Russell Crowe to play Jor-El in Superman reboot, ‘Man of Steel’?

Russell Crowe may be stepping into Marlon Brando’s shoes as Superman’s dad in 'Man of Steel'
Russell Crowe may be stepping into Marlon Brando’s shoes as Superman’s dad in ‘Man of Steel’

The cast of the latest big screen adventure for the man in blue tights has been just plain stellar so far, and could get even better.

Variety reported on Wednesday that Robin Hood himself, Russell Crowe, is chatting with Warner Bros. about taking on the role of Jor-El. The famed father of Superman himself, Clark Kent (a.k.a. Kal-El), is a role famously played by Marlon Brando in the Christopher Reeves films (one for which he scored a big paycheck for appearing onscreen for only a few minutes).

It isn’t clear what kind of role Jor-El would actually play in the reboot. Although he’ll likely be seen only in flashbacks or some-such story-telling device, Crowe is a good fit.

Casting such a recognizable star is a nice homage to the Superman tradition. Smallville did something similar, casting Terrance Stamp as the voice of Jor-El in that series. Not exactly a star with the same stature as Brando, Stamp played Zod in  the first two Reeves movies.

Marlon Brando in Superman

Julian Sands played a young version of Jor-El in the series. Although again not exactly a well known star, genre fans no doubt were familiar with the Warlock actor.


Personally, I like the touch of possibly having Crowe in there. He’s a strong actor and a great counter-point to Kevin Costner, who will play Superman’s adopted father, Pa Kent.

Crowe would be joining Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Diane Lane as Ma Kent, Michael Shannon as General Zod, and Henry Cavill as the title superhero.

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