James Gunn Finds His Superman & Lois Lane
James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy has its leads. Do you think these actors are the right fit for Clark and Lois?
Superman: Legacy will mark the new DCU and is the only one with a release date – July 11, 2025. James Gunn is writing the project, which won’t be an origin story but will feature a young Clark. The story focuses on his life as a young reporter in Metropolis, where he meets Lois Lane and other key characters. Somewhere in between Smallville and the grown Clark, we’ve seen in recent movies. Expect a Superman that’s more like Christopher Reeve’s version. A Superman that’s about hope.
“It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned.”
Superman: Legacy Finds Its Leads
The search for two of the movie’s main actors is over. James Gunn filmed screen tests over the June 17th weekend and spent the following week making two big decisions.
First: Rachel Brosnahan, the Emmy-winning star of Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, is Lois Lane. When her name was added to the shortlist, I was really hoping she’d get it. She a fantastic pick for this role, and I can’t wait to see what she does with it.
David Corenswet is Clark Kent/Superman. I’m less familiar with him, but he really looks the part – he’s being described as “baby Cavill” by some. The actor was on the top of the shortlist going around in May. The 29-year-old actor was last seen in Ti West’s Pearl with Mia Goth. He’s got a lot of TV under his belt, including the award-winning We Own This City and The Politician.
Both roles bring their own special kind of pressure, Superman especially. Corenswet is the fourth to play Superman after George Reeves’ historic appearance in the first full-length superhero feature film. He follows fan-favorite Henry Cavill, who was unceremoniously ousted from the role.
On top of that, he’s anchoring the first movie from Gunn’s new DC Studios. The last three movies out of DC–Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and The Flash–have all underperformed. There’s a lot riding on Superman: Legacy. Can Gunn revamp DC with this movie?
Not mentioned: Nicholas Hoult. Both Brosnahan and Corenswet were at the top of the shortlist, which leads me to believe that the rumor that Hoult playing Lex Luthor is accurate. We’ll see how it pans out as the studio puts out more names–hopefully this week.
