First Batman, Now Supes! Why Are the All-American Heroes Now British?

Spider-Man, Professor X, Superman and other American heroes are now being played by British actors. What does it mean?

Superman is going to be played by Henry Cavill!? Why are so many of our American superhero parts, like Wolverine and Spider-Man, being taken over by British actors?
—LittleWave, via the inbox

Right, right. Don't forget Batman, aka Christian Bale—who also has joined the grand limey conspiracy going on in your brain—as well as Scot James McAvoy, who has stolen our rightful X-Men franchise right out from our poor, proud Uncle Sam.

They're all meeting in an underground pub right now, finalizing a plan to scrap popcorn machines in our movie theaters and force feed us fish and chips instead. Or, maybe, here's really what's going on...

Maybe...they're simply the best people for the part.

"Does it have to be that someone has to be American to play an American hero?" casting director Bonnie Gillespie of Cricket Feet notes. "They're actors. Guess what: They're also not real superheroes."

In fact, the best people to play American superheroes just might be someone from outside the United States. Why? It's often easier to find a face that's new and fresh to Americans if they're not from here.

"The key things in situations like these, is that the lead actor be talented, and that his brand is not so well know that he is going to overshadow the franchise."

Sure, there are plenty of American actors who could fit that bill. (The last Superman was American actor Brandon Routh. Bang-up job he did.)

In fact, it was reported that several American actors were being considered for the role, including Joe Manganiello from True Blood, and John Hamm. But many Americans already associate those two actors with, respectively, shirtless werewolves and 1960s skirt-chasing. Hamm's and Manganiello's previous work would easily overshadow the Superman franchise.

But Cavill, whose biggest break so far has been playing second fiddle to Jonathan Rhys Meyers over on Showtime's The Tudors, clearly is no threat to the Man of Steel.

Nor should he be particularly scary to people like you, accent or no accent.