Borys Kit at The Hollywood Reporter has just delivered a late Friday night tidbit that is sure to keep bloggers and fanboys chatting throughout the Oscar weekend. Kit reports Superman: Man of Steel producer Christopher Nolan and director Zack Snyder have set their sights on Viggo Mortensen as a “person of interest” to play the lead villain in the upcoming film. The role we’re talking about is General Zod, a character immortalized by some as played by Terence Stamp in 1980’s Superman II.
Of course, there are still a few hurdles to jump over. Mortensen is still in negotiations to play half of the title role alongside Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart in Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman. In that film Mortensen may step in where Tom Hardy (Inception) was once up for the role. Mortensen’s name has also been among the short list considered to star in Ron Howard’s The Dark Tower, though Javier Bardem is said to be the current front-runner.
Kit also once again mentions the potential casting of Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, but like Mortensen he appears to be among the filmmakers’ favorites, but there are others under consideration.
So, take this rumor with you for the weekend, mull it over and see what you think. Would you like to see Mortensen battling it out against Henry Cavill, the previously announced latest male actor to play Superman? Or does Stamp own this role to a point you won’t be able to accept anyone until you see whether it works or not on the big screen? I tend to fall in the latter category.
Mortensen will next be seen in David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method and Walter Salles’s On the Road, both of which are among the rumored titles to be appearing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
