Zack Snyder has his Superman/Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), he's got Ma and Pa Kent in the fold (Diane Lane and Kevin Costner respectively), but who will the villain of this new "Man of Steel" tale be? 

Rumors initially suggested Edgar Ramirez hot off of "Carlos" was a prime contender, but now Deadline dishes that Michael Shannon could also be in the running. That's a lot of nebulous speculation for the usually reliable trade site, but Shannon's on many director's minds coming off his work in "Boardwalk Empire" and an Oscar worthy performance in Sundance favorite "Take Shelter." Word was the villain would be none other than General Zod (played by Terrence Stamp, pictured, in "Superman" and "Superman II"), but Ramirez would seem to be playing the little known Jackal and Shannon seems much more like Zod's sidekick Non. Everyone connected with "Superman: Man of Steel" are keeping things quiet for now. Snyder is expected, however, to begin filming "Man of Steel" the first week of August.