‘Man of Steel’ brings Superman in 3D and 2D June 14

Star-studded “Man of Steel,” starring Henry Cavill in the role of Clark Kent/Kal-El under the direction of Zack Snyder, will open in 3D and 2D in select theaters and IMAX Friday, June 14.

The film also stars four-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams, Oscar nominee Michael Shannon, Academy Award winner Kevin Costner, Oscar nominee Diane Lane, Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne, and Academy Award winner Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”).

Born Kal-El of Krypton, raised Clark Kent on Earth. What world does he belong to? What world does he fight for? Those are the questions confronting Superman, and the choices he makes will determine the fate of the planet he has always called home.

“In the world of Super Heroes, Superman is the completely uncompromising figure who exists to represent the best that all of us can be,” director Zack Snyder states. “He is the ideal; he’s what we strive for, that magical, golden god, the kind of icon that has extended beyond the comics world and into all of popular culture.”

Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster and first appearing in the comic book Action Comics #1, published on April 18, 1938, Superman quickly became a cultural phenomenon, winning fans around the world in live-action and animated form in nearly every known entertainment medium. In feature films, TV shows, radio, video games, social media and literature, he has battled some of the greatest villains of all time.

Given the character’s iconic status, Henry Cavill, who soars through the skies in Snyder’s action adventure, was both excited and humbled to play the titular character in “Man of Steel.” “Superman is one of the truly special figures man has created throughout history,” he relates.

“He stands for hope, for the ability to conquer adversity against all odds. That’s something we can always hold onto, no matter where we are in life or what’s going on in the world. We will always face hardships in one way or another, and therefore hope will always play a significant part in our lives. To take on that mantle of hope as Superman was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

Though known for his ability to bring high-energy action to his films and create fantastical worlds on screen, Snyder was initially hesitant to take on bringing one of the first comic book Super Heroes back to the silver screen.

“I was pretty into comics when I was growing up, and Superman was a favorite of mine, so I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it,” he acknowledges. “I wasn’t sure where I could take the character that he hadn’t gone before.”

Then he read the screenplay David S. Goyer had written, based on a story Goyer devised with one of the film’s producers, Christopher Nolan. “Without breaking the canon, without taking away the things that make him Superman, they were able to make him totally relatable,” Snyder says. “They took me on a journey that was interesting to me, and that was the reason to do it.”

Nolan offers, “Audiences will be very familiar with ‘Man of Steel’s’ portrayal of Superman as the ultimate superhero, but where he was an impenetrable, god-like figure in previous iterations of his story, we show him as a rather more relatable figure who deals with very human issues of love, divided loyalties and family, even as he is anything but human himself.”