My first thought here is noooooo! Why would you cast a British Actor as Superman? I know nothing of Henry Cavill, only seen a couple of episodes of Tudors and would need to re-watch Stardust to refresh my memory. For all I know he is a great actor, but Superman is as American as it gets and casting a British actor (who I am sure can portray an American perfectly) just seems wrong.
I am guessing Bryan Singer may have felt similarly, Cavill was set to portray Superman/Clark Kent in Superman Returns before Singer took over.
According to Deadline Warner Bros is trying to make “Superman as contemporary as possible”, but part of Superman’s charm is the fact that he is not contemporary at all. He still has the morals and values from the days of his creation. When you think Superman you think of Kansas, Ma Kent, and Apple Pie…not gizmos, and gadgets. I love Superman (always have, always will), but even I have to admit he isn’t always that entertaining, he is the quintessential Good Boy, the strongest being on our planet, and let’s face it his villains are poorly lacking…and that is why (despite the fact that he is my favorite Super Hero) no Superman Franchise will ever be as successful as Batman.
On the plus side; Zack Snyder is an amazing director, Christopher Nolan is “mentoring the film”, and after studying Cavill’s photo I will say he has the curl, the blues eyes, and a cleft in his chin (I have to try to focus on the positive).