'Superman: Legacy' Pulls Off Terrific Casting With Hawkgirl And Nathan Fillion As Green Lantern
'Superman: Legacy' Pulls Off Terrific Casting With Hawkgirl And Nathan Fillion As Green Lantern
In addition to Fillion, Isabela Merced and Edi Gathegi join as familiar heroes, though not often in Supes's closest circles
Another round of Superman: Legacy casting was revealed Tuesday, marking two years until it’s able to birth the new DC Universe. While the next Lex Luthor is still being sought after, the newest iterations of Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, and Green Lantern Guy Gardner were announced: Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi, and Nathan Fillion. They join David Corenswet as Clark Kent aka Superman and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.
James Gunn, the film’s director and DC Studios co-CEO’s excitement shone through, stating on Threads “It may seem far away to many of you, but it’s close to me! We have a lot to do between now and then. But I haven’t been more excited about a project in forever… and this cast, slowly coming together… holy cow…” These roles establish right away that the world is already populated by superheroes, and connections are already starting. Gunn told another fan that the characters’ inclusions fit the story, even with such a focus on Clark and Lois.
Merced started out on Nickelodeon, starring as CJ Martin on 100 Things To Do Before High School, and in their TV movies Splitting Adam and Legends of the Hidden Temple. She would go on to star in Transformers: The Last Knight, Sicario: Day of the Soldado and Dora and the Lost City of Gold. It’s not confirmed whether she’s playing Shiera Sanders Hall, Shayera Hol, or Kendra Saunders, but fans pointed out that the image Merced used to mark the occasion (and her birthday) was of Kendra Saunders. Regardless of which, she is the third Latina woman to play such a prominent onscreen version: Maria Canals-Barrera voiced Shayera Hol in the DCAU and Ciara Renée played Saunders in the Arrowverse.
Gathegi, who played the vampire Laurent in Twilight and New Moon, but he might most be recognized as the ever-evolving Darwin in X-Men: First Class, the character whose power is not dying that managed to be the film’s first death. He will be playing the Michael Holt version of Mister Terrific, who is not only a skilled combatant but a brilliant inventor and tactician, with his otherworldly intellect. He pays tribute to his predecessor Terry Sloane on the sleeve of his jacket which has his catchphrase “Fair Play”. The most well-known prior TV or film iteration is Echo Kellum’s Curtis Holt on Arrow, debuting in the fourth season, taking on the name as it’s this version of Sloane’s wrestling persona.
Gunn is delighted to give Fillion Gardner’s signature bowl haircut, stating it “might have been my primary reason for casting him.” After all, they’re old pals, their collaborations going as far back through Slither, James Gunn’s PG Porn, and Super, appearing as a prisoner in the first Guardians of the Galaxy and Master Carja in Vol. 3. Of course, Gunn brought him to the previous continuity when he directed The Suicide Squad, where he played T.D.K., or The Detachable Kid. That was a character whose powers consisted of the ability to separate his limbs from his body and telekinetically launch them at his enemies, but he’s in the initial team that fatally fails their first mission.
Superman: Legacy marks Fillion’s live action debut as a Green Lantern. He voiced the Hal Jordan Green Lantern in six direct-to-video DC animated films: Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, Justice League: Doom, and then four films in the DC Animated Movie Universe. They were Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, The Death of Superman and its sequel Reign of the Supermen. Finn Wittrock was attached to play the character in a Green Lantern TV series that was an early announcement for HBO Max before troubles led to it being refocused to John Stewart. That was eventually scrapped in favor of the Lanterns series of the new DC Universe, which stars Hal and John.
Superman: Legacy, scheduled to be released on July 11, 2025, is also said to be about Clark “balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing”. Gunn has also promised that Jimmy Olsen will have a role in the film. Gunn’s co-CEO Peter Safran described their overall goal is accessibility that allows viewers to go into any of the future movies and shows without needing to do intense binge-watching catchup. “The good news is, if you've seen nothing that we've done before, you can watch Superman Legacy, you can watch Creature Commandos, you can watch Peacemaker season two, and you can watch Blue Beetle. All of that. We are trying to minimize audience confusion and maximize their enjoyment.”
Sources: Vanity Fair