When the DC Extended Universe launched in 2013 with Man of Steel, moviegoers saw Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent share some poignant scenes with his adoptive father, Kevin Costner’s Jonathan Kent. Sadly, the first of this era’s DC movies in order didn’t show Jonathan getting to see his son become Superman because he was swept up in a tornado. Over a decade later, Costner recalled what he thought when reading Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel script, as well as gave his hot take on that tornado scene.
Costner reflected on the Man of Steel script, which was written by David S. Goyer off a story he crafted with the Dark Knight trilogy’s Christopher Nolan, while speaking our own Sean O’Connell and fellow ReelBlend host Kevin McCarthy about his 2024 movie Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1, which is now playing in theaters, saying:
It’s just my luck to be in a superhero movie and be the only person that’s normal. I was like, ‘Really? I can’t fly? And I can’t put my first through the wall? Maybe I should have read this thing closer. I’m a farmer?’ So I looked at that and I said, ‘Ok, I can be that.’ I thought it was rooted in doubt. But there was no doubt that he puts his hand up and says, ‘Stay there’ to his son.
Kevin Costner was the second actor to play Jonathan Kent in a live-action movie, following Glenn Ford in 1978’s Superman. While Costner was no stranger to starring in more fantastical cinematic stories by that point, with that portion of his resume including Field of Dreams, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Waterworld, he was initially astounded to learn he wouldn’t be playing anyone with superpowers in Man of Steel (which can be streamed with a Max subscription). Listen to what he had to say for yourself:
Kevin Costner talks playing Pa Kent in Zack Snyder's MAN OF STEEL. pic.twitter.com/CANcyTCxluJune 28, 2024
If the Dances with Wolves actor/director had been cast as Jor-El, Clark Kent’s Kryptonian father, instead of Russell Crowe, at least that would have given him an action sequence to take part in at the start of the movie. Alas, Jonathan Kent’s purpose in Man of Steel was to persuade Clark to keep his powers hidden, as he was skeptical that the people of Earth would accept his adoptive son if they knew about his true nature. But like Kevin Costner pointed out, there was no doubt when Jonathan held up his hand to stop Clark from rescuing him from that tornado after he broke his leg. That moment can be revisited below:
Kevin Costner briefly reprised an imaginary Jonathan Kent in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and archived audio and a still photo of him was used in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. While he doesn’t have any upcoming superhero movies lined up, if Marvel Studios ever approaches Costner for something, fingers crossed it’s for a character who has some kind of special ability, if not several. At least as far as Man of Steel goes, the actor felt comfortable with playing the farmer and bringing that doubt that was necessary to the story.
With Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 now available for the public to see, Part 2 will follow on August 26, Part 3 began filming on May 13, and the script for Part 4 is complete. Unfortunately for those of you who enjoyed watching him on Yellowstone, Kevin Costner has confirmed he won’t be back as John Dutton for the show’s final episodes.
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