Return of the superhero

Now that Christopher Nolan has completed his Dark Knight trilogy, the filmmaker puts on his producer’s hat for Zack Snyder’s reboot of the Superman franchise, which traces the rise of the spandex-clad superhero from birth.

When planet Krypton faces destruction, Jor-El (Russell Crowe) sends his son to Earth in the hope that the child will be spared. The infant is adopted and raised by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner, Diane Lane), who christen the boy Clark and raise him as their own flesh and blood.

From an early age, Clark (played by Cooper Timberline and Dylan Sprayberry) realises he is different from the other children in Smallville, Kansas, and when the school bus is involved in a terrible accident, Clark uses his untapped powers to save his classmates. Jonathan and Martha are worried friends and neighbours will shun Clark if they knew who and what he really was, so the boy keeps his Kryptonian lineage a secret.

Searching for his place in a cruel world, Clark embarks on a journey of self-discovery, tracked by plucky reporter Lois Lane (Amy Adams).

The arrival on Earth of war-mongering Kryptonian General Zod (Michael Shannon) forces Clark to reveal his heroic alter ego but men in power are terrified by Superman’s abilities and view him as the enemy rather than mankind’s potential saviour.