So just how much did Chris Nolan contribute to MAN OF STEEL?

“In Nolan we trust” was an oft-repeated mantra heard when it was first announced that Zack Snyder had been handed the directorial reins to a new Superman reboot. While Snyder had helmed many fan favourite flicks (300, Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead), he had just come off the CGI wankfest Sucker Punch, so faith was a tad bit low. But with Nolan, director of some of the best films of the last decade and the man that just about reinvented the superhero movie with his Dark Knight trilogy, acting as producer, all would be well, right?

And then the first, very dramatic looking trailers for Man of Steel hit, and everybody was like “Oh wow, that’s vintage Nolan. He’s really kept a firm hand on Snyder.” But did he really?

Chatting to F*** Magazine (yes, that’s their real name), star Henry Cavill spins a bit of a different take on things. And hey, he’s Superman, so I think we can believe him.

“Chris Nolan wasn’t there during the production itself, although I’m not sure how much work was done behind the scenes. I’m sure Zack had a phone call or two with him, but this is definitely Zack’s baby. He was the man in charge, and we created the character together, as opposed to having too many outside influences.”

Now generally, producers are the guys that assembles the toys and the kids, puts them all in a playpen together and then watches them go crazy. Sometimes crayons are eaten, in which case the producer has to step in with some stern words. With Man of Steel though, the general assumption always seemed to be that Nolan was keeping a an extremely close eye and hand on every facet of the production (and on Warner Bros’ entire proposed line of superhero movies, in fact, if rumours are to be believed), almost in a mentor role to Snyder, but that apparently wasn’t the case. Cavill went on to explain that instead of turning to the big name director, Snyder actually collaborated more with his cast on how certain things should be done.

“It’s a collaborative process and Zach wants us to talk to him about stuff and work with him on his ideas. If you say, ‘how about I do this,’ he’ll say ‘I don’t know if I like it yet, but give it a shot.’

One decision that probably didn’t come out of that collaborative process though, is the oft discussed revelation that this new version of the Superman story doesn’t contain any Kryptonite. Many people already aren’t fans of Superman due to the fact that that little green rock was his only major weakness (he is actually also susceptible to magic, but that’s a whole other fanboy conversation), so how will the character be handled now that even that flaw has been taken away?

“Again, it comes back to the human element; because he’s alone and there’s no one like him. 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.”

Man of Steel will be flying into cinemas on June 14, 2013.

Last Updated: May 14, 2013