Is Russell Crowe the New Marlon Brando? Crowe Cast as Jor-El in 'Superman' Reboot

Back in 1978, Richard Donner landed one of the biggest names in Hollywood history in Marlon Brando to play Jor-El, the Kryptonian father of Superman. Bryan Singer didn't change anything for the reboot "Superman Returns," choosing to use and update archive footage of Brando from the original "Superman."

So, Zach Snyder had a decision to make in his new "Superman" reboot: stay with Brando, or find a replacement? If he decided to cast someone else, it would have to be a legendary actor, someone with the chops to compare to Brando, someone with the same macho yet refined essence.

Snyder decided on Russell Crowe instead.

Okay, so Crowe's not that bad. In fact, he's actually a pretty great actor. But there's an air of sophistication to Jor-El that Crowe sort of lacks...after all, Jor-El is supposed to be a respected scientist.

Granted, Crowe showed his brainy side in "A Beautiful Mind," but this is also a guy who recently went on a tirade about the "barbaric and stupid" practice of circumcision. No, really.

In any case, Crowe will be playing Henry Cavill's father, and joins Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Michael Shannon in the cast of "Man of Steel."