27-year-old British actor Henry Cavill, who's best known for his role as Charles Brandon on Showtime's The Tudors, has been tapped to play Midwestern demigod Clark Kent in Zack Snyder's upcoming Superman flick.


A Warner Brothers executive told Deadline today:

He's got an amazing quality. He doesn't look too much like Reeve and Routh but he's big and strong and he has a very modern feel to him [...] We're really going to try and make Superman as contemporary as possible.


Cavill certainly fits Snyder's casting criteria — the Sucker Punch director was looking for a young, lesser known TV actor to play the hunky Kryptonian. Also, a British Superman! The last time we saw this was, what, John Cleese's Superman: True Brit?

Cavill's been a contender for several big genre roles throughout his career. The L.A. Times reports that Cavill was in the running for Clark Kent in 2006, when McG was helming Superman Returns — of course, the role eventually went to Brandon Routh and Bryan Singer secured directing duties. Also, Cavill auditioned for Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins and was passed over for James Bond in favor of Daniel Craig.

Snyder's Superman will come out December 2012, and we'll get to see Cavill flex his epic genre chops as Theseus in the Greek fantasy flick The Immortals this November. My heart goes out to the Jon Hamm faithful who were looking for a miracle.


[Fan illustration by Ralph D via the Superhero Hype Forums]