Superman is going to have some heroic help in his DCU debut. First, Vanity Fair reported that three actors have been added to the cast of Superman: Legacy, the first film under James Gunn and Peter Safran’s revamped and rebooted DCU (except for Blue Beetle; I’m stifling a laugh as I type this). Isabela Merced will play Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi will be Mr. Terrific, and, best of all, the great Nathan Fillion will portray the Guy Gardner Green Lantern. Then, a Hollywood Reporter exclusive revealed that Anthony Carrigan has been cast as Metamorpho. They join David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan, who are playing Superman and Lois Lane. THR also says that some of these are actors Gunn has wanted in the roles for some time, but he waited till the leads were cast before signing them. On Threads, Gunn, who is writing and directing the film, said that these will be recurring roles as the DCU moves along and gave a little context as to why they’re in Superman: Legacy.
I’m fine with the casting; Nathan Fillion is the one who excites me the most, as I don’t know the others all that well. I remember Edi Gathegi as Darwin in X-Men: First Class, but he was in that movie for maybe two minutes, and I vaguely remember who he played in Justified. The only thing I’ve seen Isabela Merced in is Sicario: Day of the Soldado, an awful movie that shouldn’t have been made, and I don’t recall who she played. Anthony Corrigan has already played DC characters, both villains: Mist in The Flash and Victor Zsasz in Gotham. And Nathan Fillion needs no introduction; Gunn puts him in most – if not all – of his movies, but I’m glad he isn’t just a throwaway character in the DCU. I’m not overly familiar with the other characters outside of their Arrowverse appearances, but based on pictures, they all look their parts. The casting for Superman: Legacy is coming together fast, probably because Warner Bros. wants deals in place before the increasingly likely actors’ strike. I’m still unsure about kick-starting the DCU in media res with all these heroes already established; that’s what the DCEU did, and it was a confusing mess that didn’t allow anyone to grow to love the characters the way the (early) MCU did. And I’d like Superman to have a movie to himself, especially as it’s a new actor. But we’ll see what happens; I want these movies to be great, and I’m rooting for the DCU, but I have doubts.