Not everyone can step into the shoes of an iconic role like Superman. Something about the character is only very believable when a certain look and feel is present. Luckily for all of us, it would appear Man of Steel star Henry Cavill has it. Zack Snyder spoke with SFX Magazine about the upcoming reboot and Cavill’s portrayal.

“God, he’s so Supermanish it’s crazy! There was a telling moment – we put him in the Christopher Reeve costume, because we didn’t have a suit yet, we just had the old spandex suit. He stepped out of the trailer and no one laughed. It’s the difference between being Superman and dressing up like Superman. If I’m dressed up like Superman it’s like a Halloween costume. If you’re Henry it’s your clothes. It’s awesome. Watch the movie and you’re like ‘Holy [email protected]#, that’s Superman.’ And it’s not weird or crazy, it’s just cool.”

Not only has the look of Superman been updated for the film, but his abilities have been given a jumpstart too, specifically flying.

“It’s a more violent experience. It’s raw. It takes effort to do it, and that’s what we were really going for. It’s almost like there’s this kind of Right Stuff quality to it. He’s constantly booming around, accelerating. You think he’s going as fast as he can and then it’s like ‘Yeeaahh!’ He’s always got an extra gear he can use.”

The film’s representation of Krypton also appears to be a new take on the doomed planet. Snyder had many specific ideas in mind for Superman’s home world.

“I really wanted my Krypton to be this kind of special place that’s immersive and totally different from Earth, but not unbelievable. And ancient. I really wanted to give this ancient feeling to Krypton. I love technology that’s rusty because it’s so old. It’s so advanced, but it’s so old. That was the kind of world that I tried to create. A dying world that’s ancient and torn apart.”

The highly-anticipated action adventure also stars Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni, Russell Crowe, Michael Kelly, Harry Lennix and Richard Schiff.

In the film, a young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.