Superman Reboot Rumor: Ursa Coming Back?
Posted 02.08.11 by BrentJS
Just as soon as Henry Cavill was cast as Clark Kent, aka Superman, in Zack Snyder's Superman franchise reboot, casting speculation quickly turned to who would be playing Superman's main squeeze, Lois Lane, with everyone from Kristen Stewart to Olivia Wilde being mentioned. Then, there was talk that Lois might not even make an appearance in the movie as Alice Eve, Diane Kruger, and Rosamund Pike were all said to be vying for an undisclosed role.
Now, popular — though not always reliable — entertainment site LatinoReview is claiming to have answers to a couple of the big questions surrounding the Superman reboot. According to the site's "most trusted reliable source," Lois will be in the movie, and the role that Eve, Kruger, and Pike are up for is none other than the villainous Ursa from Superman's own home planet of Krypton.
Ursa is a female Kryptonian who survived the destruction of Krypton because she was trapped within the extra-dimensional prison known as the Phantom Zone for her "perversions and unreasoning hatred of all mankind." Rather than originating in the pages of a DC Comics title like most of the characters that have appeared in the Superman movies, Ursa's first appearance was in Superman (played by Sarah Douglas). She would not appear in the comic books on which the movies are based until Action Comics #845 (January 2007), which was written by current DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns and Richard Donner, director of the first Superman. Ursa possesses all of the powers of Superman, including flight, super strength, super speed, near invulnerability, and vision powers.
Of course, what would Ursa be without General Zod (played by Terence Stamp in Superman and Superman 2), the megalomaniacal Kryptonian villain who demanded that "the son of Jor-El" kneel before him? Ursa was at Zod's beck-and-call in Superman 2, so it's hard to imagine that Snyder would throw her into the mix solo. And, bringing in a heavy-hitter like Zod would be just the sort of "punch" that the Superman reboot needs to appeal to the fans who have been clamoring for some action. Lex Luthor has been done to death and fans really want to see Superman hit someone who can take his mightiest blows and Zod and Ursa fit the ticket. However, back in early November 2010, Snyder said that the rumors that were circulating on the Internet at that time that had Zod pegged as the villain were "just wrong," which makes Ursa's appearance seem a little far-fetched, as well. Still, it's fun to imagine Eve, Kruger, and Pike wearing Ursa's crazy black vinyl costume ... so we'll happily ponder this rumor for a bit.