Man of Steel: Zack Snyder Almost Cast Zoe Saldana as Lois Lane

It’s hard to deny that the work of Zack Snyder laid the groundwork for the DC Extended Universe, with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice establishing core elements of the fictional world. As Snyder recently revealed, one key casting decision for the franchise almost went in a completely different direction.

In a recent interview with ComicBookDebate, Snyder spoke about the role of strong female characters in his DCEU outputs, beginning with Lois Lane (Amy Adams) debuting in Man of Steel. While Snyder reportedly always knew he wanted Adams in the role, another candidate who came close was none other than Zoe Saldana.

“Amy actually inspired that opening scene in Batman v Superman.” Snyder revealed. “She mentioned journalists who have been in war zones and we went along with it. At a time, it was between her and Zoe Saldana… They’re totally different, but their presence is super strong.”

For comic book movie fans, this will surely be a surprise, as Saldana is now best known for portraying Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Seeing as the first Guardians of the Galaxy came out about a year after Man of Steel, it’s safe to assume that Saldana would not have played Gamora if she was cast as Lois Lane, which would’ve created an interesting ripple effect into the MCU as a whole (especially considering how highly-praised Saldana’s performance has been in the recent Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame).

While we might not ever get to see Saldana’s version of Lois Lane, it’s easy to see why she would have been up for the part, considering the rather badass version that Snyder featured in Man of Steel.”

“[Lois] doesn’t need Superman or Clark, the fact that Clark likes her makes him smarter, cooler, better!” Snyder explained. “The more badass Lois is, the better Clark gets. They are an amazing duo who needs each other, but Clark needs her more. You need Lois for a better story.”

And although the Superman side of the DCEU is currently in a bizarre state of flux, it sounds like Adams isn’t entirely sure one way or another if she will return to the franchise.

“You know what’s funny? I actually don’t know,” Adams said in a late 2018 interview. “I haven’t had any official conversation with anybody. I was just talking with Nicole Kidman about it, and I was like, ‘Oh, I guess I’ve got to be careful what I say!’ But yeah, I haven’t had any word officially.”

Upcoming DC movies include Joker on October 10th, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Batman on June 25, 2021, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.