The DCU Officially Kicks Off as James Gunn Casts David Corenswet & Rachel Brosnahan as his Superman and Lois Lane for 'Superman: Legacy'

by Darian Scalamoni

    After many months of speculation, screen tests and reports from the trades, it's official. According to Variety, David Corenswet (Hollywood, Pearl) and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, House of Cards) have been selected to be the new Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane respectively in the newly entrenched DCU for Warner Discovery.

    The highly coveted roles were down to three finalists for each role with Corenswet edging out Nicholas Hoult and Tom Brittany for the iconic superhero who dons the red cape. He'll follow names such as Christopher Reeve, Brandon Routh and Henry Cavill as feature film versions of Superman. Brosnahan was selected over other finalists Emma Mackey and Phoebe Dynevor for the role of Lois, Clark's co-worker at the Daily Planet and eventual lover. She will succeed actresses such as Margot Kidder, Kate Bosworth and Amy Adams for the role in the upcoming film, Superman: Legacy which flies into theaters on July 11, 2025.

    James Gunn signed on to write and direct Superman: Legacy back in March, however, the first chapter of the DCU was fully announced back in January, which we fully detailed right here. Superman: Legacy is set to be the very first fully fledged DCU movie under the vision of Gunn and Peter Safran, who took over to co-anchor the DC banner for WB in October 2022. Gunn had previously directed both The Suicide Squad and the HBO Max spinoff series, Peacemaker for DC following his commitment to Marvel where he directed the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.

    Following the very long casting process to find Clark and Lois, Gunn and co. will now look to cast supporting characters such as Lex Luthor, which has Alexander Skarsgard, Bill Skarsgard and the aforementioned Hoult as top contenders. Additionally, Gunn is looking to cast Clark's friend, Jimmy Olsen as well as members of the superhero team, The Authority, who will make their on-screen debut in Superman: Legacy. 

    For Corenswet, this is a career-defining role which comes off the heels of his roles in 2022 horror film, Pearl, as well as roles in Netflix series, Hollywood and The Politician, both created and produced by Ryan Murphy. Corenswet also starred in recent HBO series, We Own This City. He'll next appear in the Apple series, Lady in the Lake, as well as Twisters with Anthony Ramos and Daisy Edgar-Jones. 

    Brosnahan is an Emmy-winner for her role in the Amazon Prime Video series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for which she plays the titular character, a female stand-up comedian in the 1950s. She broke out back in 2013 for her role as a call girl named Rachel Posner in House of Cards.