After taking on the MCU multiverse, Chris Pratt isn’t ruling out a jaunt to the DCU.
Following his recent visit with director James Gunn on the set of Superman: Legacy, the actor said “there’s always a chance” he could make the franchise leap, but he played coy when it came to naming a character he’d like to play.
“I just have to leave that to the fans and people like James to decide,” Pratt told TMZ. “I’m not exactly sure. I’m truly not sure.
When asked flat-out if he’d join the competing franchise, Pratt didn’t hesitate in declaring, “Yes, of course”
“If it could fit into my schedule and it made sense, I would love it,” he continued. “Of course I love playing Star-Lord, and hopefully there’s a chance that can come back. I just feel so blessed to be able to do any of it, to be considered for any of it. If it’s right and the fans would love it, I’d be more than happy to do it.”
His comments come after Gunn shared a photo of Pratt on the set of Superman: Legacy earlier this month. “Always nice to have friends visiting set,” he captioned the post.
Pratt previously made his MCU debut as Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord) in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which was directed by Gunn. They reunited for the sequels in 2017 and 2023, as well as Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Chris Pratt, Kurt Russell and Zoe Saldana in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017). (Marvel Studios)
Disney
After confirming he’s open to casting MCU actors in his upcoming DCU work, Gunn told Empire that a crossover between the two comic book worlds is “more likely now that I’m in charge,” adding: “That’s many years away, though. I think we have to establish what we’re doing [at DC] first. I would be lying to say that we haven’t discussed it. But all discussions have been very, very light and fun.”
Gunn has since been in talks with Pratt’s Guardians co-star Pom Klementieff to play a “specific character” in the DCU, she recently confirmed.
The actor stopped by the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast to chat about his acting career, including the highly-anticipated movie, which began production last week, per the director.
Hoult looked back at his time auditioning for the classic villain, saying Gunn has an “ability to keep things fun and alive and try things in the moment and be like, just shouting out from the monitors, ‘Say this line. Do this! Do that!’ And that’s something that I really enjoy. … That’s the whole process of prep for me is like, be prepared as possible so when you get there you can throw it all away and do whatever you want in the moment.”
As for the weeks leading up to filming, the Renfield actor also told the host that he began working out to play Lex.
“There’s that bit in All-Star Superman [comic book series] where he talks about his muscles being real and hard work and all that,” Hoult said. “I kind of took that as a little bit of fuel for the fire.” But he also noted that he doesn’t think the villain will have any shirtless scenes in the film.
Earlier in the podcast, Hoult revealed to Rosenbaum, who played a younger version of Lex on Smallville, that his iteration of the villain was the first time he saw Lex on screen.
“The first ever Lex I saw was you. Yeah, I grew up, Smallville was on,” the Warm Bodies actor said. “That was the show I would watch and see my first iterations of Superman and Lex and all those stories. I’ve since seen Richard Donner’s movies and all the other ones and kind of seen some of the other performances but you’re like the one. … It’s the best.”
At the end of February, Gunn shared a photo of the cast all together for the first time, noting that the image was taken after the first table read. Hoult appeared to be sporting a shaved head, gearing up to play Lex.
Gunn’s Superman, also starring David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, is set to be released on July 11, 2025.
Isabela Merced was already one of the industry’s most sought-after young actors, and then she went on an unparalleled casting streak that includes the likes of Madame Web, Alien: Romulus, Superman: Legacy and The Last of Us season two. She also has her second John Green adaptation, Turtles All the Way Down, releasing this spring, and it happens to be the performance she’s most proud of to date.
On Feb. 14, Merced returns to the big screen in SJ Clarkson’s Madame Web, as her character, Anya Corazon, is one of three future Spider-Women that Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson) must protect from baddie Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) and his premonition that they’re all responsible for his eventual death. Anya’s Spider-Woman alter ego is named Araña, and due to Cassie’s clairvoyant visions, Merced, along with Johnson, Sydney Sweeney and Celeste O’Connor, had to perform multiple different versions of scenes in order to account for the potential future and reality of each sequence.
Fortunately, Clarkson approached this tangled web with subtlety and efficiency.
“[Clarkson] was very smart about not making us too conscious or aware that it was another version of the same scene,” Merced tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We could just focus on the work and not mimic the same things we did before.”
Last July, just three days before the SAG-AFTRA strike, Merced joined James Gunn’s forthcoming DCU reboot as Hawkgirl in Superman: Legacy, the first film to kick off the revamped cinematic universe. Needless to say, Merced is ecstatic about the entire enterprise, and her screen test with her fellow co-stars gave her a proper sneak peek of what to expect when the superhero pic begins production in March.
“I was directed by [Gunn] during the [screen] test for [Superman: Legacy], because I auditioned for this. I got to do [the screen test] with my other castmates, and that was really cool. It felt very professional; it was almost like a legitimate shooting day,” Merced says. “So I’ve already learned so much about his process, and this man … has the best of the best working for him.”
The Cleveland native also signed onto The Last of Us season two as Dina. She’s another teenage inhabitant of Maria (Rutina Wesley) and Tommy Miller’s (Gabriel Luna) Jackson, Wyoming community, and she soon becomes close with Ellie (Bella Ramsey). Once Merced heard that series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann were interested in meeting with her, she binge-played The Last of Us Part II in record time to be thoroughly prepared.
“I had already watched the show, and so I went to my friend’s house and I played [The Last of Us Part II] all in one weekend on the PS5. It was amazing. It did 25 hours of gameplay,” Merced shares. “It was wild, but so much fun. So I really liked the second game, but I haven’t played the first game yet.”
Merced is also starring alongside Cailee Spaeny in Fede Álvarez’s upcoming Alien: Romulus, which takes place between Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) and James Cameron’s Aliens (1986). During a recent round of reshoots, Merced and some nearby cast/crew got to watch a significant chunk of the film on Álvarez’s iPad, and one scene in particular prompted everyone but Merced to look away in horror.
“There’s a scene that I’m in, and they all had to turn away. Not one person stayed looking at that iPad because it was so disgusting,” Merced reveals. “And I was watching it like this … (Merced pretends to hold an iPad with a mesmerized look on her face.) I was so excited.”
Merced also starred in 2018’s Sicario: Day of the Soldado, and with Sicario 3 currently gaining steam, she would “absolutely” love to reprise her role as Isabel Reyes, even if it’s just for one scene with Benicio Del Toro. Soldado ends with Isabel thinking Del Toro’s Alejandro Gillick has been shot to death, before eventually being whisked away to Witness Protection by Josh Brolin’s Matt Graver.
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Merced also discusses the first time she bonded with her Madame Web co-stars, as well as the pros and cons of her Araña costume.
So there’s usually a point where co-stars first bond with each other. Fight scenes are a common answer. Was dancing to Britney Spears’ “Toxic” on top of a diner table that moment for the three of you (Merced, Sweeney, O’Connor) on Madame Web?
(Laughs.) The first moment of bonding was two weeks into it. It was my birthday, so I invited everybody [to a party]. I didn’t really expect them all to come. I don’t like to make a big deal on my birthday. I don’t really like my own birthday. I love other people’s birthdays, though. But they all showed up and it was amazing. There was an accordion player who my mom first saw on the street. There was brunch, but they also brought snacks, treats, cookies, everything. So [my co-stars] didn’t have to be there, but they showed up for me and I thought that was really sweet.
Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor), Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), and Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney) in Columbia Pictures’ Madame Web.
Sony Pictures
My second wrong guess would’ve been everyone’s first day in Spider costumes. How’d your Araña costume treat you?
Oh, it was like a glove. Honestly, it fit every curve of my body, perfectly. So it was quite comfortable. But when you put the harness on, you then put layers underneath it to protect your skin from the harness and then [more layers] over the harness to smooth it out. So that’s when it gets really tight. You train all these months for certain actions and moves that you’ve prepared, but once you put on the costume and the harness, it’s suddenly like trying to run underwater. So it’s quite hard to do the same things in the costume and harness.
For what it’s worth, I hear that bird-related superhero costumes are much more comfortable.
(Laughs.) You know what? From my experience with that production, it has been …
The three of you received a CPR lesson from Dakota Johnson’s character in a seedy motel room. If there was an emergency situation, would you trust yourself to deploy it?
Absolutely not! I can hold a beat. I can hold a rhythm. (Merced proceeds to sing the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive,” as CPR classes recommend performing chest compressions to the song’s tempo.) But I can’t guarantee that that person will be staying alive. Yeah, no promises there. (Laughs.) Don’t call on me, please.
You had to shoot the potential future that Cassie (Johnson) glimpses, but then you also had to shoot what actually happens due to her interference. Did things get pretty complicated on the day as you filmed multiple versions of many different scenes?
I will give credit to SJ Clarkson, the director. In the train sequence where we all get murdered for the fourth time or something, there were variations. Once we got up to the part where [Anya] is picked up and thrown, we had to do about three variations before that. So SJ would give very subtle notes and act like it’s still the same scene, but it was really another version of the same scene. Again, she was very subtle about it. So once we finished, I was like, “Oh, did we get it?” And she was like, “Yeah, we got four different versions. I’m going to edit it together later.” So she was very smart about not making us too conscious or aware that it was another version of the same scene. We could just focus on the work and not mimic the same things we did before.
You told me a few years ago that you hoped to avoid more sassy, angsty teenagers if at all possible, but Anya has a very good reason for being that way at first. Her immigration-related backstory is quite heartbreaking, and I couldn’t help but think about it through today’s lens. Did her backstory hit you pretty hard as well?
Yeah, the whole sassy, angsty teen thing, I probably said that I didn’t like it because I was that sort of character in real life at the time. I’m only 22 now, but I understand it more as I get older. I look back at my journal entries from when I was that age and I get it. The world seems so much scarier. You feel so much more vulnerable and self-conscious, and that’s what I love about understanding Anya. Yes, you have the surface-level facts about her life that are quite saddening and you can imagine she feels isolated, but then you peel it back further to the immigrant mentality. She is smart, but that’s because she has to be. She is independent, but that’s because she has to be. It doesn’t mean she wants to be. So I loved getting to know the softer side of her and taking it to something that’s more than just a sassy, angsty teen.
Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson), Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney) and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor) in Columbia Pictures’ Madame Web
Sony Pictures
You’re half-Peruvian, and similar to Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Peru is a key part of this story as well. Your character even says the name of the country when Cassie tells everyone that she has to go there. Did they rewrite that scene just so you could have that meta reference to your own ancestry?
I wish I knew the answer to that question so I could give you a solid answer. I think it’s the law of attraction, honestly. I also wish I had that much control that I could be like, “Oh, it says Peru? I’m going to be in that movie.” So I think it’s just the law of attraction, but I love Peru. Apparently, I’m attracting projects that mention it, but that was an added line: “You have to go to Peru.” That was something they just added in there on the day, but I don’t think SJ was thinking that much about it. When you’re directing something, you’re just so invested in the story that you’re not aware of these things. So it’s just a really cool thing that I hope keeps happening. I even have some projects in mind that are centered in Peru, so I hope that I get to produce them at some point.
You’ve worked with the Wahlberg family a few times, and given that you shot Madame Web in Boston, did Mark offer you a list of dinner recs and all that?
I got a list from him a long time ago, and I actually referred to that list, but some of the restaurants were closed down because of the pandemic. I got the list before the pandemic. But I didn’t reach out to him. I don’t really reach out. I’m a terrible friend. I’m also a terrible daughter, especially when I’m working. I’m great when I’m not working, but when I’m working, I’m bad at keeping in touch with people. I just get so invested in my own head.
Benicio Del Toro and Isabela Merced in Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Richard Foreman, Jr.
So how was your Sicario: Day of the Soldado reunion with Benicio Del Toro not too long ago?
Oh, it was lovely. I love that man. I gave him the biggest hug and he was so sweet to me. He’s always been really sweet to me, and I admire him so much. I was just happy to see that he’s doing well.
We’ve talked before about Soldado and Josh Brolin’s tears …
(Laughs.)
As much as I love that movie, I’ve always wished that Benicio’s character reunited with your character at the very end just to relieve some of the trauma she’d endured. However, it’s still possible as Sicario 3 is gaining momentum. I know you’re busy these days, but is that a phone call you’d like to receive, even if it’s just one reunion scene?
Absolutely. I would be very open to that. We spoke about it, and obviously things change, but I think we spoke about Isabel Reyes going into the Witness Protection Program. [Writer’s Note: Brolin’s character defied his own orders and took Reyes to the U.S. to place her in WITSEC.] So I don’t know how she would be involved in another Sicario storyline unless they went out of their way to make that happen, but of course, I would love to be a part of [Sicario 3]. Soldado is still, to date, one of my favorite movies I’ve ever done, and it was one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had. It was insane.
Well, I referenced it earlier, but belated congratulations on being employed by James Gunn.
Yeah, it’s awesome! (Laughs.)
You once said that you respond the most to roles that bring out a new side of yourself, and James has always been highly skilled at doing that for his actors. So is Hawkgirl going to potentially show a new side of you?
James Gunn is so creative and he has such a unique style, and whatever he touches, he always adds his own flair to it. And for that reason, I’m very excited. I was directed by him during the [screen] test for this, because I auditioned for this. I got to do [the screen test] with my other castmates, and that was really cool. It felt very professional; it was almost like a legitimate shooting day. So I’ve already learned so much about his process, and this man has such a solid team. He has the best of the best working for him, and they’ve worked together for so long that it’s only up to me to mess it up. So I hope that I can understand and take notes and continue training and just be healthy throughout it all. Then I’ll be able to give the fans the performance they deserve.
(L-R) Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced attend ELLE’s 2023 Women in Hollywood Celebration on Dec. 5.
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images
It’s fitting that you also joined The Last of Us, because you and Pedro Pascal are both landing every role there is to land in this town. Have you been preparing for Dina and Hawkgirl at the same time, basically?
Absolutely. I’m also working on a script that I’m trying to write, and I have to promote Turtles All the Way Down, which is coming out in the spring. But I’m so excited to meet Pedro. I met Bella Ramsey and [co-creator] Craig Mazin already. I met basically the whole Last of Us team, except for Pedro. I know Kaitlyn [Dever] from Rosaline, but I saw her in Vancouver recently. So I think this is going to be a really wonderful experience. They won all those Emmys for a reason, and it’s a really well-run, well-oiled machine. Craig is just a genius, and I really admire him for the short time I’ve known him.
Have you been playing the Last of Us Part II game on the TV that Adria Arjona gave you?
(Laughs.) Okay, I have a few things to say about that. Adria is one of the most giving people I’ve ever met. This woman gives her things away like it’s nothing, and it’s such a good quality to have. I would love to have that quality, because she doesn’t give too much importance to things. She values what’s actually valuable. So I needed a TV, because I had just bought a new apartment, and she ended up giving me her TV that she didn’t need. It’s massive. It’s such a nice TV, and it’s in my living room right now.
But TheLast of Us prep has not been done in my house. I was in a relationship where my ex had a console, and I would play video games until 4:00 am every night. So I have a very unhealthy obsession with video games, and I told myself I wouldn’t get a PS5. But when I heard this ominous call about how the [Last of Us] creators wanted to meet with me, I was like, “Okay, I have to play the game first.” I had already watched the show, and so I went to my friend’s house and I played it all in one weekend on the PS5. It was amazing. It did 25 hours of gameplay. It was wild, but so much fun. So I really liked the second game, but I haven’t played the first game yet. Only the second.
Your list of conquests continues with Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus later this summer. Is it basically a two-hander between you and Cailee Spaeny?
It ends up being a little bit complicated, obviously, as all Alien movies do, however, yeah, you’ll see us together at times. When we were doing reshoots, Fede Álvarez gave me the iPad where he watches playback, and he had the movie pulled up. So I told him I wanted to see parts of it, and he showed it to me. I was the one holding the iPad, and there were ten people around me watching it on the iPad. So there’s a scene that I’m in, and they all had to turn away. Not one person stayed looking at that iPad because it was so disgusting. And I was watching it like this … (Merced pretends to hold an iPad with a mesmerized look on her face.) I was so excited. (Laughs.) I love sci-fi, I do. So he let me watch half the movie on the iPad. I said [to Fede], “If the iPad is heavy, I can carry it for you. I can hold it.” (Laughs.) So I’m really, really excited for that one. Again, I’m lucky enough to be a part of these projects with the best of the best. I can’t believe it. I’m so in shock, and I don’t know when I’m going to wake up.
Lastly, you touched on it earlier, but your second John Green adaptation, Turtles All the Way Down, releases this spring. I was shocked to read this, but was that really the first time you were proud of your acting? Or were you just exaggerating?
I actually don’t think I was. To be honest, there’s a lot of components about movies that are out of your control. For example, you do 45 takes of something, and it’s edited together in a certain way where you’re like, “I don’t think these moods match from one line to the other. I don’t think there was a proper escalation.” So it could be things like that, and when I watch my movies for the first time, I do find myself grabbing onto my seat and clenching my jaw. So I do have a hard time watching myself, but Turtles All the Way Down, I don’t know if it’s personal growth or working on my self-worth, but I didn’t clench up at all while watching it. I felt at ease watching it, and maybe that’s because I knew how much work I put into it and how I felt after each shooting day. So I do feel really proud of myself for that.
James Gunn is clearly excited about the highly-anticipated Superman: Legacy and has decided to share some additional insight into the movie.
The co-head of DC Studios, who is also helming the superhero project, recently took to Threads to tease the creative planning into the movie with a storyboard shot.
“Spoiler??!! Well, probably not,” he wrote in the caption. “I’m constantly drawing Superman Legacy shots and storyboards all over everything. Here’s one I just sent to my department heads to understand how tight a shot was going to be we had been discussing.”
When a fan followed up with a question, asking what was happening in the image, Gunn added, “The camera is moving back with the character. For me, the full arrows are camera movement, the thin arrows are subject movement.”
Though details surrounding the film’s plot have been kept under wraps, casting has ramped up in recent weeks following the actors strike ending. It was previously announced that David Corenswet will take on the title role as the iconic superhero, with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen and Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher. Anthony Carrigan, Isabel Merced and Nathan Fillion are also in the cast as heroes Metamorpho, Hawkgirl and Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, respectively.
Gunn also offered an update on where Superman’s costume and the film’s music score currently stand.
“The costume is mostly done but we’re still going back and forth on some elements,” the filmmaker said. “A lot of the score – maybe even most of the major themes – have already been written.”
After another fan asked why the movie’s composer hasn’t been announced publicly yet, Gunn explained that he’s not sure if a deal has closed yet.
“I have to check,” he said. “(And yes I know that sounds crazy since so much of the score has been written, but when you’re riding the waves of inspiration, what are you going to do? I wrote most of Peacemaker and all of Creature Commandos before I had a closed deal!)
Superman: Legacy is expected to arrive in theaters July 11, 2025.
James Gunn has found his Maxwell Lord. The villain, who is connected with the Justice League but is more typically connected with Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, is known for his money, his lies, and, more famously, for the way that he dies. Who is playing Lord in Gunn’s DCU though is a favorite of the directors and one we’ve seen him work with time and time again. Mainly because it is his beloved brother Sean Gunn.
In an exclusive from Deadline, news broke that Gunn would take on the role in Superman: Legacy, which piqued my interest as a Wonder Woman girl. Personally, I love when the Gunn brothers collaborate and I am very intrigued by the idea of Sean Gunn working on a role like Maxwell Lord. Lord is a more serious performance than I’ve seen from Gunn before and so it’d be a new kind role for him but he is someone who is always reinventing himself and so I think he’ll find ways of making Lord completely his own.
According to Deadline, it is unclear how big of a role Gunn’s Maxwell Lord will play in the film but this does erase completely what Wonder Woman 1984 had put into the canon of the DCEU with Pedro Pascal’s portrayal of the character. Meaning that one aspect of Maxwell Lord’s character might be fixed throughout his run in the DCU that I, personally, wish would get changed by the time he crosses paths with Diana Prince in Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU.
But can we do the Max Lord tradition this time around?
The Patty Jenkins/Gal Gadot Diana Prince wasn’t necessarily the warrior version of Diana Prince who comes across Maxwell Lord in the comics. What that means is that she wouldn’t necessarily do what that Diana does to Maxwell. Comics Diana Prince snaps Maxwell Lord’s neck and it is something that I, as a lifelong Diana fan, love. When it came to Wonder Woman 1984, that Diana wouldn’t have done that.
All the problems with that movie aside, that was one thing that does make sense given how that Diana functions. Now though, with a new Maxwell Lord in toe and, in theory, a potential new Diana Prince on the horizon, we could maybe we a world in which we get that warrior energy from Wonder Woman that would warrant the breaking of one Maxwell Lord’s neck. Who is to say and with Gunn’s role being in Superman: Legacy, I may be getting ahead of myself.
For now though, it is exciting to think about what Sean Gunn is going to bring to a role like Maxwell Lord and how it will be different for both him as an actor and for the character itself.
Actor María Gabriela De Faría (Deadly Class, Animal Control) has joined the cast of Superman: Legacy as villain Angela Spica, a.k.a. The Engineer. De Faría is the latest casting announcement for the highly anticipated James Gunn film, alongside Skyler Gisondo (The Righteous Gemstones) as Jimmy Olsen and Sara Sampaio (Billions) as Eve Teschmacher.
Superman: Legacy stars David Corenswet (The Politician) as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold) as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi (For All Mankind) as Mister Terrific, and Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho. Nicholas Hoult (The Menu) is rumored to be playing Lex Luthor.
De Faría will be a part of a villain team-up in the film. But who is Angela Spica?
Meet The Engineer
(DC Comics)
Angela Spica is the second incarnation of The Engineer. A superhero fan and a scientist, Spica has a liquid metal body thanks to nanites in her bloodstream. This gives her the ability to stretch, shapeshift, and manipulate her body into almost anything, including weapons. The blood nanites make her extremely strong, impervious to harm, and give her the ability to hack technology. Oh, and she can fly too. So, she’s basically the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, only not evil. While the character is part of a villain team in Legacy, she’ll likely turn things around to become an anti-hero in The Authority movie.
Spica/The Engineer was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, making her first appearance in The Authority Vol.1 #1 in 1999. Gunn has already announced a film about The Authority in the works as part of his revamped DC slate. De Faría’s casting will likely plant the seeds for that future team-up. Angela Spica and The Authority were both introduced in Wildstorm Comics, an imprint of the DC Comics label.
Superman: Legacy hits theaters on July 11, 2025.
(featured image: Leon Bennett/WireImage, DC Comics)
Superman: Legacy’s cast has grown a bit bigger, as the roles of Jimmy Olsen and Eve Teschmacher have been cast for the DC Studios movie. The film is set to release on July 11, 2025.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Skyler Gisondo will be playing Superman’s best friend Jimmy Olsen while Deadline has reported that Sara Sampaio will be playing Lex Luthor’s ally and assistant Eve Teschmacher.
Gisondo has played roles in movies like 2021’s Licorice Pizza and series like The Righteous Gemstones and Curb Your Enthusiasm, while Sampaio has appeared in films like 2021’s Crisis and the hit Showtime series Billions.
Having become part of the cast of Superman: Legacy, the duo join David Corenswet — who has the titular role of Clark Kent/Superman — Rachel Brosnahan — who is playing Lois Lane — and Nicholas Hoult, who is playing the villainous Lex Luthor. Further cast members include María Gabriela De Faría, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi, and more.
What is Superman: Legacy about?
“Superman: Legacy tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas,” reads the movie’s official synopsis. “He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.”
James Gunn’s DC Universe has found its Lex Luthor by adding a talented actor to the Superman: Legacy cast.
According to Deadline, Gunn has cast Renfield and The Menu star Nicholas Hoult as the iconic Superman villain. Hoult was previously up for the role of Clark Kent/Superman, which went to David Corenswet. This isn’t his first foray into superhero movies, as he also played Beast in a series of X-Men movies.
What Is Superman: Legacy about?
“Superman: Legacy tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas,” reads the movie’s official synopsis. “He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.”
The titular role in Superman: Legacy is being played by David Corenswet (Pearl, The Politician), while Lois Lane will be played by The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan. The film is set to release on July 11, 2025.
In one of the most significant new castings post-SAG-AFTRA strike, Superman: Legacy has found its Lex Luthor, with Nicholas Hoult in talks to star as the classic villain. No deal is done, but talks have been in the works since before the strike.
Warner Bros. had no comment.
James Gunn is writing and directing Superman: Legacy, the first feature from his and Peter Safran’s new DC Studios universe. David Corenswet will star as Clark Kent/Superman, while Rachel Brosnahan is playing Lois Lane, with the duo landing the roles in June after a lengthy casting search.
Holt was long in contention for the role of Luthor but also put his hat in the ring to play Superman and was one of the finalists for that role.
Luthor debuted in 1940’s Action Comics No. 23, created by Superman duo Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Gene Hackman played Luthor opposite Christopher Reeves in Superman (1978), while Kevin Spacey squared off against Brandon Routh’s iteration of the character in Superman Returns (2006). More recently, Jesse Eisenberg played a version of the character reinvented in the vein of a sneakers-wearing tech CEO in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).
Hoult previously played the Marvel/X-Men character Beast in the series of films released from 2011 to 2019. The busy actor’s relationship with Warners dates back to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), and his recent credits include last year’s The Menu and the Universal monster pic Renfield, released earlier this year. He was also among the stars of Hulu’s period drama The Great, for which he earned an Emmy nomination in 2022.
DC fans across the globe were quite disheartened by the exit of Henry Cavill, the popular Hollywood star from the upcoming Superman film. Initially, it was reported that Cavill will return to DCU to play the legendary character once again in the much-awaited project Man of Steel 2. However, things did not materialize, and the project was soon scrapped. Later, popular filmmaker James Gunn, who joined DC Studios last year, stepped in to direct the new film in the franchise, which has been titled Superman Legacy.
James Gunn to rope in Henry Cavill for a new DCU role?
If the latest updates are to be believed, James Gunn, however, is not ready to let a highly sought-after talent like Henry Cavill part ways with DC Studios. According to recent reports by Fandom Wire, the filmmaker is keen to rope in the talented actor for a new DCU role, after his exit from Superman films. However, it has been confirmed that Cavill no longer plays Clark Kent aka Superman in another DC film.
James Gunn, who is highly active on social media, has not reacted to the reports yet. However, the grapevine suggests that the director is actively in talks with Henry Cavill, and is keen to bring him back to DCU with another plum project. However, the actor is clearly not excited to return, after the massive disappointment he faced with the Man of Steel 2. The rumors suggest that he is reportedly looking forward to joining hands with Marvel Studios for a superhero project, instead.
Henry Cavill is not playing Frankenstein
In March this year, it was rumored that Henry Cavill is set to join hands with DC once again to play the titular role in the upcoming project Frankenstein. However, James Gunn immediately put the rumors to rest with a social media post and confirmed that The Witcher actor is not approached for the role.
David Corenswet steps into Henry Cavill’s shoes as the new Superman
As reported earlier, young actor David Corenswet is set to step into Henry Cavill’s shoes as the new Clark Kent aka Superman in the upcoming project, Superman Legacy. Reportedly, the Pearl actor clearly impressed both James Gunn and the team DC with his excellent screentest and bagged the part. Rachel Brosnahan, on the other hand, is set to play Lois Lane in the film which will start rolling in the beginning of 2024.
Superman Legacy, the highly anticipated fantasy superhero film is one of the most anticipated upcoming Hollywood projects. The much-awaited DCU project is set to mark the prestigious studio’s first onscreen collaboration with James Gunn, the renowned director. Superman Legacy found its lead pair recently, after extensive auditions. David Corenswet has been roped in to play the titular character Superman aka Clark Kent in the film, which will feature Rachel Brosnahan as his lady love and Daily Planet reporter, Lois Lane.
Will Clark Kent and Lois Lane get sidelined in Superman Legacy?
The recent reports on the inclusion of other famous DC superheroes like Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Mister Terrific in the film had left audiences skeptical, about the importance of the lead actors David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan’s roles in Superman Legacy. It was even rumored that director James Gunn is planning to follow the narrative style of his famous MCU project Guardians of the Galaxy for the upcoming DC project, by introducing more superheroes to the narrative.
The speculations deeply upset the loyal DCU fans, who were already struggling to accept the fact that celebrated star Henry Cavill will not be returning to the role of Superman in the film. Recently, a group of audiences expressed their displeasure over ‘sidelining’ Clark Kent and Lois Lane to include an ensemble star cast in Superman Legacy on social networking app Threads and opined that this move might take away the real essence of DCU.
James Gunn puts rumors to rest, reveals ‘clear protagonists’ of Superman Legacy
However, director James Gunn, who is highly active on Threads these days, immediately rubbished the speculations and put all rumors by making a major revelation. The celebrated filmmaker confirmed that David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan are the ‘clear protagonists’ of Superman Legacy, as the narrative will focus on the journeys of Superman aka Clark Kent and Lois Lane, like the previous films.
“I’ve never used one movie to set up another movie. The other characters are there because they help to tell Superman’s story better, not so we can set up separate projects in the franchise. Superman and Lois Lane are the very clear protagonists,” replied the director to a fan’s question, brushing off rumors surrounding the film’s plot. James Gunn’s revelation came out as a great relief for the DC fans, who were worried about the authenticity of Superman Legacy.
Casting is underway for “Superman: Legacy”, James Gunn’s upcoming feature in which the DC Studios head will reboot the iconic superhero franchise.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, frontrunners are emerging for the primary roles of Clark Kent/Superman, Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane and super-villain Lex Luthor.
THR reports that David Corenswet — recently seen alongside Mia Goth in horror film “Pearl” — is one of the top contenders to portray the Man of Steel, with “multiple sources” claiming he’s advanced to the stage of filming screen tests.
Two other frontrunners are also reported to be in close contention for the role, but their identities aren’t known.
Meanwhile, the opportunity to play Lois Lane has attracted some of Hollywood’s most sought-after actresses. Among those to have auditioned are Emma Mackey (“Sex Education”), Phoebe Dynevor (“Bridgerton”), Samara Weaving (“Scream VI”) and Rachel Brosnahan of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”.
THR‘s source indicated that Brosnahan’s audition was “outstanding,” but given her age, 32, she may be too old for the film, which features the characters in their 20s.
The role of Lex Luthor, however, is rumoured to be the closest to being filled, with Nicholas Hoult (currently seen in “Renfield”) said to be the top choice.
This wouldn’t be Hoult’s first association with DC Studios, with THR reminding that he was the runner-up to play the Dark Knight in Matt Reeves’ “The Batman”, with the role ultimately going to Robert Pattinson. “The studio has loved him since ‘Fury Road’,” a source told the outlet.
However, another source cautioned that these names should all be taken with a considerable grain of salt, dismissing some of the names as “a chatroom list.”
Warner Bros. offered no comment, while another source claimed that the studio and filmmakers “are nowhere near a decision.”
Superman is unarguably one of the most loved superhero characters ever made in history. Recently, it was confirmed that DC Movies is set to be back with yet another film based on the much-loved hero. The project, which has been officially titled Superman Legacy, is helmed by renowned filmmaker James Gunn. Expectations are riding high on the film, which is reportedly based on the origin story of Clark Kent aka Superman.
James Gunn reveals what he is looking for in his version of Clark Kent
In his recent interview with Variety, director James Gunn opened up about his ambitious project, and revealed what he is looking for, in his version of Clark Kent aka Superman. “The next Superman has to be someone who has all the humanity that Superman has but he’s also an alien,” said the excited filmmaker. “It’s gotta be somebody who has the kindness and the compassion that Superman has and be somebody who you want to give a hug,” he added.
Tuesday, April 18 was an exciting day for James Gunn.
The DC Studios co-head took to Twitter to share a photo of his script for “Superman Legacy”, revealing that pre-production on the highly anticipated film had begun.
“I’m honoured to be a part of the legacy. And what better day than #SupermanAnniversary Day to dive fully into early pre-production on #SupermanLegacy?” he wrote, reminding that day was also the 85th anniversary of the first comic-book appearance of the Man of Steel, in the first issue of Action Comics.
“Costumes, production design, and more now up and running,” Gunn added.
Gunn announced last month that he’d be writing an directing “Superman: Legacy,” a new chapter in the ongoing cinematic history of the iconic superhero.
While there’s been much speculation about who Gunn plans to play the role, he recently revealed he’d been compiling a short list but hasn’t entered into any casting discussions with actors yet.
“Haven’t had a single talk with a single actor about the role,” Gunn tweeted. “Just making private lists, prepping material for auditions.”
Not true. Haven’t had a single talk with a single actor about the role. Just making private lists, prepping material for auditions. https://t.co/uvUaqCobaT
