It's been rumored for a while now that Zack Snyder's Man of Steel would feature a second female lead role in addition to that of Clark Kent's beloved Lois Lane (Amy Adams). Recently that part was pegged as being that of Faora, a villain from the original Superman comics books who served as the basis for evil Kryptonian Ursa in Superman and Superman II.

Now the latest report on the matter indicates we'll be seeing Faora, not Ursa, in Man of Steel, and that Snyder has his eye on an actress for the part. The twist, however, is that it's not one of the bigger names previously said to be in contention to play the female minion of General Zod (Michael Shannon).

Deadline says that German actress Antje Traue has emerged as the frontrunner to sign on as Faora in Snyder's Superman reboot, while Variety is confirming the claim. The young starlet - whose only significant Hollywood role to date was a part in the 2009 sci-fi/horror flick Pandorum - apparently came close to landing a significant role in the exorcism film The Rite, and was also a contender to sign on for the in-development World War Z adaptation as well.

Sarah Douglas famously played Ursa in the first two Superman movies - though Traue's thin resume makes it kind of impossible to say how her performance might differ or be similar to that of Douglas'. To be fair, it's not really that complex a role - basically, Traue has to play a menacing and cruel beauty - so who's to say that she won't be perfect for the part?

Here is a bit of history (courtesy of Screen Rant's Chris Schrader) about the Ursa/Faora character:

Ursa’s depiction in 'Superman' and 'Superman II' was based on the character of Faora from the comics. Created during the Silver Age by Cary Bates & Curt Swan, Faora ran a concentration camp for men where she tormented and tortured her prisoners before sentencing them to death. In Post-Crisis DC Comics continuity, she became a follower of Zod’s but was renamed Zaora. The character has gone through several other permutations (and names) since then, but the fundamental aspects of her personality have remained largely the same.

So Faora definitely has a thing for power and control - and her disdain for humankind makes her a prime candidate to play an effective villain alongside Zod in Man of Steel. Obviously, not everyone is sold on the idea of seeing this pair of criminal Kryptonians (that's assuming this incarnation of Faora isn't a regular human) on the big screen again, but the two could definitely serve as worthy adversaries for Superman in Snyder's reboot.

How do you feel about Faora/Ursa being included in Man of Steel - is the film starting to feel too close to Superman II?

Source: Deadline