“That would have been interesting”: Russell Crowe’s Honest Feelings About a Jor-El Prequel After ‘Man of Steel’ Prove Zack Snyder Truly Fumbled the Bag With His Character

SUMMARY

• Zack Snyder dropped the ball with Russell Crowe's Jor-El prequel which could've brought back Michael Shannon's General Zod.
• Crowe had interest to explore the pre-Superman story with him and Zod being friends.
• He also revealed that he accepted the role to pay tribute to Marlon Brando, who played the role in 1978's Superman.

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When Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel begins on Krypton, fans got to see Russell Crowe flying around the planet on a bio-organic vehicle. He played the genius scientist Jor-El of Krypton and was so impressed with the character that he wanted to work on a prequel. While he was slain by General Zod in the film, Crowe felt that the build-up to the political tension in Krypton would have made for a great story.

Russell Crowe in a still form Man of Steel | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

Crowe also wanted Michael Shannon back as General Zod for this story. However, it eventually never took off and Crowe’s role was done after the 2013 film. Looking back, Snyder could’ve done more with Jor-El’s backstory and further explored the alien setup he had built for Krypton.

Russell Crowe’s Dream For A Jor-El Prequel Never Came True

Russell Crowe as Jor-EL in Man of Steel | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

Russell Crowe took on the role of the father of Henry Cavill‘s Kal-El after an extensive preparation time. He was impressed with Zack Snyder’s old-school prep style for the film and shared that he was in the movie for nearly four months before he faced a camera (via Access Hollywood). Crowe’s preparation should’ve got more returns in the form of a prequel film/TV series.

When Crowe appeared on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, the host had one question that fans wanted to ask themselves. Horowitz asked, “Why the hell didn’t we get more of it?”. Crowe shared that while working on the movie, they definitely had discussions about extended films and TV shows.

The Robin Hood actor was particularly interested in appearing in a Jor-El prequel. He wanted to explore what happened before the initial Krypton scenes in the movie. He also wanted Michael Shannon to return as General Zod and explore the friendship between the two. Crowe shared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast:

I think that you know, those kinds of conversations happen all the time. You know, once somebody has something like that going and you know how else you can sort of make things out. I would have loved to have done like a Jor-El story, pre the Superman story, while him and [General Zod] were friends and the buildup of the political tension. That would have been interesting.

While the Gladiator actor shared that he wasn’t bothered by the story not panning out, it was clearly a loss for the DC fans. As Horowitz pointed out, it would’ve been an HBO Max show today, given how Colin Farrell‘s Penguin from The Batman got his own show. Crowe also shared that he did the role as a homage to Marlon Brando, who played the role in Richard Donner’s Superman.

Russell Crowe Played Jor-El To Pay Tribute To Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando as Jor-El in Superman | Credits: Warner Bros.

Marlon Brando could’ve been the real reason behind Russell Crowe taking on Jor-El in Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel. Crowe shared with Howard Stern on his show that Brando admired him as a young actor. He had received a call from Joanna, the ex-wife of former Tonight Show host Johnny Carson. She was Brando’s closest friend and had a gift for him from Brando.

She told him that Brando loved to watch his film, The Insider, repeatedly and loved his performance. Brando picked a book out of his bookshelf and gave it to Joanna to present to him after his death. Crowe opened his book to find an inscription from Jack Nicholson, who had originally gifted the book to Brando. Crowe shared on The Howard Stern Show:

One of his recent favorite movies to watch was The Insider and I think [Joanna] estimated he watched it six or seven times. They were having a conversation one day and he picked up a book from the bookshelf in his office and he said, ‘When I die, take this book to Russell Crowe.’ It was inscribed to Marlon as a birthday present from Jack Nicholson in the early ’70s.

Brando never met with him and Crowe got an explanation from Joanna that the veteran actor feared that he would be a disappointment to Crowe. When Stern talked about how they both played Jor-El, Crowe shared, “I did that on purpose.”

Man of Steel is now available for streaming on Max.

Written by Hashim Asraff

Articles Published: 1654

Hashim, Entertainment Writer. With over 1500 published articles on FandomWire, he covers a wide range of topics from celebrity life to comic book movies. He holds a Masters degree in Sociology and his expertise proves invaluable in handling sensitive news. His passion for crime investigation thrillers has turned him into a detective, exploring the darkest corners of the internet during his research.