It’s a few months since Zack Snyder was announced as the director of the Christopher Nolan-shepherded “Superman” reboot, and we’ve gone through various stages: denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and now, just about, acceptance. Still lots of depression, but we’ve accepted that we’re going to be depressed about it. With production set to kick off in August, it can’t be too long before the announcement of who will be playing the man in the cape, arrives.
While the inevitable shortlist story hasn’t appeared yet, plenty of names have been bandied about, not least among them Jon Hamm, the square-jawed star of “Mad Men,” and seemingly the top choice of many fans for the role of Clark Kent/Superman. After all, Hamm does play a supporting role in Snyder’s upcoming “Sucker Punch,” so it wasn’t a giant stretch. But despite widely-believed rumors that the film will deal with a twentysomething Supes, and 39-year-old Hamm’s laughing off the reports, joking that “Everyone wants to see a middle aged Superman with the power of handicapped parking,” the wishful thinking has persisted, presumably from the same fans who want Nathan Fillion to play every part in Hollywood. Even another potential candidate, “The Social Network” star Armie Hammer, said that he was told that “they’re going a little older with Superman.”
With Warners looking to re-launch the franchise, there was never really any chance of someone of Hamm’s age landing the role — there’d almost certainly be a three-picture deal at stake, and Hamm would be closing on fifty before the third film hit theaters. At last week’s Critics’ Choice Awards, MTV spoke to Hamm on the red carpet, and the star confirmed what should surely be obvious to everyone at this point: that he hasn’t magically gotten ten years younger in the last few weeks.
The actor told the site, who inquired about the rumors, that he hasn’t been asked, despite having seen Snyder recently for reshoots and ADR on “Sucker Punch,” and that “I think that’s a young man’s game… I’ve been aged out of that one by now, but that’s fine by me.” So there we have it. The rumors’s dead, it’s had its head cut off, it’s had a silver stake put through its heart, and it’s been buried at the crossroads. Can we leave it alone now? And if you don’t believe us, you can watch the video below.
If you need a candidate for a new head to photoshop onto Brandon Routh‘s body, we ran down a few possible candidates around the time that Snyder was appointed director. We’ll have to wait and see if the WB takes our advice; the next “Superman” film hits theaters in December 2012.
