General Zod battles Superman

Zack Snyder was recently talking with Empire Magazine about the monumental job of directing the Superman reboot, entitled The Man of Steel.

In the midst of the interview, Snyder talked about how his Superman movie will be different, where it fits into the DC Comics canon, as well as addressing early rumors about which villain Superman will (not) battle.

Now, back when it was announced that Snyder was directing The Man of Steel, it was also "announced" that the film would focus on Clark Kent's travels as a reporter, and his dilemma over whether he should don a costume and actually become a superhero, in order to help make the world a better place. It was also rumored that General Zod would be the villain of the film, conceivably presenting a mirror-image theme in which Clark Kent decides to become Superman to battle the very threat his godly powers present when placed in the wrong hands.

When the rumors of this Zod/traveling reporter plot first broke, opinions seemed mixed - although, after 5,000 votes tallied in our Screen Rant Man of Steel villain poll, it would seem that the majority of fans have ultimately decided that a different foe from Superman's rogues gallery would best serve this film. That same majority was undoubtedly pleased when Snyder himself went on record claiming that the Zod talk was purely rumor.

the man of steel villain general zod superman

Evidently Snyder downplaying of those Zod rumors didn't have the desired effect, because the director once again addressed the subject while talking to Empire, and he did not mince words this time around, claiming that the talk of Zod being the villain is "just wrong," and that "the Internet has no idea what's going on." (Thanks Zack!)

So for now, it seems we all need to take a step back and wait for an official confirmation of who the villain in The Man of Steel will actually be. Personally, I'm still pulling for Brainiac (with Lex Luthor on the sidelines, orchestrating). How about you?

brainiac man of steel villain

As for what we can expect for Man of Steel's story: Snyder has already said that the film won't be based on an existing Superman comic, and in this latest interview he added that David Goyer's script will be "different" from other Superman tales, yet still honor the tradition established by the DC Comics canon. Here's a direct quote from Snyder:

"It's a different story...I won't say there's a break from the canon or anything like that, but there is definitely an approach that makes you go, 'Okay, that's a way to get at it.'...It has its roots in the canon and again, like I say, it has a point of view about who he is..."

This is all a bit vague at the moment, but as our own Sandy Schafer noted, there are whispers around the water cooler that this Superman movie is being rushed into production, and that details are being hammered out on the fly. It may be that Goyer, Chris Nolan and Zack Snyder all have general ideas about the approach they'd like to take with Man of Steel, but the fine print details have yet to be ironed out and woven together.

You can be sure that we'll be keeping a close eye on the situation, so you should probably stay tuned for more to come soon. Meanwhile, be sure to have a look at the latest trailer for Sucker Punch, Snyder's newest film. It should give you a good indication of what Snyder will bring to the table for this Superman reboot.

The Man of Steel is currently slated to hit theaters in December of 2012.

Empire via Digital Spy