Although DC’s Man of Steel did rather well at the box office, was it really as good as the original Superman movie? I asked original villainess Sarah Douglas what she thought…
Since its release back in 2013, there’s been plenty of discussion about whether or not Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel lived up to the legend of Superman. After all, it followed on from Superman Returns in an attempt to reclaim Superman for a more modern audience. But what did the original cast think of the movie?
I caught up with Sarah Douglas – the wonderful villainess Ursa from Superman: The Movie. But it turns out she wasn’t too fussed… and neither was Miss Teschmacher.
“I saw it,” she explained. “I saw it in San Antonio, Texas with Valerie Perrine who played Miss Teschmacher. She won’t mind me saying that she slept through it – she snored through it and didn’t enjoy it. I enjoyed it but it was just too long for me – I thought it was twenty minutes too long, plus I don’t play video games and I felt like I was in a video game. For that reason, I wasn’t overly inspired… but I preferred it to Superman Returns.”
Quite a damning review from two fan favourites… but at least it’s not as bad as Superman Returns. To be fair, Sarah added that she did rather like Brandon Ruth. But for her, it’s all about Henry Cavill.
“I couldn’t fault Henry in this,” she said. “He was absolutely brilliant… he sizzles. Christopher Reeve was Superman whereas Henry was such a hot and sexy Superman, there were other thoughts in my mind other than truth, justice and the American way.”
Of course, many fans have drawn comparisons between Sarah’s iconic villainess Ursa and the more militaristic henchwoman Feora, played by Antje Traue in Man of Steel.
But was there really any more than a passing resemblance?
“I don’t think so,” she said rather dismissively. “I thought the young lady did a very good job but I really don’t think you could compare the two characters. I know that they all want to – yes she was wearing black and she was wearing short hair and they did capitalise on that a bit. But my take is that our villains, considering that we were wearing just organza (I know people say ‘leather-clad dominatrix’ – that’s what Variety said years ago) but it’s not. We’re not armed, we have just superpowers…”
Although the connotations of just having superpowers made me chuckle, I can see what she means. Feora is a much more militaristic villain. She’s armed to the teeth and ready to provide the precise, rapid response of a Kryptonian soldier.
But despite some criticism of the way Man of Steel approaches the Superman story, would Sarah Douglas ever consider a cameo appearance?
“Of course,” she said. “I really, really, really wanted to do something in Smallville and I couldn’t get them to even begin to take notice of me. We tried everything – from the very first episode, we knocked on their door in L.A and sent casting things and show reels and said I would do anything.”
“I’m much more excited about being a blob on Doctor Who though, than I would be on being in Superman” she added. “I just want to be a blob, I want to be something blobby in Doctor Who for an episode.”
What did you think of Man of Steel? Do you agree with Sarah Douglas? Let us know what you think in the comments below…
