Laurence Fishburne joins Superman: Man of Steel

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Laurence Fishburne will play Perry White in 'Superman: Man of Steel'.

The 'CSI' actor has joined an all-star line-up including Henry Cavill, Amy Adams and Kevin Costner in the movie, and will play the boss of Superman's alter-ego Clarke Kent .

He is the first African American star to take on the role, which follows in the footsteps of Jackie Cooper -who played the part in the Christopher Reeve-led movies - and Frank Langella, who portrayed Perry in Bryan Singer's poorly-received 'Superman Returns' in 2006.

Zack Snyder is directing the project, which is due to begin shooting in the autumn. Christopher Nolan will produce 'Superman: Man of Steel', and the film has a tentative release date of June 14, 2013.

Laurence, 50, had played parts in a number of big movies in recent years - in 1999 he played the role of Morpheus in 'The Matrix', and he will soon be seen in highly-anticipated thriller 'Contagion' alongside Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Marion Cotillard.