Superman | July 11, 2025 | James Gunn writing and directing | David Corenswet is Clark, Rachel Brosnahan is Lois

[excel1]

Surprised the more people are not complaining that they are yet again leaning into the Lex Luthor route. 

 

That said, Gunn seems hellbent on making a modern but traditional Superman film, and that simply requires Lex.

[WorkingonaName]

Vin should be Krypto 

[Ryan Reynolds]

Who should Nic Cage be?

[Mojoguy]

7 minutes ago, Ryan Reynolds said:

Who should Nic Cage be?

[Spidey Freak]

6 hours ago, excel1 said:

Surprised the more people are not complaining that they are yet again leaning into the Lex Luthor route. 

 

That said, Gunn seems hellbent on making a modern but traditional Superman film, and that simply requires Lex.

 

Lex Luthor is kind of a mix between Joker and J Jonah Jameson in that he's as much an archnemesis as he's a perpetual thorn by the side. He might be featured in a string-puller capacity like the various scheming characters on Game of Thrones but the main villain for the climactic boss fight will probably be someone else.

[Spidey Freak]

12 hours ago, WittyUsername said:

Outside of Kate Bosworth, has there actually been an actress for Lois who was younger than the actor playing Clark?

 

Only Erica Durance on Smallville, but she was a negligible 2 years younger than Tom Welling, who came across as younger than his age anyway

 

8 hours ago, TestPattern said:

DanielRPK says that Hoult is not in the running for Superman, they talked, but he's not a good fit. He is in the running for Lex.

 

So a case of Hiddleston and Cillian Murphy who both auditioned for the title role in their respective superhero movies but instead were cast as the villains instead

[excel1]

Hoult is both too old and lacking the true physical presence to make sense as Superman. He would be a Michael Keaton esque pick who would probably work in own way but would not be the traditional version of the character. That also night not be such a bad thing considering Elordi, DC, et al will all just like like another Routh / Cavill type of pick. 

Edited May 14, 2023 by excel1

[CoolioD1]

Nic Hoult shortlist filler as usual.

[WittyUsername]

7 hours ago, Spidey Freak said:

 

Only Erica Durance on Smallville, but she was a negligible 2 years younger than Tom Welling, who came across as younger than his age anyway

I could’ve sworn Erica Durance was older than Tom Welling. Learn something new everyday.

[Spidey Freak]

5 hours ago, CoolioD1 said:

Nic Hoult shortlist filler as usual.

 

Before Hoult, it used to be Henry Cavill who finally got lucky with Superman, so I can see what his agent was hoping for here.

[grim22]

4 minutes ago, Spidey Freak said:

 

Before Hoult, it used to be Henry Cavill who finally got lucky with Superman, so I can see what his agent was hoping for here.

Funny thing is that Cavill's name was missing from the reported MoS shortlist: https://deadline.com/2010/11/exclusive-the-casting-search-for-superman-begins-82121/

 

 

There will be inevitable buzz on actors like Armie Hammer, the strapping 6’5″ actor who played Cameron. And Tyler Winklevoss in The Social Network and who was eyed by the studio to play Batman in a Justice League movie that Mad Max helmer George Miller was poised to direct until the film got scrapped. But Hammer is only 24. The studio could go the TV route with True Blood’s Joe Manganiello, who claimed during a recent movie junket that he’s being considered and is certainly a strapping 34-year old. Or an actor like Ian Somerhalder of The Vampire Diaries, who is turning 32 and listed at 5’9+”. Before Routh, Matt Bomer was eyed seriously by almost-directors McG and Brett Ratner.

 

And for @excel1from the link

 

 

Josh Hartnett was courted during the Ratner version (that got scrapped when Singer took over), but Hartnett didn’t take the role, even though he stood to potentially make $100 million for three pictures if all had been made. Trust us, the new guy is going to get hired on the cheap.

[excel1]

1 hour ago, grim22 said:

Funny thing is that Cavill's name was missing from the reported MoS shortlist: https://deadline.com/2010/11/exclusive-the-casting-search-for-superman-begins-82121/

 

 

 

 

 

And for @excel1from the link

 

 

 

 

 

Josh Hartnett would have been such a perfect early/mid 2000s 'Kinda emo, still learning about himself' Superman. That $100m offer was record-breaking for the time and leaked by WB and Hartnett's agency because they thought it was an offer he could not refuse. The same offer no doubt would have been accepted any of the other young "names" they looked at ala Paul Walker and Ashton Kutcher. That he actually rejected it was the official start of his downfall after the meteoric rise. 

 

Jacob Elordi 100% needs to read and reread that blurb before thinking he is too good to go for something like this. This is the role that can buy him another 20 years in Hollywood. Or he can go the route of Tom Welling, Adam Brody, or Chad Michael Murray and have a solid chance at being a true nobody in 5 or 6 years. Hartnett was famous as 'young movie stars' get and look at his status today...

 

Matt Bomer would have also been aces and could have really changed things for gay actors if he had been chosen. 

Edited May 14, 2023 by excel1

[Jake Gittes]

1 hour ago, excel1 said:

Hartnett was famous as 'young movie stars' get and look at his status today...

 

Quote

"I'm absolutely not in the race to be the hottest actor," he insists. "I know what it's like to be in that whole world. I was up there for a couple of years and it was uncomfortable.

"I think trying to stay at the top is a shortcut to unhappiness."

 

That's a quote from 2004. Sounds like he was wiser about it then than you are now.

[YM!]

On 5/13/2023 at 12:07 PM, Spidey Freak said:

 

@excel1 why is your boy and his management team slacking like this?

 

No Elrodi Supes is always a win. I don’t want to associate Superman with the asshat he plays from Euphoria. Nothing against the guy, he’s a great actor and probably a decent guy, I just kind of have him typecasted like Tom Holland doing roles as an action lead outside of Spider-Man in that I can’t take it seriously.

 

 

[excel1]

1 hour ago, Jake Gittes said:

 

 

That's a quote from 2004. Sounds like he was wiser about it then than you are now.

 

Pretty sure Hartnett is now on record saying he regrets passing on one of Batman or Superman, so Hartnett of today may be wiser than he was in 2004 when he no doubt thought he still had a long run on the A list before him...

[excel1]

1 hour ago, YM! said:

No Elrodi Supes is always a win. I don’t want to associate Superman with the asshat he plays from Euphoria. Nothing against the guy, he’s a great actor and probably a decent guy, I just kind of have him typecasted like Tom Holland doing roles as an action lead outside of Spider-Man in that I can’t take it seriously.

 

Good thing Christian Bale wasn't cast as Batman, I would only be able to see him as the ice-cold serial killers he nailed in American Psycho.

[Jake Gittes]

10 hours ago, excel1 said:

 

Pretty sure Hartnett is now on record saying he regrets passing on one of Batman or Superman, so Hartnett of today may be wiser than he was in 2004 when he no doubt thought he still had a long run on the A list before him...

 

Looked it up. He retroactively regrets passing on Batman simply because he missed a chance to become a Nolan regular. (But now he's in Oppenheimer, so all's well that ends well.) On Superman, all he's got is stuff like this:

 

Quote

 

“I decided to have a life,” says Mr Hartnett. “To put that first. That was always my goal.” It’s a theme he returns to throughout the interview, the decision, as he sees it, to prioritise relationships with friends and family over those with industry powerbrokers.

I feel very strongly about friends I’ve known for a long time and my family. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t losing those relationships. Those people make me who I am. I put those concerns ahead of chasing a Hollywood dream.”

 

Which you'd think you know without my help if you really cared about what your boy has to say instead of what could have been 20 years ago.

[filmlover]

What stands out as goofy to me is the notion from the HR report that Rachel Brosnahan reportedly might be "too old" at 32 for what they're looking for in this Lois when she's just three years older than Corenswet and she reportedly killed it in her audition. Only thing that I can think of that would justify that line of thinking is if this Lois is breaking from tradition and isn't an already established big name reporter when she and Clark first meet.

[kayumanggi]

 

[WittyUsername]

4 hours ago, filmlover said:

What stands out as goofy to me is the notion from the HR report that Rachel Brosnahan reportedly might be "too old" at 32 for what they're looking for in this Lois when she's just three years older than Corenswet and she reportedly killed it in her audition. Only thing that I can think of that would justify that line of thinking is if this Lois is breaking from tradition and isn't an already established big name reporter when she and Clark first meet.

People also complained that Amy Adams was too old, so that’s par for the course. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by WittyUsername