James Gunn still wants JJ Abrams to develop his Superman, despite his own blockbuster

Surprise: Superman Legacy does not mean the abandonment of Superman Elseworld!

By signing to oversee the creation of the new DCU from Warner Bros with Peter Safran over a decade, James Gunn has decided to make Superman his priority: in March he will shoot his own blockbuster dedicated to the Man of Steel, with David Corenswet in the title role and Rachel Brosnahan in Lois Lane, for release scheduled for July 2025.

Asked on social media about the casting process for this film, in which he will also direct Nicholas Hoult or Nathan Fillion And Anthony Carriganthe director of Guardians of the Galaxy and of The Suicide Squad told about Threads that by tradition “everyone auditions for Superman in one of his previous costumes.” As was the case for Henry Cavill when he passed the casting for the Man of Steel of Zack Snydermoreover: for the occasion he wore the iconic outfit of Christopher Reeve (the photo can be seen again here). However, he specifies that “David had a hard time finding one in his size because he’s so big!“

Also explaining why he oversaw auditions open to everyone, and not just actors who already have an agent in Hollywood, Gunn said he wanted to meet “as many candidates as possible” for key roles in the DCU, and added: “I don’t want to abandon open casting, because sometimes it allows you to discover someone who fits perfectly, when you have a very specific type of character, for example.“

It then reveals that the production of Superman Legacy does not mean that another superhero project will be canceled: Abramsannounced in 2021 to produce and write an adaptation of Superman Elseworld with Ta-Nehisi-Coates (an American writer and journalist notably known for A black anger), is still developing this project for Warner, via his own company, Bad Robot. Will this film be a full part of the DCU? Or will it be apart of the main saga like the two opuses of Joker with Joaquin Phoenix ?

For the moment, the co-creative director of the superheroic branch of the firm says no more, but in the comics, this story is not part of the main timeline: it takes place in another universe than the adventures of Clark Kent.

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