The eventual appointment of Zack Snyder as director of the latest Superman reboot has divided commentators. Some are hopeful that his stylistic verve, comfort with SFX and action sequences and proven track record with graphic novel and comic book adaptations will all help produce a positive outcome. Others were hoping for a more left-field option such as Darren Aronofsky (who we know is now doing “The Wolverine”) or Duncan Jones (Moon) to try to bring something fresh and less predictable to what is in essence quite an old-fashioned character.

No doubt the casting of Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman will prove as divisive, whatever the outcome and Deadline are telling us that the process of selecting Brandon Routh’s successor, or indeed of selecting Brandon Routh again, has begun in earnest. Although Brandon Routh worked excellently as Superman and Clark within the film crafted by Bryan Singer, there are legitimate concerns as to whether he would be as good a fit within what may prove to be a more stylised milieu, care of Snyder.

Producer Christopher Nolan and Snyder are apparently looking for someone aged 28-32 and are open to creating a new star by either casting someone wholly unknown, or at least someone not very well known. Thoughts therefore turn to actors who are established in assorted TV series, subject to concerns about the shooting schedule wreaking havoc with whatever commitments those actors might have to the programmes to which they are already committed. With shooting scheduled by Warner Bros to start around next June, Nolan and Snyder have plenty of time, but will no doubt want to make the decision as soon as possible to assist with pre-production preparation.

Deadline are throwing out a number of names. Armie Hammer, who played the Winklevoss twins in The Social Network would be ideal physically at a strapping 6’5″, though he is only 24 years old. He was in fact provisionally cast as Batman in George Miller’s planned Justice League film a number of years ago, before the project fell through. Joe Manganiello of True Blood (aged 34) and Ian Somerhalder of The Vampire Diaries (only 5’9”) are also being mentioned.

Brandon Routh certainly cannot be excluded at this point, although a reboot with so clear a connection to the last film may feel like too much of a stretch. Likewise Tom Welling from TV’s Smallville should still be in the mix, even if he does look a little young and has perhaps had enough of all things Superman after 10 seasons on Smallville.

Whether this will run as long as the director decision did, we shall see. We will let you know as soon as we hear anything. In the meantime, who would be your ideal choice?

Previous articleHow to Train Your Dragon DVD Review
Next articleCaptain America: The First Avenger International Release Schedule Announced
Dave has been writing for HeyUGuys since mid-2010 and has found them to be the most intelligent, friendly, erudite and insightful bunch of film fans you could hope to work with. He's gone from ham-fisted attempts at writing the news to interviewing Lawrence Bender, Renny Harlin and Julian Glover, to writing articles about things he loves that people have actually read. He has fairly broad tastes as far as films are concerned, though given the choice he's likely to go for Con Air over Battleship Potemkin most days. He's pretty sure that 2001: A Space Odyssey is the most overrated mess in cinematic history.