Warner Bros. Animation is apparently set on adapting every major comic book storyline of the last 40 years, and now, we’re only a few months away from being treated to their take on the biggest Man of Steel tale of the 1990s, The Death of Superman.
It’s going to be hard to explain just how significant an event this storyline was. I’m talking front page of the newspaper, international coverage on the news, multiple think pieces about what the death of this cultural icon would mean, etc. Seriously, it was a very, very big deal.
Superman’s death came in the form of grey, bony Hulk Hogan lookalike Doomsday. Eschewing Lex Luthor and Brainiac’s complex plans, the big bad simply punched Supes to death (in the end, he was gone for just under a year). When the moment finally arrived (in Superman Vol 2 #75), the issue broke sales records, with buyers assuming that this is the kind of comic you could base a pension plan around (just go with it, they were strange times). It’s also probably the last time that the Superman comic book was properly culturally relevant, which makes it a no brainer for adapting to animation.
Anyways, with the film gearing up for its release later this summer, Warner Bros. Animation has announced the cast list today and it looks like they’re bringing out the big guns. Taking the lead role as Supes himself is Jerry O’Connell, while Rebecca Romijn will voice Lois Lane and Rainn Wilson set for the part of Lex Luthor.
Elsewhere, there’s DCAU vets like “Rosario Dawson as Wonder Woman; Castle alum Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern; Covert Affairs‘ Christopher Gorham as The Flash; Timeless‘ Matt Lanter as Aquaman; Shemar Moore of S.W.A.T. as Cyborg; and Jason O’Mara from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Batman.” Not bad, eh?
The Death of Superman is planned to be the first in a two-parter, as well, with The Reign of the Supermen, which follows the less popular second part of the story in which four Supermen (Boy, Cyborg, Kryptonian and Armored) vied for his mantle, also on the way.
As for Death, though, look for it to land later this summer. There’s no firm release date just yet, but speculation points to July/August.