James Gunn has cast his old pal Nathan Fillion in Superman: Legacy along with Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) and rising star Isabela Merced. (Dora and the Lost City of Gold).
David Corenswet is set to star as Clark Kent/Superman, while Emmy winner Rachel Brosnahan will play intrepid reporter Lois Lane.
Fillion will play Guy Gardner, who in DC Comics lore, is a member of the Green Lantern Corps. Unless Gunn kills off the character right away, don’t be surprised if Fillion appears in the upcoming Green Lantern TV series that’s in development at Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service. Remember that those cast in DCU movies are also expected to be part of its small-screen strategy — and video games — as well.
Fillion goes way back with Gunn, having previously starred in the director’s 2006 horror-comedy Slither. He also appeared in Gunn’s dark satire Super, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Fillion is a natural fit to play one of the famed Green Lanterns, as he voices Hal Jordan in animated DC movies that are released direct-to-video.
The upcoming Green Lantern series will be live-action and will focus on Hal Jordan and John Stewart, so while some fans will be disappointed to see Fillion miss out on that role in the live-action series, they’re surely delighted by his addition to Gunn’s DCU — though for the record, he will be forced to wear a bowl cut in keeping with DC Comics canon.
Elsewhere, Gathegi will play Mister Terrific, aka Michael Holt, who is as brilliant an inventor as he is an excellent fighter. Gathegi is an alum of the Twilight franchise who played Darwin in X-Men: First Class, so he’s no stranger to the fanboy crowd and no doubt knows how to keep blockbuster secrets.
Gathergi will be joined in battle by Merced, who will play Hawkgirl, a character that traditionally uses swords and spears. Merced is a very talented young actress who I previously highlighted as Collider’s Up-and-Comer of the Month back in November 2018 after seeing her in the Mark Wahlberg–Rose Byrne comedy Instant Family.
At this point, these five actors make up the DCU along with Blue Beetle star Xolo Maridueña and Viola Davis, whose Amanda Waller will be getting her own series, plus the casts of Creature Commandos and Peacemaker, as Season 2 of the latter series will be part of WB’s superhero universe.
Gunn is producing the movie with his fellow DC Studios CEO Peter Safran, and production is slated to start in January ahead of the film’s release on July 11, 2025.
Vanity Fair broke the news.
