The search for James Gunn’s Superman is up, up and away.
casting for superman: legacy, the feature set to kick off the critically acclaimed first chapter from DC Studios’ Gunn and Peter Safran reaches a pivotal stage, with a short list of names bubbling up for the roles of Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and even Lex Luthor.
David Corenswet, who recently played the ill-fated projectionist opposite Mia Goth Pearlis one of the top contenders to play Kent, aka Superman, and move on to the screen test phase likely to take place after Memorial Day or early June, multiple sources say The Hollywood Reporter. Two other contenders may also be in the mix, but their identities remain unknown.
Jacob Elordi, the in-demand star who broke out as the house villain in the HBO series Euphoria, is a name that popped up for Kent’s role, but sources say he never submitted to the ring. British actors Tom Brittney and Andrew Richardson are also names that were in the early mix.
As for Lane, the feisty reporter at Metropolis’ Daily planet news organization, contenders were Emma Mackey, one of the stars of the Netflix series Sex education and who will appear in the title of Warner Bros Barbie; Rachel Brosnahan, Amazon’s Emmy-winning star The wonderful Mrs. Maisel; Bridgerton actress Phoebe Dynevor; and Samara Weaving, last seen in Scream VI. It is unclear who will move on to the testing phase. Brosnahan is said to have delivered an “excellent” audition, but at age 32 may be in the older range for what Gunn eventually hopes to achieve, a can of Metropolis heroics via 20-something characters.
Sources warn that some of these are not screen tests and have merely been in the mix. A source, without giving additional details, dismissed some of the names as “a chat room list.” Warners had no comment and an insider said the filmmakers and studio are “a long way from a decision”.
A role that seems to have been earmarked by only one person is the classic villain Luthor. Nicholas Hoult, currently starring in the vampire thriller Renfield, has been tipped to play the bald evil genius. Hoult’s name is doing the rounds legacy since a few weeks he was ready for Superman with some theory. The actor previously had a close call with the DC movie empire when he was the runner-up to play Batman for Matt Reeves, with the role going to Robert Pattinson. “The studio has loved him ever since Fury gonesaid a source, referring to George Miller’s 2015 Warners action classic.
And while the roles being chased by many of the city’s newcomers include the trio of classic characters, sources say the film will be populated by many faces as it will attempt to introduce DC heroes already established in the setting of the movie.
Superman: Legacy will be the first film under the Gunn-Safran regime in DC, making the casting of particular importance. The superhero occupies a place of particular importance to Gunn. “I feel completely connected to Superman because he is everything I am,” Gunn said THR in an April cover story. “He’s someone who’s an outsider who feels like an alien, but also the ultimate insider because he’s fucking Superman. And that’s kind of how I feel.”
As for the macroeconomics of Superman, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav talks big about the new superhero strategy. “DC is our biggest opportunity to create value,” Zaslav said in February during a fourth-quarter earnings report. In 2022 and early 2023, WBD cleared DC decks and racks bat girl claim and release a tax write-off indefinitely Black Adam And Shazam! Anger of the Gods to mixed results at the box office. Has yet to come Blue Beetlewhich was once set for HBO Max, but was moved to a theatrical release in August, and the long-delayed Flash film that has already been screened in its entirety for exhibitors at CinemaCon with positive results. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomdue out in December is the last DC movie made by the previous regime.
