Filmmaker James Gunn opened up about casting rumors swirling around “Superman: Legacy” whilst making an appearance on the Inside of You podcast with Michael Rosenbaum this week.
A little under a week ago came a report in the trades that the first in-person tests with DC chiefs Peter Safran and James Gunn will take place this coming weekend or early next week.
Those reports suggested Nicholas Hoult, David Corenswet, and Tom Brittney would up for Clark Kent/Superman, whilst Emma Mackey, Rachel Brosnahan and Phoebe Dynevor are up for Lois Lane.
Gunn shoots down those stories about the auditions and the names attached to the DC Universe, which he and Peter Safran are building, going into detail as to how these rumors get started:
“Now that we’ve kind of done a lot of auditions, we’re narrowing it down. We’re not done yet. There are things in there that are completely false, but I can’t go out there and say, ‘Oh this isn’t true, and this isn’t true’ without going through everything.
And by the way, it’s not the audience’s – at this point, I don’t think it’s the business of anyone who is screen-testing for a role. That is a very private thing. Journalists have to do what they have to do. That’s their job. They’re trying to get hits.
They find out some things from agencies, but here’s the problem – is that they find out some things from agencies that might be true. They find out other things from agencies, which are agencies pushing their clients and trying to pump it up, like ‘I think my client is testing!’
There’s a lot of nonsense that comes out of it, and that’s difficult because there’s people out there that are supposedly testing that aren’t, and that must be difficult for them as people. And there’s other people that might be testing… and I think it’s a private thing between me and them.”
The “Guardians of the Galaxy” filmmaker previously warned fans not to believe anything unless it came directly from him or Safran. Gunn also offered an update on how the second season of Max’s “Peacemaker” is progressing.
He confirmed the show would return, and it will be his immediate post-“Superman: Legacy” work: “Peacemaker’s coming back right after Superman. That’s my next thing. Yeah, [I] go straight from Superman to Peacemaker.”
This isn’t unusual for Gunn, who directed “The Suicide Squad” in late 2019/early 2020 and then jumped to shooting “Peacemaker” across the first half of 2021 – finishing that shoot before the ‘Squad’ movie opened in cinemas Summer 2021. Gunn could potentially film ‘Superman’ early next year and have filmed “Peacemaker” S2 before ‘Legacy’ hits cinemas in July 2025.
