‘Superman: Legacy’: David Corenswet & Rachel Brosnahan Will Lead James Gunn’s New DC Film

It’s a bird; it’s a plane; no, it’s finally: the casting of James Gunn’s “Superman Legacy.” After months and weeks of auditions, test screening updates, speculation, gossip, etc., DC Studios has found its Clarke Kent/Superman and Lois Lane. As mentioned in several trade outlets in the past few weeks, two top contenders for the role of the Man of Steel and Lois Lane were Rachel Brosnahan, known for “House Of Cards” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and the lesser-known David Corenswet, familiar to those who know Ryan Murphy’s work(he’s starred in Murphy’s Netflix projects “The Politician,” “Hollywood” and more recently in the indie horror “Pearl” and David Simon’s “We Own The City”). And it’s those two who have nabbed the coveted lead roles, Corenswet as Superman and Brosnahan as the fast-talking reporter Lois Lane.

READ MORE: ‘Superman: Legacy’: Skarsgård Brothers In Mix For Lex Luthor As Clark/Lois Hopefuls Are Testing In Specific Pairings

So let the speculation officially end.

Deadline reports that the duo got the role after they screen-tested together in front of DC Studios co-chairs Peter Safran and Gunn (who is writing and directing) in full costume and makeup for the parts.

The news comes just a day after reports that the Skarsgård brothers, Alex and Bill Skarsgård, were in the mix to play Lex Luthor (that part is not confirmed, nor anyone’s role officially yet.

Corenswet and Brosnhan scoring the roles mean actors like Nicholas Hoult and Tom Brittney (in contention to play Superman/Clark Kent) and Emma Mackey and Phoebe Dynevor (in contention for Lois), unfortunately, go home empty-handed (and poor Hoult lost out to Robert Pattinson for The Batman role too).

The hopeful news that will excite fans also comes on the heels of a fairly bad week for DC and Warner Bros. Costing more than 200 million and reported to potentially lose a ton of money, “The Flash”—a film Gunn himself had trumpeted as one of the best superhero movies ever—failed miserably at the box office. In fact, just recently, in its second week of release, the film fell more than 70% in week two and was outgrossed by “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse,” which came out a full week ahead of it.

“The Flash” has been DC Studios’ second flop of 2023 after “Shazam! Fury of The Gods.” Many pundits are speculating they’ll face two more black eyes this year before the year is done with August’s “Blue Beetle” and the “Aquaman” sequel. While the latter film grossed over $1 billion at the box office in 2018, the film has been plagued with rumors of bad test screenings, numerous reshoots, and a drastic retooling of the entire narrative.

Whatever the narrative is, DC has had many bombs in a row before “The Flash,” including “Wonder Woman 1984,” Gunn’s own “The Suicide Squad,” and the Margot Robbie-starring “Birds Of Prey.”

“Superman Legacy” will be the big DC reset two years from now, and fans will be hoping it’ll be a fresh start. But the truth may be the brand is practically in freefall at the moment in the cinematic landscape, DC is just not Marvel, and whatever the case, Gunn surely has his work cut out for him to convince audiences to believe again in this second-tier superhero studio.

“Superman: Legacy” is due in theaters on July 11, 2025.