Washington DC, July 14 -- Filmmaker James Gunn has all the praise for Bradley Cooper, and that is why he decided to cast him in 'Superman', reported Variety.

Cooper plays Jor-El, Superman's father, in the opening sequence of the movie. Marlon Brando, the iconic actor, originally played the part in the 1978 film 'Superman'. Gunn stated that he cast Cooper with Brando's performance in mind, knowing that he could maintain the iconic image of Jor-El.

"I needed somebody who could play Jor-El, who had the stature of what we imagine that character to be," said Gunn, adding, "Somebody that could walk in the footsteps of Marlon Brando," reported Variety.

Gunn earlier worked with Cooper on the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' trilogy, in which Bradley ...