Potential cast and story spoilers follow for 2025's Superman movie.
A new leak for James Gunn's Superman movie has revealed our first look at two more heroes in Hawkgirl and Guy Gardner/Green Lantern
The latest round of images, which come courtesy of Cleveland.com, shows The Last of Us season two star Isabela Merced suited up as the winged superhero alongside Firefly alumnus Nathan Fillion's Gardner – the latter being one of numerous DC characters to adopt the Green Lantern mantle. The pair are seen filming a scene alongside David Corenswet's Man of Steel and Edi Gathegi's Mr. Terrific, with the quartet being greeted by a small but rapturous group of Metropolis citizens after they presumably save the day in some capacity.
FIRST LOOK SPOILER ALERT: The Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) joins Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Superman (David Corenswet) for a high-flying scene in downtown Cleveland. Photos: John Kuntz, https://t.co/WLnOBQdLss pic.twitter.com/vvcXtuBIWGJuly 3, 2024
This new batch of secretly snapped photographs arrived a week after two other big leaks emerged from the DC Cinematic Universe (DCU) movie's Ohio-based outdoors set. The first gave fans a better look at Superman's costume and revealed the first images of Gathegi's Mr. Terrific, while the second showed Mr. Terrific apparently encountering the Man of Steel's most loyal friend in Krypto the Superdog.
Gunn, who is on dual duties as the film's head writer and director, recently took to Threads to admit that he "fully expected" such leaks to emerge from the DCU Chapter One film's latest shooting location. Thankfully, Superman's biggest and/or most shocking plot threads won't be spoiled ahead of release, with Gunn also writing on Threads: "I’d never shoot a big spoiler outside in the middle of the city."
What is the Justice League International? And why are they seemingly associated with DC villain Maxwell Lord?
Another look at HAWGIRL and GUY GARDNER in Superman! from r/DCULeaks
There's no confirmation that Justice League International – one of many iterations of the Justice League superteam in DC comics – will be part of 2025's Superman film. However, with Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner, and Superman all being part of this superpowered group in the comic giant's literary works, fans are putting two and two together and theorizing that we'll see a variation of this team in the Man of Steel's next big-screen adventure.
If that's true, it appears the DCU's Justice League international line-up will comprise Hawkgirl, Gardner, Mr. Terrific, and Metamorpho – the latter being another hero who has the ability to alter his body at a molecular level. He'll be played by Barry's Anthony Carrigan who, although it's hard to tell if it's the actor himself, appears to be the person wearing a blue, full body spandex suit in the latest leak.
The Justice League International fan theory appears to have legs to it, too, when you factor in the similarity between Hawkgirl, Gardner, and Mr. Terrific's costumes. The trio's supersuits are primarily black and white ensembles, and have the same sleek, V-shaped design around the neck/shoulder area. To me, that's too much of a coincidence if they're all operating as individual heroes until Supes shows up.
Comment from r/DCULeaks
Of even greater intrigue is the fact that they might be employed by a particular DC villain: Maxwell Lord, who'll be played by Gunn's brother and frequent collaborator Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad) and has a minor role in 2025's Superman film. It's really hard to tell but, thanks to some eagle-eyed fans on the DCU Leaks Sub-Reddit, zooming in on one specific image of Fillion's Gardner reveals a giant logo etched in the white t-shirt he's wearing. Ordinarily, that would be nothing to write home about but, when you compare that emblem to the logo of Lord's in-universe company – LordTech, which can be seen in this image posted on the DCU Leaks Sub-Reddit – they're identical in their design.
It seems, then, that Lord created and is funding the DCU's corporately sponsored Justice League International in much the same way that Vought International does in The Boys. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Hawkgirl and company are actually known as the Justice Lords, a parallel universe superteam that exists in DC comics, in Gunn and Safran's rebooted comic book world. If I and my fellow DC aficionados are on the right track, this would certainly tie into the rumors that Corenswet's Superman is the catalyst behind the re-energizing of the world's band of jaded superheroes; the aforementioned individuals likely being among that contingent. We'll see if we're right when Superman flies into theaters in July 2025.
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