Russell Crowe is Jor-El in Zack Snyder’s Superman: Man of Steel?

When a guy is considered a god among men and brave enough to step outside wearing blue and red tights, you just know he has a serious and macho dude as his father, and Variety reports that Russell Crowe, the current Hollywood definition of macho, has snagged the role of Superman’s father in Zack Snyder’s Superman: Man of Steel.

I thought it was a smooth move when Richard Donner grabbed Marlon Brando for the role of Jor-El in 1978’s Superman, but Crowe might even eclipse that casting move. Of course, the star of Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind isn’t the only big name that can be found in our hero’s family tree, as Kevin Costner and Diane Lane previously landed the roles of Jonathan and Martha Kent. It’s enough to make relative newcomer Henry Cavill (Superman/Clark Kent) feel like he wandered onto the wrong set.

Snyder’s reboot, which also stars Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Michael Shannon as General Zod, is supposedly still looking for one more high-profile name to round out the family as Kal-El’s mom, but there haven’t been any names mentioned at this time.

Superman:Man of Steel will be flying into theaters in December of 2012.