel is expected to have a late 2012 release with production beginning next month.
What do you think of Crowe playing Jor-El in Snyder’s version?