For 'Superman' to Fly, Zack Snyder Needs to Prove He Can Do Substance As Well As He Does Style

Adams joins an already impressive cast that includes 'Tudors' star Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Diane Lane as his Earthly mother, Martha Kent, and Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent. The film's cred is bolstered even further by the involvement of screenwriter David S. Goyer, who has been a major creative force behind Nolan's 'Batman' films.

Cavill is one of the most notorious "almosts" in all of Hollywood. The actor was reported to have been considered for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman when Nolan took control of the long-running Warner Bros. franchise. The director instead chose Christian Bale and went on to completely re-imagine the series as a dark, serious, Oscar-winning actor's showcase.

He was also a front-runner for the role of James Bond, but after a final screen test for the part, producers deemed Cavill too young and went with Daniel Craig for 2005's franchise-reviving 'Casino Royale.' Cavill has even auditioned for 'Superman' before: He was said to be under heavy consideration for 2006's disappointing 'Superman Returns' before 'The Usual Suspects' and 'X-Men' director Bryan Singer chose actor Brandon Routh.

'Twilight' author Stephenie Meyer named Cavill as her first choice to play Edward in the adaptation of series, but by the time production looked ready to begin, the then-25-year-old actor no longer looked the part of a 17-year-old, and Robert Pattinson, who became an overnight megastar when the 'Twilight Saga' became an international phenomenon, was cast.

The actor's bad luck with roles that were ultimately either career-creating or career-defining for other actors led Empire magazine to declare him "the most unlucky man in Hollywood." But now seems like his time. Despite getting close to but not landing some of the biggest roles of the last decade, the extra years have given Cavill time to earn a reputation as a well-liked and talented actor, and he could break out in a major way if 'Superman' turns out to be any good.

And that's the key question on film and comic book fans' minds: Can Zack Snyder make a straightforward, non-exploitive 'Superman' that is anything more substantial than an achievement in special effects and costuming?

He certainly missed the opportunity to do so with his adaptation of the beloved graphic novel 'Watchmen.' "As faithful as [Snyder] tried to be to the book, he completely missed the point," says Brian Childs, operations manager of Comics Alliance. "There's supposed to be this morally ambiguous situation where the reader has to decide what they think is right, but he basically established Rorschach's view as the correct one."

Snyder disappointed fans of 'Watchmen' with his adaptation. So much so that the highly anticipated, big-budget ($130 million) production pulled in a mere $107 million at the domestic box office. "Visually, it was a triumph, it was sexy, the action was great, it looked so much like the comic. In the press, Snyder's dedication to the story of the book was emphasized every time the movie got mentioned," Childs says. "For many people, myself included, it wasn't until the second viewing that it became clear that with regards to the story, substance had taken a back seat to style."

This has been the most frequent complaint when it comes to Snyder's films. As exciting as his adaptation of Frank Miller's '300' was, the film is remembered mostly as a technical achievement. The same can be said for his most recent effort, 'Sucker Punch.' The only praise the film, which failed to connect with moviegoers this weekend and opened to only $19 million, received was for its elaborate, computer-generated action sequences.

None of this is to say that Snyder can't pull off a fantastic 'Superman' reboot, but unlike his comic book-adapting colleagues -- Nolan, 'Spider-Man' director Sam Raimi and 'X-Men' helmer Singer -- he has yet to prove himself an adept storyteller and hasn't done much outside of high-octane fantasy genre.

Before taking on 'Batman,' Nolan had already established himself as one of the hottest writer-directors in Hollywood. In 2000, he broke through in a major way with the indie smash 'Memento,' which earned him the first of three Oscar nominations (Best Original Screenplay for 'Memento' and Original Screenplay and Best Picture for 'Inception'). He followed it up with the underrated 'Insomnia' in 2002 and then started into the 'Bat' saga with 2005's 'Batman Begins.'

Raimi was already well-known for his campy horror films 'The Evil Dead' and 'Army of Darkness' before his 1998 drama 'A Simple Plan' scored two Oscar nominations and his Southern thriller 'The Gift,' starring Cate Blanchett, Hilary Swank, Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes, earned him a reputation as an actor's director.

Singer cut his teeth in thrillers like 'The Usual Suspects' and 'Apt Pupil' before being given the reigns of the 'X-Men' franchise.

The point is, these directors weren't necessarily tapped to helm these major tent pole projects because of their command of visuals and special effects; they were brought in to give them what the studios couldn't -- dramatic nuance, a sense of artistic achievement and each director's ability to get fantastic performances out of their actors (Singer and Nolan have each directed an actor to an Oscar win -- Kevin Spacey for 'The Usual Suspects' and Heath Ledger for 'The Dark Knight,' respectively -- while Raimi's direction earned Billy Bob Thornton a Best Supporting Actor nomination for 'A Simple Plan').

Snyder has a long way to go to prove he can do any of these things, and with 'Superman: Man of Steel' already in pre-production, it seems he's jumping in feet first. The worst thing that could happen would be for Snyder to deliver a visually impressive but soulless film that has more in common with the 'Transformers' franchise than the 'Batman' films. He has lined up a killer cast and has one of the best comic-to-screen minds in the business providing the plot and dialogue, but to truly bring 'Superman' back to life, Snyder needs to show us he's got more in his wheelhouse than a superior knowledge of special effects and a penchant for putting attractive actors in spandex and bustiers.

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