As 'Man of Steel' was casting, the film hit all the classic Superman notes - Lois Lane, Perry White, Jor-El, Ma and Pa Kent - with one exception: Jimmy Olsen. "Superman's pal" and fellow photojournalist at the Daily Planet was notoriously missing from any and all cast reports. And now we think we know why...

Digital Spy noticed this weekend that actress Rebecca Buller is listed as playing Jenny Olsen on the 'Man of Steel' IMDB page leading to speculation that Jimmy Olsen has been reimagined as a girl. This is further evidenced by this screencap from the 'Man of Steel' trailer showing Perry White and Buller (looking very much like a junior reporter) running from the Daily Planet:

Man of Steel trailer screencap
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Olsen has been by Superman's side since 1938 when he made a cameo appearance in Action Comics and later in 1941 when he was formally introduced. He was played last by Sam Huntington in 'Superman Returns' and previously by Marc McClure in the four Christopher Reeve 'Superman' films (and even the 'Supergirl' spinoff).

While it's not necessarily a new thing to re-invent a character for a franchise reboot (Laurence Fishburne is the first black actor to star as Clark Kent's editor, Perry White), it's surprising that up until this point, Warner Bros. has tried to keep this decision quiet.

What do you think? Does it matter that Jimmy Olsen is now Jenny Olsen?

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