That's right, who knows if it was Zod or a yet to be announced role, but Sean Penn turned down a spot in Zack Snyder's upcoming Superman film The Man of Steel. Warner Brothers has been looking to put Penn into a major film and this news arrives with the announcement that Penn is circling a role in WB’s The Last Photograph. The Last Photograph is an Afghanistan war kidnap thriller and has been a long running side project of none other than Zack Snyder. The Last Photograph already has one member cast in the starring role, another tie-in, none other than the Dark Knight himself, Christian Bale. Unfortunate that Sean Penn (and fans) missed out on a role in the Man of Steel, perhaps Kevin Costner or Michael Shannon or Lindsay Lohan have taken his place.
Here's the report from Deadline on Penn circling The Last Photograph:
"Penn had been courted by Warner Bros for both the Superman pic Man of Steel and the Ruben Fleischer-directed Gangster Squad. He has turned down both films, I'm told."
deadline.com