According to the trades of
Variety, Australian actor Russell Crowe is near signing on for Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder's
Man Of Steel. Reportedly tapped to portray Superman's Kryptonian father 'Jor-El,' the sites states verbatim:
Christopher Nolan had all along been seeking an A-list thesp for Jor-El, Superman’s biological father, since agreeing to godfather the franchise reboot “Man of Steel” for Warner Bros. He’s got his man, and it’s Russell Crowe. With production set to start next month, Jor-El was one of the last roles to cast -- though they're still looking for a big name to play Superman’s biological mother, Lara.
Via
Wiki, Jor-El is the Kryptonian husband of Lara. He was a scientist on the planet Krypton before its destruction. Jor-El foresaw the planet's fate, but was unable to convince his colleagues in time to save their race after his appeals. He was able to save his infant son, Kal-El (Superman), sending him in a homemade rocket ship to Earth just moments before Krypton's demise.
Russell Crowe, 47, won the Academy Award for Best Actor for
Gladiator in 2001. And the Australian has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role of
The Insider and
A Beautiful Mind. The actor can be seen next in RZA's
The Man with the Iron Fist, which is due out late this year.
Man Of Steel story details are underwraps, though the reboot stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Michael Shannon and Antje Traue. And it's slated for theaters Mid-December 2012!