Recently, James Gunn revealed during his press tour for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 that his Superman film will set to start shooting in January 2024, to the surprise of many.
Before I continue, this date/time frame will likely be the hope of the DC Studios co-chief as the length of the Writers Strike will determine if it actually starts production at that time. Gunn has put his pen down in solidarity with his fellow writers and won’t be able to do re-writes until writers get the fair pay they deserve from studios.
Whilst the filmmaker isn’t writing another word, he is busy as a director, producer and studio head when it comes to casting for his Superman movie, Superman: Legacy.
This weekend, The Hollywood Reporter dropped a massive story unveiling who is in the running for Clark Kent and Lois Lane and a name attached to Lex Luthor to kick-off the first chapter of DC Studios.
The top name in the running to play the last son of Krypton is David Corenswet. The 29-year-old actor is still a relatively unknown name but is seen as the next big thing in Hollywood and is best known for his roles in Pearl, The Politician and Hollywood.
Corenswet has been a firm fan pick since question marks were raised over Henry Cavill’s future as the character.
THR states he is “among the top contenders to play Kent advancing to the screen test stage that will likely take place after Memorial Day or early June.” They added that two other names are in contention, but their identities remain unknown.
Three names that were in the early stages but never went further were British actors Tom Brittney (who I know best as Will Davenport in the ITV drama Grantchester and someone who might be worth remembering when casting for a new Bond) and Andrew Richardson, who is a real unknown having limited roles in TV and film.
The biggest name that never submitted an interest in the role is Jacob Elordi. It was surprising to hear the trade reveal this, as this would be a project to really take him to the top of Hollywood, especially considering his popularity in the HBO series Euphoria.
However, this is contradicted by Deadline‘s report saying Elordi is in the mix.
Elsewhere, the names in the frame for the top journalist at Metropolis’ Daily Planet are four seriously great picks, and I would be happy if any of them got the part.
Both trades are stating Sex Educations Emma Mackey, who is the upcoming Barbie for Warner Bros, Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor, the Emmy-winning star of the acclaimed Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Rachel Brosnahan and Samara Weaving, who recently starred in Scream VI.
According to Deadline, the last of the audition tapes were sent on May 4, with THR adding that Brosnahan delivered an “outstanding” audition.
The Mrs. Maisel star would be my top choice of Lois because I think she’d be fantastic and make the character believable that she’s a serious, prize-winning reporter that Clark would look up to, whilst also bringing some humour.
While the THR report highlights at 32, her age might be an issue for some reason that Gunn would want to have his heroic characters around the same 20-something age. However, I’ve always thought and liked the dynamic of Lane being slightly older than Kent, and Rachel would fit a Gunn movie better than the other three.
The final role revealed is the villainous Lex Luthor, and currently, one name is rumoured: Nicholas Hoult. The British actor is currently starring in the vampire horror-comedy Renfield and during my interview with the film’s director Chris McKay, he couldn’t praise him higher.
Hoult is also rumoured to be in contention for the title role, but he would be an incredible Lex as he would play a charismatic, likeable villain as Luthor because you can understand his point-of-view (whilst being incredibly narcissistic). He has the brains and money to make Metropolis the greatest city in DC and feels he deserves to be loved, then comes this alien that is the greatest symbol of humanity.
However, something I’m not interested in seeing is the Deadline report saying the villain is labelled as “Apex”, possibly hinting at Apex Lex Luthor, which is a version of the evil genius who has the strength to fight Superman and hints to the multiverse as he has run-ins with other Lex in different dimensions.
I generally hate that idea and would prefer Lex not to be THE bad guy, with the main antagonist being Parasite.
Finally, Gunn has come outright and stated he doesn’t comment on casting, but did confirm one minor role has been filled.
The Bear Cave 