It’s fair to say that Antje Traue isn’t exaclty a household name (or even something many people would trust themselves to pronounce properly), but she’s certain to become a lot better known now, as Variety reports the German actress has been cast as the villainess Faora in Man Of Steel.
However, it’s still not clear exactly who this character is. Faora is a character from the comic books that was used as the basis for Ursa in Superman II. However, there are a number of different versions of Faora in the comics, which makes it difficult to pin down exactly which incarnation of the character Antje Traue will portray.
It would make most sense though it the actress played the version of original Faora, who teams up with General Zod (who will be played by Michael Shannon in Man of Steel). That would make her Faora Hu-Ul, who like Zod managed to escape the destruction of Krypton by being imprisoned in the Phantom Zone. She is also a particularly dangerous foe for Superman as she is an expert in the Kryptonian martial art of Horo-Kanu, which utilises the pressure points on the Kryptonian body, and ensures that in hand-to-hand combat, she may be able to best the do-gooding superhero.
Traue was previously seen in Pandorum and will be in the Renny Harlin was journalist flick, 5 Days Of August.
Zack Snyder is directing Man of Steel from a screenplay by David S. Goyer. Production is scheduled to start this summer, with filming to take place in Chicago.