Just a week ago, it was revealed that producer Christopher Nolan and director Zack Snyder had picked Russell Crowe to play Jor-El, also known as Superman’s biological pop, in Man of Steel. Now comes word that they’re close to locking in the superhero’s real mother, too, with Julia Ormond in talks to play Lara Lor-Van in the new movie.

You might recall that Jor-El and Lara launch young Kal-El (the boy who will fly to Earth and grow up to become Clark Kent/Superman (Henry Cavill) under the parenting of Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha (Diane Lane) Kent. Given how much secrecy there is about the plot written by David Goyer, it’s not known whether one or both of Superman’s real parents will stay in contact with him as Marlon Brando’s Jor-El does via data crystals in Richard Donner’s 1978 take on the story.

If she signs, Ormond will join a cast that already includes Costner, Lane, Cavill, Michael Shannon as villain Lex Luthor, Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Antje Traue as the evil Faora.

Ormond, who was last seen in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, will next crop up in My Week with Marilyn, playing Vivian Leigh.

Man of Steel is set to begin shooting in August ready for a December, 2012 release date.