Man of Steel

Man of Steel is a 2013 American superhero film directed by Zack Snyder, produced by Christopher Nolan, and scripted by David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Superman, the film is a reboot of the Superman film series that portrays the character's origin story. The film stars Henry Cavill in the title role with Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Russell Crowe as Jor-El. Man of Steel is intended to launch a shared fictional universe of DC Comics characters on film.

Development began in 2008 when Warner Bros. Pictures took pitches from comic book writers, screenwriters and directors, opting to reboot the franchise. In 2009, a court ruling resulted in Jerry Siegel's family recapturing the rights to Superman's origins and Siegel's copyright. The decision stated that Warner Bros. did not owe the families additional royalties from previous films, but if they did not begin production on a Superman film by 2011, then the Shuster and Siegel estates would be able to sue for lost revenue on an unproduced film. Nolan pitched Goyer's idea after story discussion on The Dark Knight Rises, and Snyder was hired as the film's director in October 2010. Principal photography started in August 2011 in West Chicago, Illinois, before moving to Vancouver and Plano, Illinois.
Man of Steel's red carpet debut in the U.S. was attended by its principal cast members in New York City on June 10, 2013. The film was released to the general public on June 14, 2013, in conventional, 3D and IMAX theaters.

Plot

The planet Krypton is facing imminent destruction due to an unstable core, and its ruling council is under the threat of rebel General Zod and his followers. Scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara launch a spacecraft carrying their newborn son Kal-El and a genetic codex. After Zod murders Jor-El, he and his followers are banished to the Phantom Zone, but manage to escape when Krypton explodes. The infant Kal-El lands on Earth in Smallville, Kansas, where he is discovered by couple Jonathan and Martha Kent, who name him Clark and raise him as their adopted son.

Clark's Kryptonian physiology affords him superhuman abilities on Earth. With Martha's support, young Clark gradually learns to hone the abilities that initially cause him confusion and discomfort. Jonathan reveals to a teenaged Clark that he is a humanoid alien from another world, and advises him to not utilize his powers publicly, fearing that society would be dangerously apprehensive of him. After Jonathan is killed by a tornado, an adult Clark spends the next several years living a nomadic lifestyle, working different jobs under false names to cover his tracks and hide his identity. He eventually discovers a Kryptonian scout ship whose technology allows him to communicate with the consciousness of Jor-El in the form of a hologram. Lois Lane, a young journalist from the Daily Planet, also discovers the ship while pursuing a story, and is rescued by Clark when she is injured. Lois's editor Perry White rejects the story she submits about her "superhuman" rescuer, whom she tracks back to Smallville.

Detecting the scout ship, Zod travels to Earth where he demands that Kal-El must surrender to him. Because Zod threatened the population if he does not comply, Clark agrees to surrender to the U.S. military, who thus hand Lois and Clark over to Zod's right hand Faora. Zod reveals that he intends to use a terraforming "world engine" in conjunction with his own spaceship to transform Earth into a more Krypton-like planet and eradicate the human population, then use the codex (which has been revealed to be located within Clark's cells) to repopulate the planet with genetically-engineered Kryptonians. After Clark and Lois escape, Zod deploys the "world engine" to the Indian Ocean and initiates the terraforming by hovering his ship over Metropolis. Clark, now dubbed "Superman", destroys the "world engine". The military then loads the spacecraft that brought Superman to Earth into a military cargo plane and flies it into Zod's ship, creating a black hole that consumes the ship and Zod's followers. Zod, having been separated from his ship earlier, still remains, and he and Superman use their powers to engage each other. After a lengthy battle, Superman is forced to snap Zod's neck to save a group of innocent civilians. Wracked with guilt, he is comforted by Lois. Superman decides to blend into the normal world by resuming the identity of Clark Kent, and is hired by White as a reporter for the Daily Planet.

Cast

• Henry Cavill as Clark Kent / Superman / Kal-El:

A Kryptonian sent to Earth by his parents as an infant to survive the destruction of his homeworld Krypton. He is raised in Smallville, by Kansas farmers Martha and Jonathan Kent, and becomes Earth's greatest protector, Superman. Cavill was cast as Superman, making him the first non-American actor to be cast in the role. Cavill was one of the actors that was considered for the role of Superman for the 2006 film Superman Returns, but lost the part to Brandon Routh. According to Zack Snyder, Cavill was "the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield." Cavill has stated that "There's a very real story behind the Superman character", explaining that everyone's goal has been to explore the difficulties his character faces as a result of having multiple identities -- including his birth name, Kal-El, and his alter ego, Clark Kent. Cavill has also stated that "He's alone and there's no one like him," stating of Superman's vulnerabilities. "That must be incredibly scary and lonely, not to know who you are or what you are, and trying to find out what makes sense. Where's your baseline? What do you draw from? Where do you draw a limit with the power you have? In itself, that's an incredible weakness." In an interview with Total Film magazine, Cavill stated that he had been eating nearly 5,000 calories, training for over two hours and plowing protein to pack on the muscle mass. Dylan Sprayberry was cast as 13-year-old Clark Kent while 11-year-old Cooper Timberline was cast as the 9-year-old Clark Kent in June.