Superman: Man of Steel won't refer to previous films

Zack Snyder's 'Superman: Man of Steel' will not make reference to any of the franchise's previous films.

The director - who recently announced British actor Henry Cavill would be taking on the role of the superhero from the planet Krypton - has confirmed the movie will be respectful to the previous film, including 2006 outing 'Superman Returns', but will have its own story arc.

He said: "Literally, the one thing that everyone can start to think about is that we're making a movie that finally goes with the approach that there's been no other Superman movies.

"If you look at 'Batman Begins', there's that structure, there's the canon that we know about and respect but on other hand there's this approach that pre-supposes that there haven't been any other movies.

"In every aspect of design and of story, the whole thing is very much from that perspective of respect the canon but don't be a slave to the movies."

The filmmaker also confirms he is "not afraid" to try new things, unlike the critically slammed 'Superman Returns' starring Brandon Routh as the titular hero.

He told The Hollywood Reporter: "We're not afraid of that at all. Our Superman, he's got things to figure out but he's a physical cat."