You’ve probably noticed that Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder are attempting to recreate the magic of Superman: The Movie‘s casting: big names for supporting roles, not so big for the leads. We’ve gotten the next bit of casting today: According to Variety, Russell Crowe is slated to play Superman’s biological poppa, Jor-El, in the upcoming Superman reboot Man of Steel, joining a cast which already includes Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Kevin Costner as Pa Kent, and Diane Lane as Ma Kent.
Crowe, 47, is one of the three names that have been tossed around for the role; variety reports the other two were Sean Penn and Clive Owen. No official announcement of casting for a villain in the film yet, but Michael Shannon is also rumored to be in the running to play General Zod, though most of us already expect it to just be a stunt-casted Lex Luthor.