Superman: Man of Steel

Who Did Cavill Beat for Superman?

British actor Henry Cavill had been in contention for the role of Superman for a long time before finally being announced yesterday as the screen's next Man of Steel, but he's not the only actor who had been.

The Hollywood Reporter has the rundown of the finalists for the title role role in the reboot to be directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan. Among them was White Collar's Matthew Bomer who, like Cavill, had been an early pick for the role back when McG and Brett Ratner were attached to direct Superman Returns.

The other four finalists for the Superman role this time out reportedly included True Blood werewolf Joe Manganiello (whose schedule was said to be an issue), The Social Network's Armie Hammer (who had been cast as Batman in the aborted JLA movie), Irish actor Colin O'Donoghue (currently raising hell onscreen in The Rite), and Brit actor Matthew Goode, who THR claims was Cavill's most serious competition having previously worked with Snyder on Watchmen.

"Cavill was invited for a callback in January, where he met Snyder face-to-face for the first time, according to a source," said THR. "The final decision came down last week, and the Nolan secrecy machine was in such force that only a handful of execs knew the choice. In fact, many top Warners execs found out only after Cavill had been called Sunday morning."

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