Superman: Legacy’s James Gunn Debunks New Michael Rooker Rumor

Superman: Legacy is one step closer to becoming a reality, with some major casting decisions being announced for the upcoming DC film. Legacy will be written and directed by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn, which has led fans to wonder if some of his cinematic staples will continue over to the film. This includes the possibility of some sort of cameo from Michael Rooker, who has appeared in every single one of Gunn’s movies, which has kicked off a number of fancasts about his potential role. Rooker was recently rumored to be portraying General Sam Lane, the father of Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), in Legacy — but now, we’ve learned the truth about that.

In a recent post on Threads, Gunn confirmed that “it is not” true that General Lane will be appearing in the film, as portrayed by Rooker.

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 Superman: Legacy‘s new Michael Rooker rumor? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!