Man of Steel, one of the most highly anticipated movies of the summer, is finally here. In Man of Steel, a young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

Cast and crew members of Man of Steel gathered for a press conference at Warner Bros. Studio's Stage 23 to discuss the film. Entertainment Affair was lucky enough to be there. Director Zack Snyder, Henry Cavill (Superman), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Michael Shannon (General Zod), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Russell Crowe (Jor-El) and Hans Zimmer (Composer) were all in attendance. Check out highlights from the Q&A below.

Though known for his ability to bring high energy action to his films, and create fantastical worlds on screen, director Zack Snyder was initially hesitant to take on the responsibility of bringing one of the first comic book Super Heroes back to the silver screen. “I was worried about Superman honestly as a project because it was a thing that I was interested in but then on the other hand I was scared of because Superman is Superman and he...It seemed at the time like a lot of work to make work.” Then he read the screenplay David S. Goyer had written, based on a story Goyer devised with one of the film’s producers, Christopher Nolan. “I will say after I read David's script and after talking to Chris there was no fear in the script and the idea. The idea was very straight forward and very confident and I think that's what gave me this feeling of confidence.”

Given the character’s iconic status, British actor Henry Cavill, who soars through the skies in Snyder’s action adventure, was both excited and humbled to play the titular character in Man of Steel. “Playing an icon, you don't try to be an icon because that defeats the purpose. The responsibility attached is enormous and the realization that it actually really, really, matters meant that I wanted to put the most amount of work into representing the character properly,” Cavill said. Actors George Reeves, Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain, Brandon Routh and Tom Welling have embodied the role over the years. Cavill is very adamant in saying he “did not take anything from the other characters that played it before.” He began conducting his research into the part at the source. “As an actor, the way I do it and the way I viewed is that all the actors that have come before, it's their interpretation of the source material, source material being the comic books. And I wanted to have my interpretation not out of a sense of ego but in a sense that it might be a disjointed performance if I have someone else's personality and their influence affect the interpretation of the character. So I went straight to the comic books and saw the older movies but I did not apply those performances to mine.”  

Amy Adams embodies one of the most famous female characters in comics, who has no superpowers of her own - newspaper reporter Lois Lane. It's a great Lois Lane and it was a Lois Lane we have never seen before. Amy talked about how this Lois is different from previous ones. “When I talked to Zack about this incarnation of Lois, what I loved was that she was still this intrepid reporter, that she was somebody that was going to be a part of the solution not just part of the problem.”

Michael Shannon plays Superman's nemesis, General Zod. If you're a fan of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," you already know Shannon well as government agent Nelson Van Alden. The talented (and Oscar-nominated) Chicago native has the ability to play evil like no other. When asked where he goes to channel that evilness he joked, “Satan, yeah that's where I go for my evil. I get my bucket and I go down to the well and I say Satan are you down there? I've got to be evil today and I lower the bucket down into the well and the lava comes back up and I drink it and it hurts but then I take some Alka Selzter and some Pepto Bismol. No, I don't know, I really don't know. I don't even necessarily think of it as evil.”

Though absent through all of Clark’s young life, it eventually falls to his biological father, Jor-El, to ingrain in his son how crucial his existence is. Russell Crowe plays Jor-El, a character famously portrayed by Marlon Brando in Superman. The actor confessed to not having seen any other Superman movie. “I've never seen any of the other Superman movies. Haven't seen one with that fellow in it or the new young fellow, I didn't see that either. The only Superman reference I have is the black and white Superman TV show that was on TV after school when I was a kid,” he said.

Diane Lane also stars, as Clark’s mother, Martha Kent, who serves as a steady, calming presence throughout her son’s life. In playing the role, Lane called upon her own parenting skills. “Once you fall in love with a being that needs you, you imprint and you want it to represent your belief system. How does that manifest and what is sacred to you? That winds up being conveyed, eventually, when you’re not even there to see it. That’s the hope of parenthood.”

Composing the music for an epic Super Hero action adventure movie can be a daunting task, but Hans Zimmer is more than well versed in the genre, having most recently scored Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy. Man of Steel marks his first time collaborating with director Zack Snyder. “I was a reluctant bride, because not like Russell [Crowe], I had actually seen the other Superman movies and I just think the John Williams music is incredible. Then Zack and I started talking and his vision is completely and entirely the only reason why the score exists because he took me by the hand and told me this is what I want to do. Then I said yeah I can feel that.” After hearing the score in its entirety we can attest that it is indeed a terrific work by Zimmer and easily one of the best elements of this fantastic film.

Warner Bros. is rumored to already be planning a sequel. Henry Cavill would reprise his role as Superman, with Zack Snyder returning to direct and David S. Goyer penning the script.

Man of Steel flies into theaters June 14.