Today’s been a busy day for Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot, Man of Steel. Oscar winner Russell Crowe and Connie Nielsen are in negotiations to star as Clark Kent’s parents from Variety and the film’s Facebook page respectively.
Jor-El (Crowe) and Lara (Nielsen), as the story goes, foresaw the demise of the planet, Krypton. He tried but was unable to save his race. Launching his child Kal-El into space, he would land on Earth. The Given the name Clark by his adoptive parents, Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha Kent, (Diane Lane) he would then went on to take on the alter-ego of Superman in his adult years.
Crowe and Nielsen famously co-starred in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, earning Crowe his Oscar and garnering critical accolades for Nielsen.
What does this mean? This would be a major coup for Snyder to get Crowe in the same way Richard Donner got Marlon Brando to play Jor-El in the original Superman film. With a star (Henry Cavill) that doesn’t have a major name, and a franchise in need of a spark, loading it up with talent and recognizable names/faces is a wise move. To add in Crowe is a coup, if only for the credibility an actor of his stature would bring to the franchise. it’s one thing to bring in great actors like Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, but Crowe has the credibility they don’t have.
