Director Zack Snyder took the stage at CinemaCon on Tuesday to give theater owners a sneak peek at his upcoming Superman reboot "Man of Steel."
The footage offers the deepest look at the tights-wearing hero in action. We also find out that Superman's trademark "S" is a symbol of hope on his home planet of Krypton, not shorthand for his name.
In addition to fatherly advice from Russell Crowe as Superman's biological pop and Kevin Costner as his adoptive father, the footage also contains a compelling glimpse of Michael Shannon's General Zod. Based on this trailer, Zod's eager to take on the "Man of Steel."
Snyder, who previously oversaw "300" and "The Watchmen," said he was initially trepidatious about taking on the Superman legend. Not because he thought Clark Kent's alter-ego was retrograde or stale, but because he worried he couldn't do the character justice.
"I wasn't sure I had something poignant to say," Snyder said at the annual exhibition trade show in Las Vegas. He said that meeting with producer Christopher Nolan and reading the story "The Dark Knight" director had cooked up with David S. Goyer ("Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance") convinced him that there were unexplored cinematic depths to the Superman myth.
"He is the greatest superhero," Snyder said. "There's no competition between superheroes, but if there was, he'd win."
Snyder said that he made the film, because he was convinced the story was ideal for the big screen, even though he confessed he knew it would also be seen "on iPads, iPods and iWhatevers."
"We made a big movie," he assured theater owners.
It's a message that played well in a room where exhibitors are already worried that the threat from digital entertainment represents an existential challenge to their livelihoods.
Starring Henry Cavill as Superman and Amy Adams as Lois Lane, "Man of Steel" flies into theaters on June 14, 2013.
