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Superman: Legacy: James Gunn Defends Cast Size; Mr. Terrific Tease

Superman: Legacy writer/director James Gunn pushed back on concerns that the film has a large cast and clarified that they are not cameos.

On Monday, DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn was finally able to confirm the rumors that had been rumbling around for a few weeks. Gunn & co-DC Studios head Peter Safran had found their Lex Luthor in Nicholas Hoult (Hulu's The Great). Of course, playing a role with a reputation that (in)famous, it's safe to assume that Lex's presence will be felt on both the big and small screens. Following up on his confirmation announcement, Gunn has been on social media (mostly Threads) to address a wide range of questions, concerns & comments from the fans (and some who might not be big fans). For this go-around, Gunn tackles one topic that keeps coming up with each casting announcement – that the cast of Superman: Legacy is getting too big & filled with too many cameos, with The Man of Steel's story being sacrificed for the sake of building out the new DCU. It's an issue that he's tackled in the past and continues to tackle, making the spot-on case that there's been a long history of films with large casts that didn't lose sight of the main character. In addition, Gunn makes it clear that the characters who are appearing aren't making "cameos" and that they're in the film for reasons that work for the story.

"Superman: Legacy" Character Gunn's Excited for Audiences to See…: Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific.

Gunn Pushes Back on Assumption that "Superman: Legacy" Has a Large Cast: "The whole point was it's NOT a large film – I mean, not in terms of cast. It's normal for single-protagonist films to have other characters – much more unusual for them not to."

Gunn's Not Into Cameos Just for the Sake of Having Cameos: "I call that 'Cameo Porn', and it has been one of the worst elements of recent superhero films. If a character is in film, they have to have a reason to be there story-wise."

That Doesn't Mean Gunn Doesn't Appreciate a Real Cameo of Easter Egg: "I don't mind actual cameos – if it's a glimpse or a moment, an Easter egg. What bothers me is when they mangle an elegant story by shoehorning characters in – they aren't there because the story calls for it but for some other reason."

Again, Gunn's Fine with a Cameo If It Serves the Storyline – Not Vice-Versa: "That's fine if it doesn't disrupt the story. It's the plot contrivances that develop from a cameo, not the cameo itself."

Set for a Summer 2025 premiere, DC Studios' Superman: Legacy stars (so far) David Corenswet (Hollywood) set as Superman/Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane. In addition, the cast includes  Isabela Merced (Sicario: Day of the Soldado) as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) as Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion (The Rookie) as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho.

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