James Gunn Denies New Superman Actor Is in ‘Final Talks’: I’m ‘Prepping’ Audition Material and Haven’t Spoken to a ‘Single Actor About the Role’

Zack Sharf
·3 min read
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The search for the new Superman actor is not as far along as some social media rumors suggest. “Beyond the Trailer” host Grace Randolph recently took to Twitter to announce Gunn is “very close” to landing an actor to play the eponymous superhero in his upcoming “Superman: Legacy.” Randolph went as far as to claim the role “might even be cast” already, or an actor is in “final talks.” Not so fast. Gunn shot down the report and provided an update on his Superman casting process.

“Not true,” Gunn replied. “Haven’t had a single talk with a single actor about the role. Just making private lists, prepping material for auditions.”

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Randolph took Gunn’s rebuttal as an opportunity to reveal her scoop that it was “Percy Jackson” and “Hunters” star Logan Lerman who is Gunn’s top choice for Superman. Gunn also shot down that claim.

“For the record, I don’t know who that is,” Gunn responded about Lerman. “Guys, this isn’t a dig at the actor. I don’t know lots of actors’ names. Now that you tell me who he is, I recognize him from stuff and think he’s talented. But I’ve never met him, and he’s never been part of a conversation about playing Superman.”

“I don’t know the names of a lot of actors,” Gunn later reemphasized in response to a Twitter user. “It’s certainly not any fault on the part of the actor if I don’t know their name.”

Gunn is writing and directing “Superman: Legacy,” which will be the first feature film released as part of the overhauled DC Universe that Gunn and Peter Safran are spearheading as the new leaders of DC Studios. Per a first synopsis from Warner Bros., the superhero tentpole “tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.”

Superman casting rumors pop up frequently on social media, but Gunn has been open with fans about being patient. Back in January, ahead of announcing the first slate of new DC Universe titles, Gunn said he was still working on the “Superman: Legacy” script and no casting would begin until that was finished.

“Casting, as is almost always the case with me, will happen after the script is finished or close to finished, and it isn’t,” Gunn tweeted at the time. “We’ll announce a few things in not too long, but the casting of Superman won’t be one of them.”

Because Gunn is rebooting Superman for the big screen with a younger Man of Steel younger, it means Henry Cavill is no longer playing the superhero. Cavill played Superman in Zack Snyder’s DC Universe, debuting with “Man of Steel” and reprising the role in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League.”

“Superman: Legacy” is scheduled to open in theaters on July 11, 2025 from Warner Bros.

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