By: Kryptonian Detective:

I was definitely not expecting to read a casting announcement for Man of Steel today.  Low and behold, as I signed onto my computer, and began perusing the internet there it was.  While it is not Sunday,  Warner Brothers has cast actress Antje Trau as the female villain Faora in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman film. “There are multiple Faora’s in the Superman universe, so it remains unclear which one Traue has been tapped to play. The first Faora, Faora Hu-Ul, was introduced in Action Comics #471 as a beautiful Kryptonian woman with an intense unexplained hatred for all men. She was an expert at the Kryptonian martial art of Horo-Kanu, which utilizes pressure points on the Kryptonian body and made her a dangerous foe for Superman to fight in hand-to-hand combat. In fact, he was forced to flee from their first encounter Another version of the character, debuted in Action Comics #779 as a Pokolistanian aid of General Zod. That character was an orphan metahuman with the ability to disrupt molecular bonds, which allowed her to create a mutagenic virus that served as the linchpin of Zod’s plan.”  The German actress’ most notable North American film to date is Pandorum in 2009. This is the first time in the casting process for this film that I actually thought, “Who!?” when discovering who had been chosen in a specific role.

This announcement certainly seems to validate an exclusive claim that Latino Review reported a month ago.  In addition to specifically naming Faora as the female villain, the site indicates that Jor – El and Lara will appear in the film.  Also, fans can expect Krypton to look different from the previous films.  While I thought the crystal planet was fine, I look forward to a new look for Superman’s home world.  Throughout the character’s history, comics and animated films have given Krypton lavish and captivating scenery, some of which I hope  to see on film.  Either way, the inclusion of Faora suggest to me that the film’s creative team is looking to the comic books for inspiration, which is something that should make fans smile.

(Source: Variety)