Claim: Man of Steel began principal photography in West Chicago.

Man of Steel is a 2013 superhero film featuring the DC Comics character Superman . It is a British-American venture produced by Legendary Pictures , DC Entertainment , Syncopy Inc. , and Cruel and Unusual Films , and distributed by Warner Bros. . Pictures . It is the first installment in the DC Extended Universe . The film is directed by Zack Snyder , written by David S. Goyer , and stars Henry Cavill , Amy Adams , Michael Shannon , Kevin Costner , Diane Lane , Laurence Fishburne , Antje Traue , Ayelet Zurer , Christopher Meloni , and Russell Crowe . Man of Steel is a reboot of the Superman film series that retells the character 's origin story . In the film , Clark Kent learns that he is a superpowered alien from the planet Krypton and assumes the role of mankind 's protector as Superman , but finds himself having to prevent General Zod from destroying humanity .   Development began in 2008 , when Warner Bros. took pitches from comic book writers , screenwriters and directors , opting to reboot the franchise . In 2009 , a court ruling resulted in Jerry Siegel 's family recapturing the rights to Superman 's origins and Siegel 's copyright . The decision stated that Warner Bros. did not owe the families additional royalties from previous films , but if they did not begin production on a Superman film by 2011 , then the Shuster and Siegel estates would be able to sue for lost revenue on an unproduced film . Producer Christopher Nolan pitched Goyer 's idea after story discussion on The Dark Knight Rises , and Snyder was hired as the film 's director in October 2010 . Principal photography began in August 2011 in West Chicago , Illinois , before moving to Vancouver and Plano , Illinois .   Man of Steel was released in theaters on June 14 , 2013 , in conventional 2D , 3D , and IMAX formats . Despite receiving mixed reviews , the film became a box office success , grossing over $ 668 million worldwide . Critics praised the film 's visuals , action sequences , and Hans Zimmer 's musical score but criticized its pacing and lack of character development . A follow-up , Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice was released on March 25 , 2016 while a standalone Superman sequel is in active development .