This was rumory at first, but now it’s apparently confirmed as “being in negotiations,” and we are meant to take that as official: Russell Crowe will be playing Jor-El, birth father of Superman, in Zach Snyder‘s upcoming reboot. There were several A-listers vying for the part that was once played by Marlon Brando, and after typing that, the casting of Crowe seems like a no-brainer. (Huge movie star, hot in the beginning of his career, slightly pudgier as the years went on … if we’re being honest.) Word is that Christopher Nolan, who is producing, was looking for a serious star for this role, making us wonder how big of a role Jor-El will have in this flick. And just in time for Father’s Day!
Among the other actors seeking out the role of Jor-El were Viggo Mortensen and Sean Penn, according to First Showing. But the prospect of Russell Crowe just seems way more appropriate for the somewhat gigantic role of Superman’s father. Come on, he was in a movie called “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.” True, Mortensen was in Lord of the Rings, and he was a noble fighter, but as Superman’s father? Crowe just seems like a way better fit.
No word on whether Jor-El’s wife Lara is involved in this story, but Crowe joins Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, respectively playing Superman’s adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, Michael Sheen as villain Zod, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, and Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel himself.
(Variety via First Showing)
