Jan 31 2011
Debate of the Day: Should Superman Be British?
Good morning people, it’s Monday, it’s the end of January, it’s freezing here and this guy is Superman. Wait, what?
Yes, for some reason Warner Bros. thought the best time to make their latest giant casting announcement was yesterday, and let us know in an official statement that Count of Monte Cristo and Tudors actor Henry Cavill was going to be their new Man of Steel.
I don’t know much about the guy, as Monte Cristo was like a decade ago, and I haven’t seen an episode of The Tudors. I will say that he looks the part of a young Clark Kent/Superman with all those chiseled features the good Lord has blessed him with, and I’m willing to give him a shot.
But here’s the rub. Superman has always represented truth, justice and the American way. Cavill is British. Is this a problem?
There seem to be two sides to this argument. One is that currently Batman and Spider-Man are also British (Christian Bale and Andrew Garfield) and Wolverine is Australian (Hugh Jackman), so who cares if the actor playing Superman is from the wrong country of origin if he can fake the accent convincingly?
The counterpoint however is that Superman is more uniquely American than any other superhero (except uh, Captain America). Yes, his popularity has exploded worldwide, but in the comics, he’s always been closely tied to America, often doing the bidding of the US government directly.
I’m in the “don’t give a shit as long as it’s a good movie” camp, but I’m curious to hear if any of you object to this decision. If so, why? And it doesn’t have to be because of the British thing.
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i honestly think it shouldnt matter …. i mean yes de british thing is dere…but hey…no1 hates batman …n as long as de movie is good , dey will lover superman as well…in nolan we trust..lol..n yea i think scarfield is gonna do justice to spidey
I really don’t care if he’s a British actor. As long as the character Superman sticks to his American roots. Still angry/confused by Hollywoods crappiness by making the “Real American Hero” and his team a world force. Grow a pair will ya.
Doesn’t matter if the actor is British so long as he plays the character as an American. Even though Superman isn’t actually American…or even human.
Seeing as Batman is Welsh and the new Spiderman was raised in Brittain, I don’t think Superman being Brittish is that big of an issue, it’s not like he’s Captain America.
New Superman is ok yeah. I actually really liked the last Superman (Brandon Routh) – just the rest of the film was kinda terrible.
No problems with a British superman
As long as he doesn’t have british teeth… I don’t care.
Dont really care…
BUT! Superman (for the record) was (co) created by a Canadian.
I’m all about this. Henry Cavill is a stud.
PS – The Tudors is worth getting into.
Uhhh, I may not be an expert on the topic, but I do slightly recall Superman not even being an earthling, so I think that as long as his accent is passable, being a brit is not a dealbreaker.
I just stick to the fact that superman is not american, not even from this planet
So if the guy can play a good foreigner is ok
Still im not convinced with that guy XD
Lets hope the best for the movie
USA! USA! USA! Nope, don’t care. I imagine it’d be weird if Superman was portrayed as British in the movie since the Kansas country boy thing is kind of a big part of his character and having an accent might come off kind of odd, but assuming they are keeping the character American I could care less what nationality the actor is.
Yeah don’t really care if he’s british or not, being since he’s an alien to the planet to begin with. But I’m real happy that they replaced Brandon Routh, he’s a good actor and I like him on Chuck, I just didn’t feel that he made a good superman.
This guy on the other hand has the look down.
If he is good. He is good.
Besides, I don’t think the Limeys protested too much when Sherlock Holmes was a Yank.
It constantly amazes me how many British actors are playing Americans in film and television these days. We must be doing something right as they are becoming one our main exports
I actually got into an argument with a friend of mine when they announced Cavill would be playing Superman yesterday. He thought Supes should be played strictly by an American actor, however in my mind considering Superman although raised in the American mid-west was born on Krypton so really he’s the ultimate American immigrant so it seems fine to have a non american actor play the role. My friend said to me “It’s truth, justice, and the American way. Not truth, justice, and the British way.” Which did make me laugh, but as a big Superman fan I’m actually not very fond of the phrase. I remember when Superman Returns came out there was a minor buzz because Perry White said truth, justice, and all that stuff. But I’m more of a fan of the 1940′s counterpart simply truth and justice. The “American way” wasn’t until the 1950′s because what we think of as the American way didn’t exist until post WWII boom of the 50′s and emergence of the middle class. That’s also when Superman changed from a social crusader of the 40′s to the ultimate guardian of the status quo in the 50′s. This is largely due to Frederick Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocent (which is a whole other story) but ultimately Superman transcends nationality, race, and creed he’s a benchmark, something to aspire to be like. He’s the best of both worlds combining he lessons of his Kryptonian heritage and his adopted American heritage. So if Henry Cavill can fill out he cape and be the character that is all I need. Shit, I didn’t mean to write this much.
I don’t really care. I’m not gonna lose my shit just because he’s not American. As long as we don’t hear a British accent, then he should be fine.
I’m more worried about what’s going to happen in the film. If Superman catches a plane or throws an island into the sky, then I give up on him forever. If he doesn’t have someone he can beat up on throughout the film, then it will be a boring mess. I personally would like to see Metallo, but he has a long list of villians to beat up on. Brainiac, Darkseid, Doomsday, etc. If none of these guys are in the film, then Superman is unworthy of ever being watched again.
Also, Mr. Synder, please FOR THE LOVE OF GOD lay off the slo-mo!
John Cleese wrote a Graphic Novel some time ago about a British Superman. Who knew, huh?
Superman is american? I always thought he was Kryptonian!? …Assholes
Britain: Taking back the empire one franchise at a time
I don’t mean to stomp on the flag waving but in between the chanting of USA USA, you might want to consider the fact that it doesnt mean &%* if he is a Brit actor. If he is the right actor to pull of the job, who cares.
Walking Dead’s lead is a brit actor….brilliant selection, great performance. Christian Bale etc etc.
It’s a fictional character. Not like if it was George Washington played by Michael Caine.
The comic was created by American writer Jerry Siegel AND Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics, Inc.
So, should it be a Canadian actor? Maybe Ryan Reynolds can do double duty?
Incidentally, Wolverine is Canadian…..we didnt complain that he was played by an Aussie.
Superman was made by a Canadian…
I’m in the ‘No Brandon Routh and his lovely hair? Why?!’ cue sobbing camp. I’m not American so I don’t give a tootie. But I always did dislike the ‘…American way’ part of the Superman tagline, then again it’s not like the Nigerian way is any better. Peace.
Seems to me like Europeans are better at playing our comic book heroes and Villains than we are anyway. Batman & Wolverine(sanze the spinoff) come to mind.
Correction, I meant to say foreigners, as Hugh Jackman’s an Aussie.
What is this aversion that directors of super hero movies have to Jon Hamm. Yes, he’s older than the other choices, but Superman was never thought of as a “twentysomething”. He’s always been portrayed, or at least perceived, as being in his 30′s.
All bets are now off. If Superman is played by a Brit, we can now consider what most Brits would be unthinkable; an American can play 007!
i could care less who plays Supes. As long as the next movie is better than Superman Returns I’ll be happy. Actually if it’s as good as this Superman Doomsday fan trailer…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX6Fa_bVCro
THEN i’ll be happy lol