Superman: Legacy’s Sean Gunn Has the Chance to Redeem Maxwell Lord After Wonder Woman 1984

While he didn’t make his way into yesterday’s cast photo, we have high hopes for Sean Gunn to redeem the character of Maxwell Lord in Superman: Legacy. The character’s previous screen appearance was in Wonder Woman 1984, where he was played by Pedro Pacal and served as the central antagonist of the movie. In Legacy, it doesn’t seem like he will have a huge role — and that’s probably good for the character himself. It’s possible — and we’re hopeful — Max won’t be a villain at all, in fact…or at least not the straightforward kind of villain he played in both Wonder Woman 1984 and TV’s Supergirl. 

Originally created by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire, Max Lord first appeared in 1987’s Justice League #1, at the start of what we now know as the Giffen/DeMatteis (or “bwa-ha-hah”) era of the title. In it, he was kind of a slimy ’80s businessman, and yes there were a few stories where he leaned more evil than others…but his central role was as the complicated and jerky spokesperson for a version of the Justice League that was subject to human oversight and therefore had a lot more politics to worry about than it had in the past.

In the years since, DeMatteis has often talked about the fact that he’s a little bummed Lord has become a mustache-twirling villain, and a Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire miniseries back in the mid-2000s even made fun of the decision to turn him evil.

(This isn’t about Pascal, or even Wonder Woman 1984. It’s about the fact that the character deserves to be more interesting than that.)

It was Geoff Johns’s Countdown to Infinite Crisis and its many follow-ups that took Max from being kind of slimy to a murderer hated by the audience. In it, he not only murdered Blue Beetle Ted Kord, but also revealed that he had been working as a sleeper agent all along to keep the Justice League dumb and ineffective. It’s that megalomaniacal version of Max that has dominated both comics and screen since…and it’s a disservice to the character and to the great Giffen/DeMatteis years.

On the other hand, it’s easy to imagine Sean Gunn doing something nuanced and interesting with Max. Look at what Gunn did in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, where his fairly one-dimensional comic relief character evolved into one of the most complex and likable characters in the MCU over the course of the films.

The fact that Legacy is shooting partially in Cincinnati — and therefore fans are hoping we might see Mr. Terrific, Hawkgirl, and company at the Hall of Justice — could theoretically give us a moment where we find out Max exists in the new DC Universe…in that original role, as the guy essentially holding the door and trying to con Superman into joining the team. And God, that would be an upgrade.

On top of all that, it could tie seamlessly into a popular fan theory that the JLI (Justice League International) could play a role in James Gunn’s new DC Universe. So…let’s go?

Superman: Legacy stars David Corenswet as the title character, with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Reports emerged soon after the SAG-AFTRA strike wrapped up, suggesting that the movie is likely to start production in the spring, giving it about a year and a half from the first day of filming until its theatrical release. That’s roughly in line with Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, which started production in November of 2021 and was released in April of this year.

Little is known about the story of Superman: Legacy, other than that it will involve a version of Superman who is settled into his role as the world’s protector, but who also has a network of allies to fall back on. Gotham‘s Anthony Carrigan is set to appear in the movie as Metamorpho, and other superheroes in the film include Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Superman’s origin story, already shown in a number of prior film adaptations, won’t take up a significant amount of real estate in Legacy, according to prior statements from Gunn.

Gunn is lining up some familiar talent on the project, with cinematographer Henry Braham (The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3); production designer Beth Mickle (The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3); costume designer Judianna Makovsky (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Avengers: Endgame); and art director David Scott (Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Spider-Man: No Way Home). Casting is by Yellowstone and Oppenheimer‘s John Papsidera.