Warner Bros. has announced Watchmen director Zack Snyder as their choice to helm the next Superman movie, which is being produced under the supervision of current Batman director Christopher Nolan. The Hollywood Reporter suggests the position was so coveted that “even Robert Zemeckis considered returning to live-action filmmaking in order to nab the gig”. Referring to the previous films, General Zod is said to be a villainous connection to Richard Donner’s originals; the new movie is likely to move into production in 2011.

In related directorial news, THR also confirms that Pixar’s Presto director Doug Sweetland has jumped to Sony Animation to take charge of The Familiars, based on the just-published children’s book.