New Superman Reboot Casting Rumors Including Viggo Mortensen As Zod!

Now that the leading role of Superman/Clark Kent himself has been casted in Zack Snyder's Superman: Man of Steel, now the rumors have turned to who exactly is going to be the villain of the film, and most importantly who will be playing him. It seems the latest rumor going around is that actor Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Road, Eastern Promises) is being eyed for the role of the infamous General Zod in the Superman: Man of Steel.

 You might remember Zod back in the seventies when he was played by Terence Stamp in Superman 2. For those who don't know about his character, Dru-Zod was a Kryptonian general who along with his companions Ursa and Non was trapped into the Phantom Zone by Superman's father Jor-El before the destruction of Krypton. Now this isn't the first time a villain who has been used in a past film gets a new take. Who can forget Christopher Nolan's take on the Joker in The Dark Knight, who was a character used in Tim Burton's 80s Batman.

But is Zod really a good choice to start out the new franchise? Wouldn't it be much better to introduce a prominent villain from the comics that hasn't been used like the fan favorite Brainiac. But since Superman: Man of Steel seems to be more of an origin story of Clark, it would make sense to have a more Krypton based villain which would make flashbacks to Krypton have more meaning to them. Zod offers a more physically equal match for Superman without him facing someone that he can't handle yet (Such as Doomsday), or someone who isn't a physical opponent for him at all (Like Lex Luthor). Still I'm all for Brainiac myself, as long as he's played by Ralph Fiennes best known for his performance as Lord Voldermort in the Harry Potter series.

Viggo is a great actor and has proven his abilities numerous times, and if he'd play Zod anything like he played Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, then we'd be in for a real treat. Viggo is younger than Stamp was when he played Zod, which makes me wonder if this is a younger Zod that we're going to see, who will presumably be a better physical match for Henry Cavill's young Superman. While it would be cool to see a younger Zod, it might mess too much with continuity as Zod should be close in age to who ever play Jor-El, and Jor-El is most likely going to be played by an older actor around Marlon Brando's age when he played the part. My personal choice for an older Zod would've been actor Jeremy Irons, who can probably come closest to Stamp's portrayal, but he might be too old to be a believable threat for Henry Cavill's Superman.

On another note the, it seems actor Kevin Costner (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Waterworld, Dancing With Wolves, The Company Men) has been casted as Jonathan 'Pa' Kent, who is the man (Along with his wife) who takes in Superman after he crash lands on Earth. Pa Kent seems to be a very key role this time around as it's been rumored that the story of Superman: Man of Steel will follow that of the Superman: Birthright graphic novel which primarily focuses on Superman's relationship with both of his adoptive parents in Smallville as he becomes Superman. Costner seems like a strong choice for the role, also a younger pick but it seems to be the route Snyder is taking here. Now we have to wait and see who get's cast as Ma Kent opposite Costner's Pa, but we can assume it'll be an older classic actress around the age of Costner.

So what do you think of Viggo as Zod? What do you think of Costner as Pa Kent?