Last week, the Hollywood Reporter, /Film, and Latino Review seemed absolutely certain that General Zod would be the villain in the new Superman movie.

A couple of days ago, new Superman director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) was asked about Zod by Italian site Bad Taste, and said, “For now, it’s just a rumor.”

And so erupted the Internet with a gazillion headlines declaring that Zod’s inclusion had been “debunked,” when that’s not what Snyder said at all. He simply said, well, what he said — that right now, it’s a rumor. Nothing has been confirmed about the film’s plot, and he’s not just going to start blabbing confidential details to an Italian website.

This doesn’t mean Zod won’t be in the film. It doesn’t mean he will be, either, but it’s not the be-all, end-all debunking that so many sites are reporting it to be.

The strangest article about this situation was written by Harry over at Ain’t It Cool, who claims that Brandon Routh told him that Thomas Tull from Legendary Pictures sent him a personal trainer to get him back in Superman shape again. This seems highly unlikely; Routh is a wonderful guy, and the problems with Superman Returns were not his, and it breaks my heart that his dedication to the character was wasted on such an awful movie, but I just don’t think we’ll ever see him as Superman again — not even in this brand new continuity.

(Snyder himself has said that this movie has nothing to do with any previous Superman films, and that it “isn’t likely” that Routh would return as Superman. Either way, Routh should be proud of how well he honored the character both on screen and off.)

I agree with Jamie Williams from Think McFly Think, who reminds us that Snyder’s words most certainly don’t constitute a denial.

(I like that site a lot; Williams was the first to report back in July that Jon Hamm was being considered for Superman.)

Stayed tuned for more Superman movie news!