James Gunn Debunks Latest DC Universe Casting Rumors

James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Universe is gaining momentum, with the promise of bringing a number of beloved and lesser-known characters to life onscreen. As the ensemble cast of the saga's first film, Superman: Legacy, has begun to take shape, there have been a slew of casting rumors about other potential superhero characters. In a recent post to Threads, Gunn directly contradicted the latest string of rumors, revealing that he and Safran "are never going to cast roles without scripts," perhaps to give the potential actor proof of concept for their character.

"I get asked about rumors of various actors being cast in various roles every day," Gunn writes. "Just a blanket rule to keep in mind while assessing whether these rumors have any truth to them (99% of the time they're false) – we are never going to cast roles without scripts."

What Is Superman: Legacy About?

Per DC Studios, Superman: Legacy tells the story of Superman's journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned. Superman: Legacy will be written and directed by Gunn, and will serve as the first film installment of his and Peter Safran's DC Universe reboot.

Superman: Legacy will star David Corenswet as Clark Kent / Superman, alongside Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica / The Engineer, Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt / Mr. Terrific, and Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason / Metamorpho.

"It's not an origin story," DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran told reporters earlier this year. "It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice, and the American way. He has kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned."

What Is On the DC Universe Slate?

As Gunn and Safran revealed earlier this year, the initial DC Studios slate for "Gods and Monsters" will include movies for Superman: Legacy, The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Swamp Thing, and The Authority. It will include the HBO Max television shows Waller, Booster Gold, Lanterns, Paradise Lost, and an animated Creature Commandos series.

"A lot of people think it's going to be Marvel 2.0, and definitely I learned a lot of stuff at Marvel. I think that we have a lot of differences," Gunn explained at the time. "We are telling a big, huge, central story that is like Marvel, except for, I think that we're a lot more planned out than Marvel from the beginning because we've gotten a group of writers together to work that story out completely. But we're also creating a universe that is like Star Wars, where there's different times, different places, different things, or Game of Thrones, where characters are a little bit more morally complex." 

What do you think of James Gunn debunking the latest DCU rumor? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!