Snyder to kneel before Zod?

Back in September, we reported a shortlist of possible directors for the next Superman film, Man of Steel (Duncan Jones, Tony Scott, Zack Snyder, Jonathan Liebesman, Matt Reeves). Names have been passed around like Chinese whispers but once there were five possibilities and now there is only one. Taking the helm is … *drum roll* … Snyder.

Deadline spoke to the man in question, who confirmed his involvement: “I've been a big fan of the character for a long time, he's definitely the king of all superheroes... It's early yet, but I can tell you that what David and Chris have done with the story so far definitely has given me a great insight into a way to make him feel modern. I've always felt he was kind of awesome. I'll finish Sucker Punch and get right at it.”

Snyder is no stranger to comic book adaptations and has been a favourite of Warner Bros ever since he directed its adaptation of Frank Miller’s comic, 300 (for which he won the Saturn Award for Best Director and Hollywood Movie of the Year in 2008); and three years later took on the big-screen adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ graphic novel, Watchmen. He’s recently released his animation debut, the clunkily-titled Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole and is putting the finishing touches on his demented-sounding, all-girl action flick, Sucker Punch.

Man of Steel is a priority project: Warner Bros need to be in production by 2011 or risk losing copyright. It is being developed in conjunction with Christopher Nolan and David Goyer, who also wrote the script. Little is confirmed about the plot or supporting characters for this iteration except that it will have a “modern context” and that it’s rumoured the villain might be fellow Kryptonian, the superbly evil General Zod.

Superman: The Movie and Superman II also featured Zod as Kal-El’s nemesis, portrayed by Terence Stamp as an arrogant and pompous aristocrat. The comic when he first appeared in the Silver Age, had Zod as a megalomaniacal Kryptonin in charge of the military forces on Krypton. He knew Superman’s father, Jor-El when he was an aspiring scientist. He attempted to take over Kryton, with an army of robotic duplicates and was arrested and sentenced to exile in the Phantom Zone (the prison dimension discovered by Jor-El).

Warner Bros is hoping to release Superman: Man of Steel in 2012. We’re actually pretty excited for this one. What do you reckon?

More on IndieMovies:
Read the latest movie news and movie reviews. Watch free movies on the site now.