Russell Crowe to Father “Man of Steel”

This is no knock on Russell Crowe, but is the state of Hollywood such that he should be the one to follow in the footsteps of the great Marlon Brando?

Crowe is poised to join the Superman reboot "The Man of Steel," in the role of Jor-El, reported Variety. The decision to cast the Aussie Oscar winner was apparently driven by the film's godfather, Chris Nolan.

There are a host of similarities between Brando and Crowe, both flattering and otherwise, but Crowe just doesn't seem to have the gravitas of Brando.

But few do, and so in the absence of such a figure, it seems like the obvious choice for the role should've been Nic Cage, whose love for Superman is so great that he named his son Kal-El in honor of the hero's birth name. Has Cage been phoning it in lately to pay off old tax debts? Sure, but he's still a great actor when he wants to be, and nothing would've motivated him like playing Jor-El.

Crowe joins a cast that already includes Henry Cavill as Superman, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as John and Martha Kent, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, and Michael Shannon as General Zod.

"Man of Steel," which is being directed by Zack Snyder working with a script from David Goyer, is to go into production next month.

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