Here He Is! Henry Cavill is the New Superman

OK. Henry Cavill is the new Superman in the 2012 update of the franchise, a movie that is reportedly titled, "The Man of Steel."  He is a British actor and was born in 1983.  His first major role was in the 2002 version of The Count of Monte Cristo, and he also had small roles in Stardust (2007) and Woody Allen's 2009 flick, Whatever Works.

The news began leaking out late last week, I think.  Then, Deadline made it semi-official, but I guest this press release make it officially official:

Henry Cavill Will Take on the Dual Role of Clark Kent / Superman in the New Film from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Henry Cavill has won the coveted role of Superman, the iconic superhero.

The film will be directed by Zack Snyder, who stated, “In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honored to be a part of his return to the big screen. I also join Warner Bros., Legendary and the producers in saying how excited we are about the casting of Henry. He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield.”

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film. The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

Cavill recently wrapped production on “The Cold Light of Day” and stars in the upcoming “Immortals,” opening this fall.

Targeted for release in December 2012, the new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. [END]

He's handsome enough, and right now, I like the choice.  More later... maybe.

Christopher Nolan: I don't think of it as a comic book movie...

In light of the recent news that Christopher Nolan, director of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, will be involved in the Warner Bros.' reboot of the Superman film franchise, MTV dug up on old interview they conducted with the acclaimed director.

Highlights:

“I think of it as a film that just exists in the cinematic realm," said Nolan, "I don't think of it as a comic book movie or just a comic book movie — and that's something that in the whole process — where from the screenwriting point of view or the production point of view and with all departments and everything we would never let people off the hook with the notion 'it's a comic book movie.'"



"We just tried to make a movie that stands as a movie," he added. "The fact that it happens to be based on a long history of this comic book character I think is irrelevant — I think it's on us to make a great movie and not rely on the fact that it's a comic book movie or excuse certain things because it's a comic book movie. We didn't want to do either; we just wanted to make as great of a movie that we possibly could.”

I completely agree.  Comic book movies should be movies first and filmmakers need not enslave themselves to the source material.  But they should expect big hate if the final product is awful (Catwoman).