Casting is still underway on James Gunn‘s “Superman” sequel, “Man of Tomorrow,” as a new trade report is outlining that actress Adria Arjona is being named a frontrunner who is auditioning to play the alien character Maxima (alongside others) in the next DCU event release. While not a hugely well-known character to the general audience, the Almeracian, created back in 1989, has been both villain (having been involved with Brainiac’s dastardly plots) and hero, and eventually joined the ranks of the Justice League.
The report that originates from Deadline has since removed the names of Marisa Abela (“Industry,” “Black Bag”) and “Fallout” breakout Ella Purnell from their Maxima shortlist, so it’s unclear if they’re as strongly in the mix as competing contenders. Perhaps they were being looked at for other roles, or the outlet editors decided to nix that part of their story because they couldn’t verify the information.
READ MORE: 17 Must-See April Films: ‘The Drama,’ ‘The Christophers,’ ‘Mother Mary,’ ‘Normal’ & More
UPDATE: Now, we have a better idea why the other two names were scrapped from the report, as Gunn himself has taken to Threads to pour cold water on the casting update, by calling it “bulls***.”
“Deadline’s reporting is shoddy and incorrect. I’ve always thought Deadline was pretty thorough in their journalism, but that’s not the case here, so I’m frankly disappointed. If someone would have run these names by us, we would have said it’s bulls***. I’ve been friends with Adria for a long time since I cast her in the ‘Belko Experiment.’ I’m a fan of both Marisa and Ella, but I’ve never met either of them. Crazy,” the writer/director said in response to the Maxima story.
An interesting angle here is that Arjona, who had a key supporting part in two seasons of Lucasfilm‘s “Andor,” was being hailed as a fan-favorite to play the DCU’s Wonder Woman after there was confirmation from Gunn that a new solo film was in the works at DC Studios from “Supergirl” screenwriter Ana Nogueira.
If hired, Arjona would be joining David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, and Arron Pierre, who is set to reprise the John Stewart role from “Lanterns.” Lars Eidinger had been previously cast as supervillain Brainiac after the character was nearly used in Tim Burton‘s iteration of the property when Nicolas Cage was tapped to play the DC hero.
While not confirmed by the studio or Gunn, we wouldn’t be entirely shocked if Milly Alcock and Jason Momoa‘s Lobo are part of the project, given the cosmic elements going on here, and Supergirl’s connection to Brainiac alongside her cameo appearance in “Superman.”
Warner Bros. has already set the release for “Man of Tomorrow” for July 9, 2027, with cameras expected to start rolling in the very near future.
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
