Search for The Man of Steel Begins

Deadline offered up some casting news for the Christopher Nolan produced/Zack Snyder directed Superman film. The casting process is about to begin and, in similar fashion to the original Richard Donner Superman film and Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, the filmmakers are going to search for an actor who is either unknown or relatively unknown. Tapping an unknown is key to casting the role, in my estimation, because casting a familiar face could be too distracting for audiences.

The producers are looking for an actor aged between 28 and 32 and are planning to audition hundreds of actors before making a pick. I’m crossing my fingers that the casting of this film will treat the search for

Lois Lane

as importantly as their cast for the Man of Steel. If you have ever seen the original screen tests of Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder you will remember that it was clear the goal was to cast a pair who would bring a spark to their relationship.

According to the report the producers are open to casting someone with some television presence but not a household name. A couple of the names that continue to circulate are Armie Hammer (who was cast as Batman in the never-filmed Justice League movie) and Joe Manganiello (True Blood) who created some buzz for himself a few weeks ago when he mentioned that he was in talks to play Superman (he later claimed on Twitter that he was not in negotiations for the part).

The report also indicates that the Snyder is expecting to begin shooting this film in June of 2011 for a 2012 holiday release.