The latest name in the frame is Jason Momoa. Insiders say the actor is already in talks to appear in the Batman vs. Superman movie, although there’s no word yet on the character he’ll be playing.
Momoa will be instantly recognisable to Game of Thrones fans as hulking warrior leader Khal Drogo, but he has also starred in Conan the Barbarian and Stargate Atlantis. Given the actor’s imposing size and screen presence, he might be in line to play one of the as-yet-undisclosed villains in the piece.
Confirmed casting
Man of Steel enjoyed an impressive level of success at the box office this summer, with its $113 million opening weekend takings setting a new record for a movie released in June. Snyder quickly announced plans for a follow-up at Comic Con in July, revealing that this time, DC Comic’s other most popular superhero would also be involved.
Henvy Cavill is set to return as Superman and will be joined by fellow Man of Steel cast members Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane. Ben Affleck was announced as the older, wiser Batman back in September, and, in the most recent official casting news, Israeli actress Gal Gadot, known for her role in the Fast and the Furious series, has been confirmed as Wonder Woman.
The Batman vs. Superman story
Hints dropped by Snyder during Comic Con suggest that Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns will provide the source material for the Man of Steel sequel. DC Comics has said that digital sales of the graphic novel surged some 161% in the month after the announcement by the project’s director, while print sales also rose.
The book details the story of a 55 year-old Bruce Wayne coming out of retirement to tackle Superman, and an extract was read out during the Comic Con announcement. Zack Snyder has since said that the new film won’t be a full adaptation, but will use The Dark Knight Returns as part of its inspiration. No further plot details have been revealed, though that hasn’t stopped an abundance of speculation and debate on the web.
Watch this space
As we’ve seen with other movie releases, the identity of some characters may be kept quiet right up until the première, in order to avoid potential plot spoilers. One of the more persistent rumours, however, is that the movie’s main villain will be Doomsday, and Momoa certainly has the physical stature to play the relentless killing machine from Krypton.
Other whispers suggest that Ezra Miller, who starred in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, will turn up as Batman’s estranged sidekick Nightwing. What is certain is that fans of the DC Comics universe and its superheroes have plenty to discuss and to get excited about between now and the film’s scheduled release date of 17 July 2015. Warner Bros. Studios will once again be overseeing the movie’s development. No pressure.
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