Matrix's Morpheus Becomes Superman's Boss

[Logan Westbrook]

Matrix's Morpheus Becomes Superman's Boss

Laurence Fishburne is to play one of the most enduring characters in the Superman canon in upcoming movie reboot.

Actor Laurence Fishburne, who - among other roles - is famous for his role as Morpheus in the Matrix movies, has joined the cast of the new Superman movie, Superman: Man of Steel. Fishburne will play Perry White, editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet and Clark Kent and Lois Lane's boss.

With the occasional exception, Perry White is a tough but fair character with incredibly high journalistic standards. He first appeared in the Superman serials of the 40s and 50s, but has since been integrated into the main continuity, appearing in movies, TV shows, and comic books. White has previously been played by the likes of Jackie Cooper in the Superman movies of the 70s and 80s, and Academy Award nominated actor Frank Langella, who played the role in Superman Returns. Fishburne's castmates include Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, and Diane Lane. Russell Crowe also rumored to be in final negotiations to play the part of Superman's father, Jor-El.

Unfortunately, despite Fishburne's not inconsiderable acting skills, there will be people who object to his casting. White has always been depicted as Caucasian in the past, but Fishburne is African-American, something that certain members of the Superman fan community will be unhappy about. Sadly, there is precedent for this kind of negative reaction, as seen recently when people tried to boycott the movie Thor [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109754-Black-Thor-Actor-Talks-About-Racist-Comic-Book-Fans] after Idris Elba was cast as the Norse god, Heimdall.

Still, for most people, Fishburne's casting will be nothing but good news. Man of Steel is being directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan, and is scheduled for release in 2013.

Source: Hero Complex [http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/08/02/man-of-steel-laurence-fishburne-will-be-perry-white/?dlvrit=63378]




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[4173]

something something great Caesar's ghost! Err, great Ki-zar's ghost!

 

[crotalidian]

Its great to see that even after the Vocal minority of Racist bigots that spoke out about Heimdall got an undeserved amount of publicity (that is to say poeple wrote about it) Snyder and Nolan have still changed a Character whose race has nothing to do with him as a Character and used it as an opportunity to cast a Strong African American actorn in a Strong 'Father Figure' Role

Good on You Guys. Now just make sure the Movie Doesn't suck

 

[Keldon888]

Meh I have much less faith in Snyder's ability to make a good movie than I do Fishburne's acting ability.

 

[unicron44]

Great casting choice, but I'm just not a fan of Snyder's directing style.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I hope he loses a bit of weight though, otherwise I might mistake him for the Kingpin.

 

[The Human Torch]

I wasn't even considering the whole black/white issue until you eggheads decided to mention it in your article. Way to go.

 

[daitsdudes]

I assume Zack Snyder's Superman will have no plotan obnoxious amount of CGI and Clark Kent will be re-imagined as a 16 year old girl in a fetish outfit.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

There are some characters where you can get away with swapping their ethnicity around, but others it just doesn't work. For example, a bla... er African-American Perry White works, a bl-African American Nick Fury works (actually I think it works better than a white one). However if you were to, say make another Street Fighter movie, you wouldn't cast a bl- damnit! Can't I just say "black guy"? I mean no disrespect, it's just easier to say (and type) than "African-American"! Anyway where was I? Oh yeah, Street Fighter. You wouldn't cast a black dude to play Ryu.

 

[Shirokurou]

Anybody doubting Snyder's film-making ability, especially when making comic-book movies...
He made Watchmen!
Your arguments are invalid.

 

[Palindromemordnilap_v1legacy]

does this mean that Perry will be black in the DC reboot? Or is this just a movie thing?

 

[marscentral]

To me, a life-long Superman fan, this is probably one of the least controversial announcements on this film so far. He's a great actor and should nail this.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I think having Fishburne in that role is perfect and I hope to God that it doesn't become an issue like that whole Heimdall ordeal in Thor, that was stupid.

Also, I'm ok with having Snyder directing, I like him, and I think he can do good things with this movie. Besides:

Anybody doubting Snyder's film-making ability, especially when making comic-book movies...
He made Watchmen!
Your arguments are invalid.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

Anybody doubting Snyder's film-making ability, especially when making comic-book movies...
He made Watchmen!
Your arguments are invalid.

Watchmen wasn't a very good film. Parts of it felt like padding, several characters felt superfluous, the editing got annoying because it only knows one way to do a fight scene, and some of the actors were wooden and boring to watch. It wasn't horrible, but It certainly doesn't sell me on Snyder's directorial ability any more than his other films do.

Seriously, it's better than average for a superhero flick, but it's hardly the gold standard for film-making.

 

[The Random One]

I'm gonna go ahead and say Fishburn is too good for that role.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Anybody doubting Snyder's film-making ability, especially when making comic-book movies...
He made Watchmen!
Your arguments are invalid.

Which wasn't bad but also wasn't very good. Though I blame that more on the fact that it's impossible to adapt as opposed to Snyder's talents as a director (though he is horrendously overblown)

 

[Shirokurou]

Anybody doubting Snyder's film-making ability, especially when making comic-book movies...
He made Watchmen!
Your arguments are invalid.

Watchmen wasn't a very good film. Parts of it felt like padding, several characters felt superfluous, the editing got annoying because it only knows one way to do a fight scene, and some of the actors were wooden and boring to watch. It wasn't horrible, but It certainly doesn't sell me on Snyder's directorial ability any more than his other films do.

Seriously, it's better than average for a superhero flick, but it's hardly the gold standard for film-making.

I guess you would've also thought that Watchmen was a boring comic...

Anybody doubting Snyder's film-making ability, especially when making comic-book movies...
He made Watchmen!
Your arguments are invalid.

Which wasn't bad but also wasn't very good. Though I blame that more on the fact that it's impossible to adapt as opposed to Snyder's talents as a director (though he is horrendously overblown)

Seriously. It was one of the best examples of directors ability to adapt a material as hard as Watchmen.
Sure you might've not liked it, personal taste and IMHO, but it shows his skill at making the comic-movie transition while being faithful to the source material, while also cutting out some parts (looking at you, squid)

 

[katosmullet]

The decision to change Nick Fury from old white WWII vet to Samuel L. Jackson in the Ultimates universe was just brilliant and created a lot more interest in the character than there had probably been in decades. Not even the abomination of the David Hasselhoff & Lisa Rinna Nick Fury movie was enough to destroy the inherent bad-@$$itude that is Samuel L. Jackson.

Changing Perry White from a crotchety but fair old white guy to a (hopefully) still crotchety but old black guy shouldn't even be controversial. I fully expect Fishburne to kill in the role.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

Anybody doubting Snyder's film-making ability, especially when making comic-book movies...
He made Watchmen!
Your arguments are invalid.

Watchmen wasn't a very good film. Parts of it felt like padding, several characters felt superfluous, the editing got annoying because it only knows one way to do a fight scene, and some of the actors were wooden and boring to watch. It wasn't horrible, but It certainly doesn't sell me on Snyder's directorial ability any more than his other films do.

Seriously, it's better than average for a superhero flick, but it's hardly the gold standard for film-making.

I guess you would've also thought that Watchmen was a boring comic...

I actually thought it was a fun read, although it isn't my favorite of Moore's work, but a lot of what made it interesting was inextricably tied to its being a comic. A big part of what made it so important were the types of panel layout and simulated camera movement it popularized by adapting film techniques into the medium of comics. A film must inevitably lose that. Also, by having Night Owl and Silk Specter kill their attackers without any qualms, the film caused them to be in many ways just less interesting versions of Rorschach instead of providing their own unique viewpoints on events. The soundtrack was sometimes a bit too clever for its own good and the editing and shot composition in most of the film were okay but not extraordinary.

All in all, I thought that Watchmen's commentary on its medium was much more interesting than its actual plot, which is all the movie kept and which is only okay.