James Gunn’s Superman and Lois Lane Officially Cast

Movies

We have a new Superman and Lois Lane. After a two-day screen test and a week and a half of deliberating, the media is reporting – although Deadline seems to have been first – that David Corenswet has been chosen to play Superman/Clark Kent in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy, while Rachel Brosnahan will portray Lois Lane. Other contenders were Tom Brittney and Nicholas Hoult for Superman and Emma Mackey and Phoebe Dynevor for Lois. Gunn tweeted a confirmation shortly after the news broke:

Accurate! (They are not only both incredible actors, but also wonderful people). https://t.co/1FtwYIDeYj

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 27, 2023

David Corenswet is a relative unknown, having acted in the Netflix series The Politician and Hollywood and the HBO miniseries We Own This City, which followed a series of guest appearances on television and small roles in movies. Rachel Brosnahan is best known for her role in Netflix’s first hit show, House of Cards (an episode of which featured Corenswett as a guest star, though after Brosnahan had left), as well as the Amazon Prime series The Fabulous Mrs. Maisel, but has also starred in movies like The Finest Hours, Patriots Day, and The Courier (which was really good). Superman: Legacy, which is written and will be directed by James Gunn, is the first film to be produced entirely by Gunn and Safran after their appointment as co-CEOs of DC Studios and is scheduled to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.

That was fast. Well, not really; the search for Superman and Lois has been going on for a few months. But Gunn, Safran, and Warner Bros. have been keeping details of the casting process close to the chest, with tidbits leaking to the media here and there. Rumors from a little over a month ago appear to have been accurate, as the final contenders for the roles were the ones reported then. The screen tests from June 17 and 18 were only leaked yesterday. But this hurdle is over for Gunn and Safran, at least. In fact, Deadline speculates that Warner Bros. wanted to cast the roles before the possible actors’ strike. And they’re good choices, at least from a cosmetic perspective. Having not seen him act, I was rooting for Corenswet mostly because he has the perfect Superman look and is an imposing 6’4. Brosnahan was actually my second choice for Lois; I wanted Emma Mackey because I liked her look as well. But I like Brosnahan as an actress, and I’m sure she’ll be a good Lois Lane.

Funnily, the report from yesterday said that the Superman hopefuls all screen-tested with Mackey for the part, which led many – myself included – to assume she was the frontrunner for Lois. That makes me wonder if Brosnahan was a studio concession to balance out an unknown like Corenswett in the lead, sort of like Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando were in Superman. I don’t mean Gunn was against her, just that she may not have been his first choice. Regardless, I’m happy with this, and while doubts about Superman: Legacy and Gunn and Safran’s DCU keep popping up, I hope for a great movie, a great DC Universe on film, and an awesome Lex Luthor.