Mere days after a report emerged that Warner Bros. has begun its search for a new Superman, the online rumor mill has churned out the first new, and perhaps lead, contender for the role: British actor Matthew Goode, who played Ozymandias in Zack Snyder's Watchmen.

Citing unnamed "sources," Movienewz reports that Snyder has his eye on the 32-year-old Goode who, at 6-foot-2, meets age and height requirements for the part (the website suggests height may be the most important qualification, which seems like nonsense). However, the Essex-born has more than just the right look going for him: He has acting chops, having appeared Brideshead Revisited, A Single Man and Cemetery Junction.

Cinematical briefly wonders, though, whether "an English actor [could] play a beloved American icon" like Superman, apparently forgetting that Batman franchise star Christian Bale is Welsh, and newly cast Spider-Man Andrew Garfield is American-British.

Last week's report indicated that Warner Bros. is willing to cast an unknown, a label that applies to Goode in the United States. So all in all, this report doesn't seem far-fetched. We can add his name to a growing list of rumored contenders that so far has included Armie Hammer, Joe Manganiello, Ian Somerhalder and Jon Hamm.

The Superman reboot, thought to be called Man of Steel, is written by David S. Goyer from a story by Goyer and producer Christopher Nolan. Filming is expected to begin in June for a holiday 2012 release.