Henry Cavill

It’s a strain to be Superman, even for someone with as sizable shoulders as British actor Henry Cavill. The stress of carrying the world and “Man of Steel,” the $225-million Warner Bros. reboot of the Superman franchise, is showing on Cavill’s sculpted face. He’s built up a steely reserve as the scrutiny of his public and private life becomes more intense. And it comes after mining his own awkward adolescence to play a character steeped in loneliness and confusion. The 30-year-old Cavill grew up on the small English Channel island of Jersey. The fourth of five brothers, he yearned to escape the “shackles of parenting” and followed his third eldest brother to boarding school in England. Yet a profound homesickness plagued the then-13-year-old — so much so that he found himself blubbering to his mother on the phone daily. “It […]

Superman is soaring into theaters this weekend with Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel.” But fans who can’t wait for Friday can get a glimpse of the much-anticipated movie in the gallery above, which features 50 photos from “Man of Steel.” Henry Cavill is the latest in a long line of actors to wear the iconic “S” symbol on his chest, following in the footsteps of Christopher Reeve, Kirk Alyn, Tom Welling and George Reeves. “Man of Steel” marks the Last Son of Krypton’s first time on the silver screen since Brandon Routh’s turn in 2006′s “Superman Returns.” Cavill is joined on screen by Russell Crowe and Ayelet Zurer, who play Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, Kal-El’s birth parents on Krypton; Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, who play Jonathan and Martha Kent, Clark’s adoptive parents in Smallville; Amy Adams, who plays Daily Planet reporter […]

“Man of Steel” flies into theaters Friday hoping to reinvent Superman for a new era, no small feat for the original superhero, a character who debuted in the pages of “Action Comics” No. 1 in 1938 and celebrates his 75th anniversary this year. Filmmaker David S. Goyer teamed with his “Dark Knight” trilogy collaborator Christopher Nolan on the story and wrote the screenplay for the Zack Snyder-directed movie, and Goyer recently spoke to Hero Complex about the project — its incredibly high stakes, his detailed approach to writing the script and why Superman matters to so many people (and maybe something about “Justice League” too). HC: You’ve said previously that you never really understood Superman as a character. How did you ultimately find your way in to the story? DG: I had just become a stepfather and my now wife […]

Superman fans can watch live as Henry Cavill, Amy Adams and more “Man of Steel” stars walk the red carpet for the film’s premiere today at 3 p.m. PDT (6 p.m. EDT). “Man of Steel,” set to open in theaters Friday, stars Cavill as the comic book hero. Adams plays Lois Lane, the plucky Daily Planet reporter and love interest for Clark Kent. Also expected to attend the premiere at New York City’s Alice Tully Hall are Michael Shannon, who plays the villainous General Zod; Kevin Costner, who plays Superman’s adoptive father, Jonathan Kent; Russell Crowe and Ayelet Zurer, who play Superman’s biological father Jor-El and mother Lara Lor-Van, respectively; Laurence Fishburne as Daily Planet editor Perry White; and Antje Traue as Kryptonian warrior Faora-Ul. The film’s director, Zack Snyder (“300,” “Watchmen”), is also to be in attendance, along with […]

Superman is getting a new logo for his 75th anniversary. Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment today unveiled a new commemorative logo featuring the last son of Krypton in a striking blue silhouette to celebrate the character reaching his landmark pop culture milestone. The logo will appear on the upcoming “Superman Unchained” comic book by Jim Lee and Scott Snyder due out June 12, just two days before Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” flies into theaters with actor Henry Cavill in the title role. As part of the unveiling, the companies also announced that Zack Snyder will produce a new “Superman” animated short, designed to pay homage to Superman’s history and legacy. The short will be promoted in San Diego at Comic-Con International in July before its late summer release. QUIZ: How well do you know the Man of Steel? Anticipation is […]

The latest trailer for “Man of Steel,” the new Superman film that sees Henry Cavill don the red cape of the famous hero, begins with a cryptic transmission from Michael Shannon’s General Zod, warning citizens of Earth, “You are not alone.” Zod’s chilling speech, in which he demands that the last son of Krypton surrender or bring about the destruction of his adopted planet, serves as the backdrop for a number of scenic shots from the film, set for a June 14 release. “Man of Steel” is directed by Zack Snyder from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, the writing team behind the “Dark Knight” trilogy, which modernized Batman and broke box-office records. But reviving the world’s first comic-book superhero on the big screen — Superman turns 75 this year — is no small task. “In the comic-book […]

“Iron Man 3″ and “Man of Steel” got some good-natured ribbing from comedian Stephen Colbert on Thursday’s episode of “The Colbert Report.” In the summer movie edition of his “Movies That Are Destroying America” segment, the satirist took issue with “Iron Man 3″ adding scenes for China audiences, and with Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot choosing a British actor, Henry Cavill, as its lead. Colbert began the segment pointing out that he’s always been a fan of Superman, “an incredibly handsome, glasses-wearing reporter who night after night uses his superpowers to save America.” Superman is the quintessential American hero, he said, “but they gave the part of some limey, Henry Cavill.” PHOTOS: Henry Cavill as Superman He segued into a rant about the China edition of Marvel’s new blockbuster, which involves what Marvel Studios president and “Iron Man 3″ producer Kevin […]

Long before director Zack Snyder began making “Man of Steel,” he’d heard a little piece of comic-book trivia that stuck with him: Superman’s red-and-yellow S-shield is the second-most-recognized symbol in the world, surpassed only by the Christian cross. “Whether that’s completely true or not, I don’t know, but you want it to be true. You feel like it could be true,” Snyder said. “And it’s intimidating to say, ‘We’re going to take on the “S” and we’re going to make it live again.’” Reviving the world’s first comic-book superhero on the big screen — he turns 75 this year — is no small task, despite the ubiquity of that logo. The trick, says the director, was to treat the character seriously — and to have a script penned by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, major forces behind the massively […]

An emotional new trailer for “Man of Steel” is out, revealing the film’s take on Kal-El’s beginnings on doomed Krypton, Clark Kent’s coming of age in a place where he doesn’t quite fit in, and Superman’s ascent to heroism. “Man of Steel,” slated for a June 14 release, is directed by Zack Snyder and based on a script by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer, the writing team behind the Dark Knight trilogy, which modernized Batman and broke box-office records. The three-minute trailer is the most in-depth look Warner Bros. has released so far for the movie after months of ramping up marketing for the highly anticipated film. The trailer follows the release of a 30-second video in which General Zod (Michael Shannon) accuses the people of Earth of sheltering Kal-El and calls on them to hand him over. Following the […]

If the pair of teaser-trailers for Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” are any indication, Henry Cavill’s Superman will have a lonely wanderer component to his hero’s journey and an outsider angst that cuts against the classic “big, blue Boy Scout” version of the hero. The “Man of Steel” screenplay is written by David S. Goyer (who also shares a story credit with Christopher Nolan), who has shown a serious understanding of dark hues with the just-completed Gotham City trilogy. While the Batman films explored urban corruption in a bleak and shadowy city of millions, the opening “Man of Steel” trailers present a rural landscape (and the footage screened at Comic-Con highlights small-town suspicion of Clark Kent). The Comic-Con footage hinted at Kent’s struggle to find his place in a world that seems unwilling to accept him, and the outsider issues […]