Warner Bros. has announced that the Oscar-nominated actress Diane Lane (A Walk on the Moon, Unfaithful, Secretariat) will play Martha Kent, Clark Kent's adoptive mother in the new Superman film directed by Zack Snyder. Deadline reports that Lane will star opposite Henry Cavill, the 27-year-old English actor, who will play Superman/Clark Kent (see “Henry Cavill Is Superman”).

Rumors continue swirl around other casting decisions for the film, which is slated to debut in December of 2012. Diane Lane’s co-star in A Walk on the Moon, Viggo Mortensen has been mentioned in several reports as being at the top of the list to play the villain General Zod, who was portrayed memorably in the 1980s by Terrance Stamp in Superman II. And a number of actresses are supposedly vying for the role of Lois Lane (see “The Search for Lois Lane”). 

Snyder needs to get his Superman film underway by this summer, which means there will be more Superman casting announcements in the near future.