Man of Steel Information

Man of Steel is an upcoming American superhero film directed by Zack Snyder, produced by Christopher Nolan and scripted by David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Superman, the film will be a reboot of the Superman film series, portraying the character's origin story. The film stars Henry Cavill in the title role, with Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Russell Crowe as Jor-El.

Development of Man of Steel began in 2008 when Warner Bros. Pictures took pitches from comic book writers, screenwriters and directors, opting to reboot the franchise. In 2009, a court ruling resulted in Jerry Siegel's family recapturing the rights to Superman's origins and Siegel's copyright. The decision stated that Warner Bros. did not owe the families additional royalties from previous films, but if they did not begin production on a Superman film by 2011, then the Shuster and Siegel estates would be able to sue for lost revenue on an unproduced film. Nolan pitched Goyer's idea after story discussion on The Dark Knight Rises. Snyder was hired as director in October 2010. Principal photography started in August 2011 in West Chicago before moving to Plano and Vancouver. The film is scheduled to be released on June 14, 2013, in conventional, 3D and IMAX theaters.

Premise

Clark Kent is a journalist in his twenties who was adopted as a child by Jonathan and Martha Kent after he was transported to Earth from the dying planet of Krypton. Raised with the values of his adoptive parents, he feels alienated because of his unique super powers and struggles to find his own place in life. When the world is attacked, he becomes the hero named Superman to protect the Earth and its people.

Cast

• Henry Cavill as Clark Kent / Superman:

A Kryptonian sent to Earth by his parents as an infant to survive the destruction of his homeworld Krypton. He is raised by Kansas farmers, Martha and Jonathan Kent and becomes Earth's greatest superhero, Superman. Cavill was cast as Superman, making him the first non-American actor to be cast in the role. Cavill was on the shortlist for the 2006 film Superman Returns, but lost the part to Brandon Routh. According to Zack Snyder, Cavill was "the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield." Dylan Sprayberry was cast as 13-year-old Clark Kent while 11-year-old Cooper Timberline was cast as the 9-year-old Clark Kent in June.

• Diane Lane as Martha Kent and Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent:

The adoptive parents of Superman.

• Amy Adams as Lois Lane:

Reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper and love interest of Clark Kent. Adams was selected from a list of actresses that included Olivia Wilde and Mila Kunis.

• Michael Shannon as General Zod:

A Kryptonian general and megalomaniac with the same superpowers as Superman. Viggo Mortensen was considered for the role.

• Laurence Fishburne as Perry White:

The Editor in Chief of the Daily Planet and the boss of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Fishburne is the first African American to play Perry White in a live-action film.

• Antje Traue as Faora

• Ayelet Zurer as Lara Lor-Van:

The biological mother of Superman and loyal wife to Jor-El. Julia Ormond had previously been announced as cast, but dropped out. Connie Nielsen was in negotiations for the role before Ormond was cast.

• Russell Crowe as Jor-El:

The biological father of Superman. Sean Penn and Clive Owen were also considered for the role.

• Harry Lennix as General Swanwick

• Christopher Meloni as Colonel Hardy

• Richard Schiff as Dr. Emil Hamilton

Production

Development

In June 2008, Warner Bros. took pitches from comic book writers, screenwriters, and directors on how to successfully restart the Superman film series. Comic book writers Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, Geoff Johns and Brad Meltzer were among those who pitched their ideas for a reboot. "I told them, it's not that bad. Just treat Superman Returns as the Ang Lee Hulk," Morrison said. "The Incredible Hulk has proven the audience will forgive you and let you redo the franchise," said Waid. Morrison's idea was similar to his work on All-Star Superman, while Waid's was akin to Superman: Birthright. Mark Millar, teaming with director Matthew Vaughn, also planned an epic 8-hour Superman trilogy, each installment released a year apart, similar to The Lord of the Rings. Millar compared it to the Godfather trilogy, in which it would chronicle the entire life of Superman, from the early days of Krypton to the finale where Superman loses his powers as the Sun starts to supernova. August 2009 saw a court ruling in which Jerry Siegel's family recaptured the rights to Superman's origins and Siegel's copyright in Action Comics #1. In addition, a judge ruled that Warner Bros. did not owe the families additional royalties from previous films. However, if they did not begin production on a Superman film by 2011, then the Shuster and Siegel estates would have been able to sue for lost revenue on an unproduced film.

During story discussions for The Dark Knight Rises in 2010, David S. Goyer told Christopher Nolan his idea on how to present Superman in a modern context. Impressed with Goyer's concept, Nolan pitched the idea to the studio, who hired Nolan to produce and Goyer to write based on the financial and critical success of The Dark Knight. Nolan admired Bryan Singer's work on Superman Returns for its connection to Richard Donner's version, but stated that the new film would not have any relationship with the previous film series.

Pre-production

Guillermo del Toro, with whom Goyer worked on Blade II, turned down the director's position on the reboot because of his commitment on a film adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness, while Robert Zemeckis was also approached. Ben Affleck, Darren Aronofsky, Duncan Jones, Jonathan Liebesman, Matt Reeves, and Tony Scott were considered as potential directors, before Zack Snyder was hired in October 2010. Casting began the following November.

Filming

Principal photography began on August 1, 2011 at an industrial park near DuPage Airport under the codename "Autumn Frost". Zack Snyder expressed reluctance to shooting the film in 3-D, due to the technical limitations of the format. Filming was expected to last for two to three months. Production took place in Plano on August 22 to 29. Filming then took place in the Chicago Loop from September 7 to 17. Vancouver Film Studios and Chicago are other shooting locations. According to an interview with Michael Shannon, filming would continue until February 2012.

Post-production

Hans Zimmer initially denied popular rumours that he would be composing the film's score. However, in June 2012, it was confirmed that Zimmer will in fact be writing the film's musical score. To completely distinguish Man of Steel from the previous films, the iconic "Superman March" by John Williams will not be heard. Weta Digital, MPC and Double Negative provided visual effects for the film.

Marketing

Warner Bros. and DC Comics won the rights to the domain name manofsteel.com, in use by a member of the public, as use for the film's official website. On November 20, 2012 for the release of The Dark Knight Rises DVD and Blu-ray, Warner Bros. launched a countdown on the film's website where fans could share the countdown on websites like Facebook or Twitter to unlock an "exclusive reward". On December 3, 2012, the "exclusive reward" was revealed to be an official Man of Steel teaser poster. The poster, which depicts Superman being arrested, generated a positive response and much speculation about the film's story. In December, Zack Snyder confirmed that the first full-length trailer will be attached to the theatrical release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in cinemas on December 14, 2012. On December 10, 2012 a website appeared at dsrwproject.com that provided audio signals to be decoded by viewers. It was quickly discovered to be related to a movie due to the copyright on the website. By December 11, 2012 the decoded message led readers to another website with a countdown that led to the public release of the trailer.