James Gunn has found his Lois Lane and Superman. David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan have been cast in Superman: Legacy, the movie that will introduce DC’s new universe under writer-director Gunn and his DC Studios co-boss, Peter Safran. The casting process took a while.
Six actors, including Corenswet and Brosnahan, competed for the lead roles. James Gunn filmed screen tests over the weekend of June 17.
Corenswet will anchor a new universe as DC attempts to reinvent itself after a streak of misses with October’s Black Adam, March’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods and the recent The Flash.
Christopher Reeve , Brandon Routh and Henry Cavill
Only three actors have played the character on the big screen, with Christopher Reeve’s career-defining work in 1978’s Superman launching the modern superhero genre and spawning three sequels. Brandon Routh starred in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns (2006), a film that failed to ignite the box office and thus resulting in him being a one-and-done.
Meanwhile, a decade ago, Henry Cavill starred in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, the film that launched the DC Extended Universe and made Cavill a fan-favorite actor for his dignified work as Clark Kent.
Cavill went on to appear in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017) and, after years away from the role, appeared in a cameo in Black Adam (2022) and announced his intention to star in more Superman projects.That happened before DC hired Gunn and Safran, who joined the team to revamp the company, which involved formulating plans for a younger Superman.
Superman: Legacy has a release date of July 11, 2025, with Gunn expecting to film early next year. The casting team will now actively continue the search for characters such as Lex Luthor and the superheroes The Authority, as they anticipate their debut in Legacy before taking the lead in their own film.
Additionally ,Gunn and Safran’s tenure will oversee the full production of The Superman project, marking it as the first film under their leadership. The Flash, released under the newly appointed studio heads, suffered from poor publicity caused by star Ezra Miller, resulting in a disappointing $55 million opening weekend earnings.