Whether it’s because they’re the best or because they’re the cheapest, there’s little doubt that Hollywood is really liking British actors for superhero movies at the moment. We’ve got Christian Bale in Batman, Andrew Garfield gearing up for Spider-man and James McAvoy (and the Irish raised Michael Fassbender) in X-Men: First Class. With Aussies playing Thor and Wolverine, the Yanks can only currently claim Iron Man 2 and Captain America.
And now we can add another British (well, technically the Channel Islands) talent to the list of superheroes, and this time playing a character who’s always seemed quintessentially American – Superman. Zack Snyder has picked his man for the reboot and gone for Tudors star Henry Cavill.
It’s not actually Cavill’s first flirtation with the role, as he was in contention back in the mid-2000s when McG was hoping to reboot Superman, before Bryan Singer took over and cast Brandon Routh. Cavill also tried out for Batman before Christian Bale got the role. However he must have impressed Christopher Nolan back then, as with Nolan producing the new Superman movie, Cavill has apparently been one of the top contenders for the job since day one.
According to THR, Cavill’s closest competitor was another Brit, Matthew Goode, who of course worked with Snyder on Watchmen. Others who had meeting or were under consideration for the role included Matthew Bomer (TV’s White Collar), Armie Hammer (The Social Network), Joe Manganiello (TV’s True Blood) and Colin ODonaghue (The Rite).
As with Andrew Garfield only being told he had the role of Spider-man hours before he was dragged out on stage to be introduced to the world as the web-slinger, Cavill was apparently only phoned yesterday morning to be told he had the role, just before a press release was sent out confirming it.
While not big in the movies yet, Cavill may be more of a name by the time Superman arrives – it’s currently planned for December 2012 – as this year he has starring roles in both the thriller The Cold Light Of Day (opposite Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver) and the Greek mythology epic Immortals, where he plays Theseus.
So who’s excited for the end of 2012 then? With a new Bond movie, the first of The Hobbit flicks, Monsters Inc. 2, Ouija, Snow White And The Huntsman and now a rebooted Superman, it should be an exciting time at the cinema.