UPDATE: Variety has apparently gotten their hands on the same bit of intel, but rather than just saying that Traue is the frontrunner they're saying that she's landed the part of Faora.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Michael Shannon is an unconventional choice to play General Zod in Zack Snyder's Superman reboot, Man of Steel. The man certainly has the talent - there's no denying that - but he's also spent most of his career working in independent movies, staying away from major blockbusters, and isn't exactly a household name like Gene Hackman, Terrance Stamp or Kevin Spacey. Apparently name recognition isn't a concern for the project, though, as they are apparently close to signing on yet another person you've never heard of.
Deadline reports that German actress Antje Traue is the frontrunner to play Zod's right hand woman in Man of Steel. The article suggests that the character she'd be playing would be Ursa, which would run against rumors from earlier this month that said Faora Hu-Ul would be the film's principal villainess. Though most of Traue's work has been done overseas, she did star alongside Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid in the sci-fi horror film Pandorum and is in the Renny Harlin film 5 Days of August, which has yet to be released in the US.
Considering the amount of money that's going to be going into this production, I am amazed by this news. The last time that we heard about that character names like Alice Eve, Diane Kruger and Rosamund Pike were all in the running. Could it be that a major studio film isn't using multiple villains as an excuse to find more big names and are, instead, going with actors that are right for the part? I'll believe it when I see it.
