Pruitt Taylor Vince Pops Onto 'Superman' As Jonathan Kent
Pruitt Taylor Vince Pops Onto 'Superman' As Jonathan Kent
James Gunn is done lining Pa Kents, he’s found the one
Don’t have a heart attack, James Gunn’s Superman has found the big blue boy scout’s Earth Dad. Pruitt Taylor Vince has been cast as Jonathan Kent in the film set for release on July 11, 2025, and will formally kick off the new DC Universe.
Kent and his wife Martha are the couple from Smallville, Kansas who adopt Kal-El and name him Clark after discovering him in his Kryptonian spaceship following his arrival on Earth. Frankly, Pa Kent’s death is probably one of the most well-known deaths in comic book media, up there with Ben Parker, Jason Todd and Gwen Stacy. Probably helped infamously by the DCEU’s bizarre choice to employ a tornado instead of the more typical heart attack route (though the New 52 chose a car accident to take both him and Martha out). The heart attack method teaches that no matter how powerful he becomes, Clark can't save everyone, and that includes the people he loves. Sometimes, Jonathan manages to survive well into Clark’s Supermanhood, allowing him to learn those lessons in other manners. The two biggest examples, especially of adaptations, are probably Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, where he was played by Eddie Jones, and the DC Animated Universe, where he was voiced by MASH veteran Mike Farrell. Not a death between them in the 88 and 145 respective episodes (not all appearances) they span. His most well-known portrayals are by Glenn Ford in the 1978 movie, John Schneider on Smallville, and Kevin Costner in Man of Steel.
Pruitt is no stranger to superhero media, having played Father Hennessy in the 2005 Constantine movie starring Keanu Reeves, Grill, the "gruff taskmaster" of the bad future’s Lighthouse junkyard in four episodes of Agents of SHIELD’s fifth season set in the Kree-occupied future, and seven episodes of Heroes Reborn as Casper Abraham. Next seen in Apple TV+’s Lady in the Lake, his most recent TV and film roles also include Bird Box, Gotti, The Blacklist, and Crime Story.
While it’s unknown what age threshold Clark crosses into being played by his main actor David Corenswet (and thus whether he and Vince will actually share the screen together), the story will see Clark “balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing”, not merely his civilian situation, so he and his lessons will certainly be kept close at heart even if this iteration doesn’t live to see Clark become Superman either.
Gunn is not only directing Superman but writing and likely executive producing due to his being the DC Studios Co-CEO. The film also stars Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner Green Lantern, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho aka Rex Mason, María Gabriela De Faría as Angela Spica, The Engineer, and a clique of villains with Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Terence Rosemore as Otis, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher.
When Superman opens in July, it will be the first film of the new DC Universe’s “Gods and Monsters” chapter.
Source: The Wrap