James Gunn has found his Superman and Lois Lane.
After a lengthy search, David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan will star in Superman: Legacy, the film that will launch DC’s new universe under writer-director Gunn and his DC Studios co-boss, Peter Safran.
Corenswet and Brosnahan were among six actors who vied for the lead roles, with Gunn filming screen tests over the June 17 weekend with Nicholas Hoult and Tom Brittney also in contention to play Superman/Clark Kent and Emma Mackey and Phoebe Dynevor in the running for Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane.
Few roles are as coveted — or come with as much pressure — as Superman. That’s doubly true in the current landscape, as 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. 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 resulted in him being a one-and-done. And 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 was all before Gunn and Safran were hired to revamp DC, which included 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 search will now continue for characters such as Lex Luthor and the superheroes The Authority, who are expected to debut in Legacy before toplining their own film.
The Superman project will be the first film fully produced under Gunn and Safran’s tenure. The Flash was released under the newly minted studio heads; that movie, which was plagued by the poor publicity incurred by star Ezra Miller, earned a disappointing $55 million during its opening weekend.
Legacy marks a massive career shift for Corenswet, not only being No. 1 on the call sheet of a studio film for the first time but doing so as one of pop culture’s most enduring heroes. The actor first broke out in Ryan Murphy series The Politician, which was followed by a starring turn in another Murphy-backed Netflix series, Hollywood. Other credits include HBO series We Own This City and A24 horror sequel Pearl. Up next there is the Apple series Lady in the Lake and Twister sequel, Twisters.
Brosnahan is an Emmy and Golden Globe winner for her acclaimed series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She rose to prominence with House of Cards, which earned her an Emmy nomination. Three actors have previously played Lois Lane on the big screen. Margot Kidder gave a defining performance full of intelligence and spunk 1978’s Superman and its three sequels, in which she starred opposite Christopher Reeve. Kate Bosworth played Lois in 2006’s Superman Returns, while Amy Adams brought the character to life in Man of Steel (2016) and also starred in Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017).
“I completely relate to Superman because he’s everything I am,” Gunn told The Hollywood Reporter in April for a cover story. “He’s somebody who is an outsider who feels like an alien, but also the ultimate insider, because he’s fucking Superman. And that’s kind of like what I feel like.”
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