Man of SteelstarRussell Crowewould have loved to return as Superman’s father, Jor-El, to lead a prequel set on Krypton. Speaking on theHappy Sad Confused podcastrecently, Crowe revealed what he had in mind at the time for the project, with the actor having once hoped to explore the relationship between Jor-El and the villain General Zod long before Kal-El was ever sent to Earth.
“I think that you know, those kinds of conversations happen all the time. You know, once somebody has something like that going and you know how else you may sort of make things out, I would have loved to have done like a Jor-El story pre the Superman story and while him and [General Zod] are friends and the build-up of the political tension. That would have been interesting.”
Introduced as Jor-El in 2013’sMan of Steel, a fractured friendship between Crowe’s Kryptonian scientist and Michael Shannon’s General Zod was teased. And clearly this is something that Crowe would have loved to detail further. The version of Krypton depicted inMan of Steelwas very different to anything that audiences had seen on screen before, with the planet inhabiting all manner of weird-and-wonderful creatures and technology, offering plenty to explore outside the central relationship between Jor-El and Zod.
Considering how a certain section of fans now feel aboutMan of Steel,the canceledMan of Steelsequel, and The Snyder-Verse, there will no doubt be a sense of disappointment now that a Jor-El prequel led by Russell Crowe will never happen.
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Superman is Being Rebooted by DCU Chief James Gunn
Unfortunately for those hoping for more from Russell Crowe and Henry Cavill’sMan of Steel, Superman is now all set to be rebooted by newly appointed DCU chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran. Now titledSuperman: Legacy, a synopsis for the movie has now been released and teases what’s to come for the DC icon. “Superman Legacy tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas,”the synopsis forSuperman: Legacyreads. “He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.”
While many had hoped that Henry Cavill still had a future as Superman (especially after that much-hypedBlack Adampost credits scene),Superman: Legacywill instead cast a younger actor in the role, with Gunn revealing that Cavill was never hired for any future projects. “We didn’t fire Henry. Henry was never cast,”the filmmaker explained. “For me, it’s about who do I want to cast as Superman and who do the filmmakers we have want to cast. And for me, for this story, it isn’t Henry.”
Written and directed by James Gunn,Superman: Legacyis scheduled for release on July, 11, 2025, and will be the first part of the new DCU. TheSupermanreboot will be followed by several projects, including the superhero team-up flickThe Authority, aBatmanproject titledThe Brave and the Bold,Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and aSwamp Thingreboot.
As for Russell Crowe, he is far from finished with the comic book genre, and will join the Marvel world in the upcomingKraven the Hunter, which is scheduled to be released on July 19, 2025.
