Exciting news came out of Hollywood last week when Warner Bros. Legendary Pictures announced that the new Superman film will be directed by Zach Snyder. This is fantastic news for two rea­sons. First, this means that film will begin shooting sometime this winter with a release date for either late summer or Christmas. Sec­ondly, this means that an actual good director, and not a Michael Bay a.k.a. king of hot girls and blowing buildings up, will be run­ning the franchise along with pro­ducer Christopher Nolan. Snyder, who is known for innovative and cartoon-esque films such as 300 and Watchmen, was not a logical choice, but a bold one. It is re­freshing to see that Warner Bros. has decided to take a chance on another out-of-the box director to attempt to run a franchise. They are hoping Snyder can make Su­perman the franchise that Nolan has turned Batman into: a fran­chise of films that are both pop­corn flicks, but also a film with depth, emotion and beautiful shots. Almost all of Snyder’s films are dark, violent and incredibly edited. Thus, I cannot wait to see what he will do with Superman under Nolan’s guidance.

The big question now surrounding the film will be who will be play­ing the famed man of steel. Bryan Singer’s film starred Brandon Routh, and Snyder has confirmed that Routh will not be returning in his film, as the new Superman will be between the ages of 35-40. Although Snyder is innovative, he has also informed us that the actor will need to fit the part: handsome, tall, strong, brunette comb-over, American looking in a 1950s Don Draper sort of way – wait a second! The new buzz from the Internet and Hollywood is that John Hamm, who plays Don Draper in Mad Men and stars in Snyder’s upcoming film Sucker Punch, would be a perfect fit. Hamm is handsome, manly, and a fantastic actor. Furthermore, he just fits the part, as Don Draper is an almost superhuman character with flaws on TV. The way he portrays his character in Mad Men is exactly how I think Superman should be played. On the outside he is the perfect man with the world in his hand, but inside his emo­tions run wild and are almost impossible for him to control.

Hamm seems like the perfect fit. However, numerous people in Holly­wood are arguing that a big name ac­tor should not take the part, as Super­man is bigger than any celebrity. These people want a no-name actor who will turn into the face of Superman instead of making Superman be thought of as a specific actor. To me this seems silly. If a film is good enough, it should be able to transcend us from thinking about the actor and force us to focus on the character. Furthermore, The Dark Knight had Christian Bale as its Caped Crusador, and then supporting actors such as Michael Caine, Morgan Free­man, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman and of course Heath Ledger. If today’s most sought after actor, Robert Downey Jr. can play Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes and the new Wizard of Oz, John Hamm can be Superman. Do the right thing, Holly­wood, give us the Superman movie we deserve.