James Gunn’s Superman is designed as a “drop-in” start to the rebooted DC Universe, with Clark Kent already active as a hero and Metropolis packed with other costumed players, corporate power brokers, and newsroom personalities.
The core triangle at the center of the story
David Corenswet
Plays: Clark Kent / Superman
Corenswet steps in as a younger Clark, balancing two lives: the public symbol in the sky and the Daily Planet reporter on the ground. The movie positions him as emotionally present and still figuring out how to stay steady when new pressures hit from every direction.
Rachel Brosnahan
Plays: Lois Lane
Brosnahan’s Lois is a sharp, relentless reporter (and Clark’s girlfriend) who treats every claim like it needs to be proven, not assumed—making her one of the story’s most important counterweights to superhero mythmaking.
Nicholas Hoult
Plays: Lex Luthor
Hoult plays Lex as the modern, obsessive corporate rival—LuthorCorp’s CEO and the person most invested in tearing down Superman’s legitimacy. In this version, Lex isn’t just “anti-Superman”; he’s built around the need to outshine him.
The capes already living in this world
Nathan Fillion
Plays: Guy Gardner / Green Lantern
Fillion’s Guy Gardner is the loud, fearless Green Lantern you might not pick first—except he’s the one who shows up. He’s part of the film’s wider “superhero ecosystem,” and his personality is very intentionally abrasive.
Edi Gathegi
Plays: Michael Holt / Mister Terrific
Gathegi portrays Holt as a tech-driven hero—an inventor and strategist using advanced gear rather than cosmic magic. The movie frames him as a key member of the broader hero community already operating around Metropolis.
Isabela Merced
Plays: Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl
Merced plays Hawkgirl as a tough, blunt presence with a warrior edge—mace included. The film keeps some cards close to the chest, treating her as a serious part of the world rather than a one-off cameo.
Anthony Carrigan
Plays: Rex Mason / Metamorpho
Carrigan’s Metamorpho is one of the film’s most visually distinctive heroes, able to transform his body into different elemental forms. His storyline leans into the idea of someone pushed into painful situations while still trying to do the right thing.
Lex Luthor’s orbit
María Gabriela de Faría
Plays: Angela Spica / The Engineer
The Engineer is positioned as an ally of Lex Luthor whose abilities are tied to nanotech. She’s a major part of the film’s villain-side power structure—more than a henchperson, less than a simple “bad guy of the week.”
Sara Sampaio
Plays: Eve Teschmacher
Sampaio plays Eve as Lex’s glamorous assistant (and girlfriend), updated for a modern “always online” vibe while still anchored to the classic Superman film mythology.
Terence Rosemore
Plays: Otis
Rosemore appears as Otis—one of Lex’s muscle/operations pieces. He’s a smaller role compared with the headline villains, but it’s part of the film’s effort to give Luthor an actual apparatus around him.
Metropolis and the Daily Planet
Skyler Gisondo
Plays: Jimmy Olsen
Gisondo’s Jimmy is the eager Daily Planet photographer—quick, personable, and very much the guy who can move between the newsroom and the chaos outside it.
Wendell Pierce
Plays: Perry White
Pierce takes on Perry White, editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet—the boss who has to keep journalism moving while Superman-level events keep hijacking the city.
Beck Bennett
Plays: Steve Lombard
Bennett plays Lombard as the cocky sports reporter in the Planet bullpen—often positioned as an irritant (and occasional adversary) for Clark in the workplace.
Mikaela Hoover
Plays: Cat Grant
Hoover portrays Cat as the gossip columnist whose self-confidence fills the room. She’s not a superhero, but she’s part of the social machine that shapes reputations in Metropolis.
Christopher McDonald
Plays: Ron Troupe
McDonald plays Ron Troupe, one of the steadier reporters in the Planet staff—another reminder that this movie cares about the city’s “normal” institutions, not just the capes.
The people who made Clark Kent who he is
Pruitt Taylor Vince
Plays: Jonathan Kent
Vince plays Clark’s adoptive father, grounding Superman’s values in Smallville life rather than Kryptonian mythology.
Neva Howell
Plays: Martha Kent
Howell appears as Martha Kent, Clark’s adoptive mother—one of the emotional anchors that keeps “Superman” from becoming just a symbol and nothing else.
Bigger DCU connections you should notice
Frank Grillo
Plays: Rick Flag Sr.
Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. is part of the connective tissue—someone whose presence signals how Gunn’s DCU is building out shared-world continuity across projects.
Sean Gunn
Plays: Maxwell Lord
Sean Gunn plays Maxwell Lord as the corporate figure tied to funding the hero operation around Metropolis—another sign that this DCU has institutions and power networks beyond “secret caves and lone vigilantes.”
Alan Tudyk
Role: Gary
DC’s official movie page lists Tudyk in the cast, and full credits identify him as “Gary,” one of the film’s supporting players.
Bradley Cooper
Role: Jor-El
Cooper appears as Jor-El, Superman’s Kryptonian father—part of the film’s Krypton thread, even as the story’s main focus stays planted in Metropolis.
Why this ensemble matters
This isn’t a “build up to superheroes” movie. It starts in a world where superheroes, corporations, media narratives, and government-adjacent power players are already colliding—so the cast is intentionally dense. That’s the bet: if the audience accepts this as a living DCU from frame one, the rest of the franchise has room to move fast.
