Nearly a year after James Gunn’s Superman kicked off the DC Universe’s film slate in style, follow-up Man of Tomorrow has started production. As one might expect, the highly anticipated film brings back several members of the Superman cast, but there are also plenty of fresh faces in the ensemble. Lars Eidinger is onboard to portray villain Brainiac, but the more talked-about newcomer is arguably Adria Arjona. Reports of her casting surfaced a week ago, but her exact role has yet to be confirmed. For a while, Arjona has been a popular pick to play Wonder Woman, and that speculation only continues to grow.
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On Instagram (via X account Adria Arjona Updates), a video of the actress working out was posted. Given the timing, with Man of Tomorrow now filming, it’s reasonable to assume this was part of Arjona’s training regimen for her role. On social media, several of the responses lean into the Wonder Woman rumors.
Is Adria Arjona Playing Maxima or Wonder Woman in Man of Tomorrow?
Wonder Woman is just one character Arjona is rumored to be playing in the DCU. There’s also been speculation that she’s portraying Maxima, queen of the planet Almerac who arrives to Earth with the intention of mating with Superman. Considering Maxima’s history in the comics, including her in Man of Tomorrow would make a lot of sense. There’s a storyline where she is initially allied with Brainiac before having a change of heart. It’s possible Man of Tomorrow could pull from that, establishing Maxima as a wild card who starts as an enemy but later switches sides.
As eager as fans are to see the DCU’s Wonder Woman, an argument can be made that Man of Tomorrow is not the right place to debut her. Wonder Woman is (understandably) going to be a key part of the franchise moving forward. Rather than including her in what’s essentially a jam-packed Superman sequel (Aaron Pierre is reprising his Lanterns role of John Stewart in the film), it would be better to introduce the new Wonder Woman in her own standalone project so that the focus could solely be kept on her. DC Studios is developing a new Wonder Woman movie, but casting won’t begin until Gunn signs off on the script.
From that perspective, Maxima would probably be the better fit for Man of Tomorrow. Not only does the Brainiac connection give the filmmakers an easy way in, she isn’t as high-profile a character (at least to mainstream moviegoers) at this point in time. Most general audiences will come into Man of Tomorrow with little to no Maxima baggage. That wouldn’t be the case for Wonder Woman, and if Diana Prince didn’t have much to do in Man of Tomorrow, that would be disappointing. Maxima can be a supporting player in a story that revolves around Superman and Lex Luthor forming an uneasy alliance to stop Brainiac.
It will be interesting to see when or if Gunn addresses Arjona’s casting. Fans know Gunn is always one to respond to rumors and reports on social media, clearing things up so fans can adjust their expectations. While he was quick to debunk an earlier report regarding a shortlist for a Man of Tomorrow female role, he’s remained mum on the news of Arjona’s casting. It even wasn’t something Warner Bros. touched on during its CinemaCon presentation, so for now, fans will continue to theorize. As Man of Tomorrow makes its way through production, many will be hoping Gunn says something on the Arjona front before set photos leak and spoil a surprise.
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