Superman test screenings revealed that Guardians of the Galaxy star Bradley Cooper had been cast as Jor-El, meaning his appearance in the movie didn't come as a huge surprise to many fans.
Filmmaker James Gunn's sweeping changes to Kryptonian lore were a little more shocking. The movie reveals that Kal-El's mother, Lara (Angela Sarafyan), and father sent him to Earth to conquer the planet and continue their race by forming a harem.
Ultimately, Superman decides to embrace his humanity and never hesitates to continue being a force for good.
In an interview with Deadline, Gunn addressed his decision to cast Cooper in a role made famous by Marlon Brando in 1978's Superman: The Movie.
"Well, Bradley’s a friend of mine, and I needed somebody who could play Jor-El — and I don’t think this is a spoiler, everybody knows about this — who had the stature of what we imagine that character being, somebody who could walk in the footsteps of Marlon Brando."
Gunn continued, "A lot of times, Jor-El is played by a 70-year-old man, and that means he was 70 when he had a baby, so I wanted somebody that wasn’t too old. Everyone was bringing up all these actors that were too old for me. I think Bradley was perfect, he did it for me as a favor because he’s my friend, and I really appreciated him doing it."
If this was a one-off favour by Cooper, chances are there aren't any firm plans to further explore a villainous Jor-El (some comics have revealed that he managed to escape Krypton's destruction).
That's probably for the best, as it might feel a little too much like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 to once again pit father against son. Instead, it seems Gunn used this Jor-El twist to make it so that we had a Superman who further embraced what it means to be human.
In related news, reliable test screening leaker @ViewerAnon has shared a joke cut from Superman, which was reportedly removed from the movie for pushing the boundaries of PG-13. In the final cut, you'll likely recall that Guy Gardner instead called the Man of Steel a "wuss."
The insider has also confirmed that much of composer John Murphy's work on Superman was scrapped after Dave Fleming took over for reasons which have yet to be made clear (Gunn initially appeared excited to be collaborating with Murphy again). There's a chance the filmmaker will break his silence on that in post-release interviews.
Did you watch Superman in theaters this weekend?