Man of Steel is a 2013 superhero film based on the DC Comics character Superman. Directed by Zack Snyder and written by David S. Goyer, who developed the story with producer Christopher Nolan, it is the first film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), and a reboot of the Superman film series, depicting the character's origin story. Henry Cavill stars as Superman, alongside Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, and Russell Crowe. In the film, Clark Kent learns that he is a superpowered alien from the planet Krypton and assumes the role of mankind's protector as Superman, making the choice to face General Zod and stop him from destroying humanity.

Development began in 2008 when Warner Bros. Pictures took pitches from comic book writers, screenwriters, and directors, opting to reboot the franchise. In 2009, a court ruling resulted in Jerry Siegel's family recapturing the rights to Superman's origins and Siegel's copyright. The decision stated that Warner Bros. did not owe the families additional royalties from previous films, but if they did not begin production on a Superman film by 2011, then the Shuster and Siegel estates would be able to sue for lost revenue on an unproduced film. Nolan pitched Goyer's idea after a story discussion on The Dark Knight Rises, and Snyder was hired as the film's director in October 2010. Principal photography began in August 2011 in West Chicago, Illinois, before moving to Vancouver and Plano, Illinois.

Man of Steel premiered in the Alice Tully Hall in New York City on June 10, 2013, and was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on June 14. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and was a commercial success, grossing $670million worldwide on a budget of $225–258million, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2013. Critics praised its visuals, music, casting, performances, and action sequences, but criticized its dark tone and some plot elements, as well as the portrayal of Superman. A sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, was released in 2016. A further reboot, Superman, the first film in the DC Universe (DCU), was released in 2025, and stars David Corenswet as the title character.

Plot

The planet Krypton is destabilizing due to reckless mining of the planetary core. The Kryptonian Council ignores the warnings of renowned scientist Jor-El, who then steals and infuses the Kryptonian genetics codex into his new-born son, Kal-El, the first naturally-born Kryptonian in centuries. Jor-El and his wife Lara manage to evacuate Kal-El in a spacecraft toward Earth before Jor-El is killed by General Zod during a coup d'état. Zod's insurrection is stopped by the Kryptonian Council; he and his followers are sent into the Phantom Zone as punishment. Krypton is destroyed, along with all its remaining inhabitants.

Kal-El lands in Kansas, where he is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent and named Clark. As he grows older, due to his Kryptonian physiology and Earth's yellow sun, he develops superhuman powers that Jonathan urges him to keep hidden until he is mature enough to handle the global consequences, even refusing Clark's help years later, leading to his death in a storm. Burdened with guilt, Clark travels the globe hiding under various aliases, seeking his purpose, and discreetly helping those in need.

Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane investigates the discovery of a Kryptonian scout ship in the Arctic. Disguised as a worker, Clark enters the ship. He learns from its artificial intelligence, modeled after Jor-El, about his origins, and that Clark was sent to Earth with the hope he would guide its people. While following Clark, Lois inadvertently triggers the ship's security system. Clark uses his powers to rescue her. Wearing a uniform provided by the ship, he begins testing his abilities. Unable to convince her editor-in-chief, Perry White, to publish an article on the incident, Lois leaks the story to a popular blogger. She tracks down Clark in Smallville intent on exposing him. However, upon hearing of Jonathan Kent's sacrifice, Lois decides to keep Clark's identity safe, while fueling Perry's suspicions.

Zod and his followers are revealed to have been released from the Phantom Zone when Krypton was destroyed. They retrofitted their prison vessel into a functioning ship and salvaged several xenoforming devices from abandoned Kryptonian outposts. Waiting thirty-three years for a sign of Kryptonian survival, they are drawn to Earth when Clark accessed the ancient scout ship. Zod threatens Earth unless Clark surrenders to him; Clark reveals himself to U.S. military personnel and surrenders to their custody. Lois is also captured by the military due to her leaked story.

Clark negotiates a meeting with Zod, who demands Clark and Lois join him on his ship. Onboard, Zod infiltrates their minds, revealing his intention to xenoform Earth into a new Krypton once he is in possession of the codex, which will result in humanity's extinction. Clark refuses to join Zod. Using the Jor-El AI to temporarily take over the ship, he and Lois escape. Intending to use the codex to repopulate his species, Zod investigates Clark's pod in Smallville. However, the codex cannot be found and Zod angrily threatens Martha. Clark fights off Zod's followers across Smallville, convincing the military of his allegiance to Earth.

Zod's science officer, Jax-Ur, discovers Jor-El hid the codex's information within Clark's genes, the extraction of which would be fatal. Zod nevertheless deploys his xenoforming device, the World Engine to the Indian Ocean, while descending his ship over Metropolis. The two work in concert to xenoform Earth, severely damaging Metropolis. Clark, now dubbed "Superman" by Lois, destroys the World Engine while the military launches an attack on Zod's primary vessel, utilizing Clark's pod to create a singularity. The attack is successful, sending Zod's troops back to the Phantom Zone. With his ship destroyed and Krypton's only hope of revival gone, a vengeful Zod vows to destroy Earth and its inhabitants. He and Clark engage in a cataclysmic battle across Metropolis, which concludes when Clark is forced to kill Zod as he attacks a family trapped in a train station.

Sometime later, Clark, as Superman, persuades the government to let him act independently, promising not to turn against humanity. To gain covert access to dangerous situations, Clark takes a job reporting for the Daily Planet alongside Lois.

Cast

Henry Cavill as Kal-El / Clark Kent: A Kryptonian with superhuman powers and abilities, sent by his parents to Earth as an infant to escape the destruction of his homeworld, Krypton, and raised under the mental guidance of farmers in Smallville, Kansas, until he is inspired by the holographic message from his late father to become Earth's greatest protector. Cavill is the first non-American actor to play the character. He was previously cast in Superman: Flyby, which was ultimately shelved, and was considered for the role in the 2006 film Superman Returns, but lost to Brandon Routh. Cavill stated, "There's a very real story behind the Superman character." He explained that everyone's goal has been to explore the difficulties his character faces as a result of having multiple identities—including his birth name, Kal-El, and his alter ego, Clark Kent. Cavill also stated that "He's alone and there's no one like him," referring to Superman's vulnerabilities. "That must be incredibly scary and lonely, not to know who you are or what you are, and trying to find out what makes sense. Where's your baseline? What do you draw from? Where do you draw a limit with the power you have? In itself, that's an incredible weakness." In an interview with Total Film magazine, Cavill stated he had been consuming nearly 5,000 calories a day, training for over two hours daily and plowing protein to pack on the muscle mass. Tyler Hoechlin (who would later play the character in the Arrowverse and Superman & Lois), Matthew Goode, Armie Hammer, Jamie Dornan, Joe Manganiello and Colin O'Donoghue were also considered for the role. Manganiello was subsequently cast as Deathstroke in Justice League. Manganiello was Snyder's second choice behind Cavill. Cavill cited his inspiration for his portrayal for Superman was by four comics The Death of Superman, The Return of Superman, Superman: Red Son and Superman/Batman: The Search for Kryptonite; as he wanted his interpretation be from the source material. Cooper Timberline was cast as the 9-year-old Clark Kent, and Dylan Sprayberry was cast as the 13-year-old Clark Kent. Amy Adams as Lois Lane: A reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper and the love interest of Clark Kent. Adams was selected from a list of actresses that included Kristen Stewart, Zoe Saldaña, Olivia Wilde, and Mila Kunis. "There was a big, giant search for Lois," Snyder said. "For us, it was a big thing and obviously a really important role. We did a lot of auditioning, but we had this meeting with Amy Adams and after that I just felt she was perfect for it." Adams auditioned for the role three times: once for the unproduced Superman: Flyby, and the second time for Superman Returns before landing the current role. Adams was confirmed to play Lois Lane in March 2011. While announcing the role, Snyder said in a statement, "We are excited to announce the casting of Amy Adams, one of the most versatile and respected actresses in films today. Amy has the talent to capture all of the qualities we love about Lois: smart, tough, funny, warm, ambitious and, of course, beautiful." On portraying Lois Lane, Adams stated that the film would feature a Lois Lane who is an "independent, feisty woman ... but set in a more identifiable world." Adams said that "She has become more of a free-ranging journalist, someone who likes to be hands-on. The nature of the newspaper business has changed so much. There is so much more pressure." Michael Shannon as General Zod: A Kryptonian general with the same superpowers as Superman, bent on transforming Earth into a new Krypton under his reign. Viggo Mortensen and Daniel Day-Lewis were also considered for the role. Snyder stated, "Zod is not only one of Superman's most formidable enemies, but one of the most significant because he has insights into Superman that others don't. Michael is a powerful actor who can project both the intelligence and the malice of the character, making him perfect for the role." When Goyer was asked about why Zod was chosen as the villain, he stated, "The way (Christopher) Nolan and I have always approached movies as well is you never say, 'Hey, which villain would be cool for this movie?' You start with the story first. What kind of story? What kind of theme do you want to tell? So we worked that out. Then, usually the villain becomes obvious in terms of who's going to be the appropriate antagonist for that. When you guys see the movie, the only villain we could've used was Zod and the Kryptonians. I mean, when you see what the whole story is, nothing else would have even made sense." Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent: Clark's adoptive father. Snyder explained his reason for casting the on-screen couple is solely for the realism: "I think the thing you realize when you look at Diane and Kevin, in our decision to cast them so far, you sort of get a sense of how tonally we're looking at the movie, and what you realize is that those guys are serious actors, and we're taking this movie very seriously in terms of the tone of having those guys. You're talking about having a situation where whatever the action is or whatever the drama of the movie is, our first priority is to make sure it's rendered in the most realistic way we can get at." After taking on the role, Costner was disappointed when he read the script.