“Superman: Legacy” writer-director and DC Studios co-chief James Gunn is expanding the new DC universe with three new actors joining the cast: Nathan Fillion (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”) will play Guy Gardner, one of the figures known as Green Lantern; Isabela Merced (“Dora and the Lost City of Gold”) will play Hawkgirl; and Edi Gathegi (“X-Men: First Class”) will play Mister Terrific.
Gunn cast David Corenswet (“Hollywood”) as the titular Man of Steel two weeks ago, alongside “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.
At a press presentation of the new DC Studios slate in January, producer and DC co-chief Peter Safran said the film will focus “on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned.”
The news that “Superman: Legacy” will include superheroes other than the last son of Krypton is a strong indication that Gunn intends to re-launch the DC cinematic universe as a fully-formed entity, rather than re-build it one superhero at a time.
Fillion has often appeared in Gunn’s films, starting with the filmmaker’s 2006 horror-comedy “Slither.” His character, Gardner, will be just one of several people in the new DC Universe to wear the emerald ring that imbues its wearer with the powers of the Green Lantern: “Lanterns,” a streaming series for Max, will follow Hal Jordan (first portrayed on screen by Ryan Reynolds in 2011’s ill-fated “Green Lantern”) and John Stewart (an ex-marine who was one of DC’s first Black superheroes).
Merced first rose to prominence as a child actor in Nickelodeon’s “100 Things to Do Before High School,” and she’s also appeared in 2017’s “Transformers: The Last Knight” and 2018’s “Sicario: Day of the Soldado.” As Hawkgirl — masked, winged and fond of medieval weaponry like swords and maces —Merced will be embodying one of DC’s oldest superheroes, who first appeared in 1940. (Aldis Hodge played Hawkgirl’s counterpart, Hawkman, for the character’s live-action feature debut in 2022’s “Black Adam.”)
Along with playing Darwin in “X-Men: First Class,” Gathegi most recently was a standout on Season 3 of Apple TV+’s “For All Mankind.” He’ll play Michael Holt, an ingenious inventor who operates as Mister Terrific with the multipurpose, mechanical “T-Spheres” he created.
The deals for the actors come exactly two years before “Superman: Legacy” is scheduled to debut on July 11, 2025. It’s also less than 48 hours before the SAG-AFTRA contract is due to expire (after an extension) and the looming prospect of an actors strike becomes a reality.
Vanity Fair first reported the news.
