Henry Cavill’s successor, David Corenswet dons the Superman mantle

At last, David Corenswet has been cast as the new Superman to kickstart the brand-new DC slate envisioned by James Gunn and Peter Safran. The ‘Man of Steel’ as it turns out, is an unstoppable force of nature that nothing, not even the changes in the DC Studios leadership in the past year, can stop.

And while Corenswet is yet to be a household name lying in the same breath as Henry Cavill, the casting was years in the making. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2019, he shared his dream to play Clark Kent:

“But my pie-in-the-sky ambition is definitely to play Superman. I would love to see somebody do an upbeat, throwback [take on Superman]. I love the Henry Cavill dark and gritty take, but I would love to see the next one be very bright and optimistic.”

And who knew, maybe Gunn caught wind of the interview as this new Superman is set to be just that. In an interview with Variety, the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ director-turned-DC executive shared:

“The next Superman has to be someone who has all the humanity that Superman has but he’s also an alien. It’s gotta be somebody who has the kindness and the compassion that Superman has and be somebody who you want to give a hug.”

Gunn also shared in a tweet late last year that the upcoming project will “be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life” – an origin story of sorts.

Among those on the slate is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022

For those unfamiliar, Corenswet has starred in a number of projects including: ‘House of Cards,’ ‘Pearl,’ ‘We Own This City,’ ‘The Politician,’ ‘Hollywood,’ and ‘Lady in the Lake,’ to name a few.

The upcoming ‘Man of Steel’ film, titled ‘Superman: Legacy’ is set for release on July 11, 2025. Joining Corenswet so far is Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.