Actually, Zimmer created the scores for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight in collaboration with James Newton Howard, but takes over as solo composer on this summer's trilogy-capping conclusion The Dark Knight Rises.

In late 2010, when Man of Steel was still preliminarily coming together, a rumor flushed down the tubes of the internet claiming that Zimmer had committed to scoring the film.  At the time, Zimmer emphatically denied any involvement, pointing out that he had never even met director Zack Snyder.  But now, according to Variety, the composer has signed on to provide musical accompaniment to the new cinematic adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's creation.  It's not as though he was lying when he said he wasn't involved, but it is interesting to note because, at the time, he said that attempting to live up to John Williams' perfect Superman theme would be a "thankless task."

That theme, from director Richard Donner's 1978 Superman, earned Williams an Oscar nomination.  An iconic, rousing theme, the score remains both popular and inextricably connected to the character.  For the reverent 2006 revival Superman Returns, director Bryan Singer and composer John Ottman actually dusted off Williams' score.

Since the focus of Man of Steel is distilling the character in a way similar to Batman Begins, though, don't expect Zimmer's version of the theme to hew too closely to the familiar tune we all know and love.  Zimmer's something of a go-to guy for huge tentpole movies, with seven Oscar nominations and one win for 1994's The Lion King.  His extensive list of credits includes Gladiator, True Romance, Rain Man, Black Hawk Down, the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, Sherlock Holmes, The Rock, and Nolan's Inception, amongst many others.

This will be the first film from Zack Snyder not to feature music by Tyler Bates, who scored the director's Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen, and Suck Punch. 

Man of Steel is scheduled for release on June 14, 2013.  Henry Cavill is the latest actor to don Clark Kent's glasses, with Amy Adams as the new Lois Lane.  Michael Shannon and Antje Traue play Kryptonian villains, while the supporting cast is filled out by the likes of Laurence Fishburne, Russell Crowe, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Harry Lennix, Ayelet Zurer, and Christopher Meloni.