[Update: Harry Lennix has been confirmed as General Swanwick in Man of Steel.]

Hot on the heels of the news about Russell Crowe playing Jor-El in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel comes some additional casting rumors/news for the Superman reboot. By sheer coincidence, the latest pair of thespians said to have been offered roles in Snyder's film previously appeared in films headlined by Crowe as well.

Connie Nielsen (Princess Lucilla in Gladiator) is reportedly up to portray Kal-El's biological mother, Lara, in Man of Steel; in addition, Harry Lennix (State of Play) has apparently been approached to take on an undisclosed supporting role in the picture.

This information comes from a snippet of the Production Weekly publication that was posted on Facebook's Man of Steel page. Assuming the material is not a flat-out fabrication, it would appear that both Nielsen and Lennix could potentially be up for pivotal supporting roles in the film; however, it seems neither one of them has actually accepted their respective offer just yet.

Lara (maiden name: Lara Lor-Van) was portrayed by Susannah York in the four live-action Superman movies, with Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel himself. In Mark Waid's "Superman: Birthright" (which is rumored to be influencing Snyder's reboot), Lara was portrayed as a capable scientist in her own right who assisted her huband, Jor-El, in the construction of the spacecraft that would eventually be used to transport their son to safety when the planet Krypton exploded. Nielsen has portrayed characters both intellectually-capable and beautiful to behold (see: her Gladiator role and stint on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), so she's seem a good fit for the part.

Lennix excels at playing strong and capable authoritative figures onscreen (see: his turn as Commander Lock in the Matrix trilogy or his recurring role on Dollhouse). Although it's pure speculation at this point, the idea of him being approached to play Perry White - Clark Kent's tough-but-fair boss at the Daily Planet - seems reasonable enough. He could easily pull off the part of the no-nonsense editor-in-chief without making him seem too comical or over-the-top.

Superman Action Comics Reboot

While the casting for Man of Steel so far includes several Oscar-nominees and winners, it would be a gross exaggeration to say that the majority of fans have approved of those decisions at this point. The idea of, say, Michael Shannon as General Zod or Amy Adams as Lois Lane certainly sounds promising to a lot of people but there are also numerous Superman fans who have found Snyder's casting decisions to be either ill-fitting or simply bizarre at times.

With the Superman character being given a more modernized makeover in both the film and comic book medium, only time will tell if the changes being made to the classic superhero's mythology prove to be for the better - or for the worse.

Man of Steel is scheduled to reach theaters by December of 2012.

Source: Facebook (via Latino Review)