The pressure on James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new heads of DC Studios, has increased significantly following the vast underperformance of The Flash at the box office, which also could have been the final nail in the DCEU coffin with audiences.
As a result, the success of their inaugural movie, Superman: Legacy, carries even greater weight, particularly when it comes to casting the roles of Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn, who is writing and directing the film, conducted screen tests on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank over the weekend of June 17. The process has been kept under lock and key, with Gunn showing the assembled cuts to a select group of executives, including Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, for their input.
Gunn assembled three actors and three actresses for the roles of Superman and Lois Lane, respectively. On the first day of testing, the actors were seen in predetermined pairs: Nicholas Hoult and Rachel Brosnahan, Tom Brittney and Phoebe Dynevor, and David Corenswet and Emma Mackey. They filmed several scenes, with the male actors in makeup and wardrobe as Clark Kent, and the female actors as the feisty journalist Lois Lane.
On the second day, Hoult, Brittney, and Corenswet did additional screen tests, this time in costume as Superman. According to the story, only Emma Mackey returned to portray the intrepid reporter opposite the actors on that day. While Mackey’s inclusion on the second day could be seen as a positive sign, sources caution against jumping to conclusions about her being the front-runner for the role.
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In Gunn’s vision for the character, the actor must be able to convincingly portray a farmboy from Kansas, a reporter at a big city media outlet, and the iconic superhero who can leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Once decisions are made regarding the casting of Kent and Lane, Gunn plans to swiftly move forward with other casting choices. There is reportedly a shortlist for the role of villain Lex Luthor, with brothers Alexander and Bill Skarsgard mentioned as potential candidates.
It remains unclear whether Hoult, who initially auditioned for Supes’ arch enemy before deciding to try out for Superman, would reenter the running. Additionally, there are other heroes to cast, including members of the supergroup known as the Authority, as the film explores a world where superheroes already exist.
Gunn aims to start production on Superman: Legacy in early 2024, with a planned release date of July 11, 2025. The film is expected to kickstart a new slate of DC-based movies, following previous attempts that failed to gain traction due to various factors such as box office performance and changes in studio ownership. Warner Bros. is currently releasing the final three films from the previous regime.
While The Flash tanked and Blue Beetle faces uncertain box office prospects, there are hopes that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, set to open in December, can match or surpass the success of its predecessor, released five years earlier.
Superman: Legacy will have a year-and-a-half gap between the previous regime’s DCEU movies. Next year, will bring the sequel to the billion-dollar Elseworlds film Joker. Todd Phillip’s Joker: Folie à Deux is set to open on October 4, 2024.
Gunn and Safran understand that they not only need to deliver a successful blockbuster but also generate enthusiasm for a brand that is severely damaged.
The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.
