Zack Synder’s Man of Steel (aka the Superman reboot) is in the midst of pre-production, with Russell Crowe having been recently cast in the part of Superman’s biological father, Jor-El, and Christopher Meloni in the part of a general (possibly Lois Lane’s father).

Unfortunately, fans are going to have to wait much longer than they previously expected for this movie, because Man of Steel has just been pushed back a whole half a year – from December 2012 to June 2013. That’s one month less than two years from now, folks.

According to The Playlist, the precise new date is June 14, 2013. Speculation at the moment is that December 2012 is just too packed full of major features, including The Lone Ranger, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, and most importantly, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Both The Hobbit and Man of Steel are not only blockbusters, they’re Warner Bros. blockbusters. And in light of the financial failure of Green Lantern – and the underwhelming returns of the previous Superman film – the prequel to The Lord of the Rings was obviously the safer bet.

Peter Jackson's The Hobbit

Even with Man of Steel moving to 2013, 2012 will still be a banner year for superhero movies – even more so than 2011 – thanks to tent-pole projects like The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Dark Knight Rises.

For those who’ve followed the Superman copyright debacle – briefly, Warners’ copyright claim to the current version of the man of tomorrow is expected to end come 2013 – Man of Steel need only go into production by 2012. It doesn’t need to be released by 2012.

On the one hand, it’s a shame we can’t see Superman go head-to-head in 2012 with that other DC powerhouse, the caped crusader, as well as the Marvel ensemble epic known as The Avengers. On the other hand, 2011 has been (perhaps) oversaturated with epic superhero origins, so maybe the release date shift will give those other superhero films – and Man of Steel itself – some room to breathe.

How do you feel about the new release date? Does six more months seem unbearably long? Or is it a welcome reprieve from superhero films? Let us know in the comments.

Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill and Amy Adams, hits theaters June 14th, 2013.

Source: The Playlist

Header image by Rags Morales.

Follow me on Twitter @benandrewmoore.