It’s just rumor city out there: with the Net all a-flutter with rumors that Viggo Mortensen may show up in director Zack Snyder‘s Christopher Nolan-produced reboot Superman: Man of Steel , add Daniel Day-Lewis to the list of actors supposedly in the running to portray that Kryptonian megalomaniac, General Zod. [Screen Rant, via Moviehole]
With Henry Cavill officially cast as the Man of Steel and Kevin Costner as his daddy, Jonathan “Pa” Kent, the only missing ingredient is a villain, yeah? The rogue General Zod – the Big Guy”s main nemesis in Superman II – has long been rumored to appear, although Zack Snyder denied all this vehemently:
Evidently Snyder downplaying of those Zod rumors didn’t have the desired effect, because the director once again addressed the subject while talking to Empire, and he did not mince words this time around, claiming that the talk of Zod being the villain is “just wrong,” and that “the Internet has no idea what’s going on.”
Screen Rant’s main source for the Day-Lewis casting has come from Moviehole’s “West Hollywood Resnorter,” who spends much of their article criticizing Nolan and Snyder for importing villains from the earlier, Christopher Reeve-starring films:
I’ve heard they’re looking at Daniel Day-Lewis for an unspecified role in this film too, and I can only assume, now having read this news, that he’s also on the ‘Zod’ wishlist.
So, there’s nothing to back up this Day-Lewis thing. He’s reportedly been cast as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s long-delayed Lincoln biopic, but since Spielberg is deep into post-production on both his 2011 releases, War Horse and The Adventure of TinTin – not to mention having committed to Robopocalypse late last year – there’s no telling when the Lincoln flick might happen.
And Viggo? He’s supposedly starring alongside Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron in Snow White and the Huntsman, but that deal hasn’t been nailed down yet. So Mortensen might be the front-runner for the Zod role – if the character is even appearing in Snyder’s film, which may or may not happen.
Take all of this with several tons of salt. Supe will get a villain, you can count on that. Will it be Zod? I hope so, actually, since we need a break from Lex Luthor (although I was a fan of Kevin Spacey‘s performance in Bryan Singer‘s unfairly maligned Superman Returns). Still, there is a galaxy of Superman villains out there (Mr. Mxyzptlk, anyone?) with plenty of there still unexplored by the film versions of our Kryptonian savior, so bet that Mr. Nolan and Mr. Snyder will pull something unexpected out of their hats.
Which actor should play General Zod, if he’s even in the Snyder film? And if he isn’t, which Superman villain needs some screen time?