Filmmaker James Gunn is ready to fly high with his picks for Superman and Lois Lane.
The Guardians of the Galaxy director has set actor David Corenswet to play Clark Kent/Superman in his upcoming Superman: Legacy, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Corenswet will be the fourth actor to portray the Man of Steel in a standalone film, following Christopher Reeve, Brandon Routh and Henry Cavill.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel actress Rachel Brosnahan will play Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane, long known as Kent’s romantic interest.
Gunn had been screen testing actors for some time now, with actors Nicholas Hoult and Tom Brittney also up for Superman and Phoebe Dynevor and Emma Mackey up for Lane.
The filmmaker confirmed the news on Tuesday of the castings.
Accurate! (They are not only both incredible actors, but also wonderful people). https://t.co/1FtwYIDeYj
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 27, 2023
Corenswet has primarily appeared on television with projects like HBO’s We Own This City and Netflix’s The Politician, House of Cards and Hollywood. He also appeared in the slasher film Pearl last fall and will appear in the 2024 Twister sequel, Twisters.
Brosnahan also appeared on House of Cards in a recurring role before her Emmy-winning breakout performance on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which just wrapped up its final season. She’s the fourth actress to portray Lane in a film, joining Margot Kidder, Kate Bosworth and Amy Adams.
Gunn took over DC’s film and television production output alongside producer Peter Safran, with the duo’s rebooted DC Universe kicking off theatrically with Superman: Legacy on July 11, 2025.
Per THR, the casting for the new Superman film will now move on to the hero’s archvillain, Lex Luthor, and to other heroes that are slated to appear.
And once the decisions on Kent and Lane are made, Gunn will quickly pull the trigger on the next wave. Sources say there is also a shortlist for villain Lex Luthor (siblings Alexander and Bill Skarsgard have been mentioned as being on it, and it’s not clear whether Hoult, who was initially wanted for the part before deciding to try for Kent/Superman, would put himself in the running again.) There are also other heroes to cast, such as members of a supergroup named the Authority (part of the new storyline is Superman joining a world in which superheroes already exist).
Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 concludes his tenure at Marvel after a decade of working with the studio, and he’ll also work on a second season of the Max series Peacemaker once Superman: Legacy is finished.
