Playing an iconic character like Superman, and dealing with all the baggage and public scrutiny that comes with it, isn’t for everyone. Even David Corenswet, who stars in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman, admitted to GQ that he wrestled with the decision and tried to come up with reasons to say no.
“A role like Superman seems like something that everybody would want, and that’s not true. There are some people who wouldn’t want that role and who would, if given the opportunity, say no. I am obviously not one of those people. But I certainly tried to think of reasons not to,” Corenswet said. “Ultimately, what I landed on for myself was, if this is the only role I get to play for the rest of my life, and that means whether I get to play it once or get to play it 10 times, would I still say yes? And the answer was yes.“
Corenswet added that the new film aims to give audiences “the truest and therefore most interesting” things about Superman, “the things that set him apart from the other heroes.“
“The fact that he is essentially free from angst and turmoil internally. He’s a good guy who had a great upbringing, loving parents, has wonderful relationships with his friends, and a romantic relationship and loves what he does,” Corenswet said. “He doesn’t have the Batman thing of having lost his parents early and doesn’t feel the burden of this terrible city that he has to come and save. Metropolis is a wonderful, cosmopolitan almost utopia — it just happens to get invaded by Kaijus and other monsters and whatnot every now and then.“
Superman stars David Corenswet (Pearl) as Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Ms. Maisel) as Lois Lane. The cast also includes Nathan Fillion (The Rookie) as Guy Gardner, a charismatic and slightly obnoxious member of the Green Lantern Corps; Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold) as Hawkgirl; Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) as Mister Terrific; Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho; María Gabriela de Faría (Deadly Class) as The Engineer, a member of The Authority; Sara Sampaio (At Midnight) as Eve Teschmacher; Skyler Gisondo (The Righteous Gemstones) as Jimmy Olsen; Wendell Pierce (The Wire) as Perry White; Neva Howell (Logan Lucky) as Martha Kent; Pruitt Taylor-Vince (The Walking Dead) as Jonathan Kent; and Nicholas Hoult (The Great) as Lex Luthor. Superman will hit theaters on July 11th.
Following the release of Superman, the next DC Universe project will be the second season of Peacemaker, which will debut on HBO Max on August 21. Next will be Lanterns, the live-action series starring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as Hal Jordan and John Stewart, respectively. That show is expected to premiere in early 2026. Then we’ve got Supergirl, which will star Milly Alcock in the title role, set to hit theaters on June 26, 2026.
