James Gunn's Superman Coming In 2025

[Frontier]

I like Bautista but I don't see him pulling off Brainaic.

[daBronzeBomma]

I feel like if Brainiac is even in Legacy, then it should be played by the biggest star actor possible (a la Gene Hackman in 1978, or Jack Nicholson in 1989).

Oscar winner who gets to show how comfortable they can be with superhero fare.

So ... who is the best previous-Oscar-winner that could play a tremendous Brainiac while raising the Star Power level of this movie?

[Prime]

I’m pretty sure Bautista said he wanted to move away from cape stuff and do more drama roles or something.

[daBronzeBomma]

Just throwing it out there:

Two-time Oscar winner Christopher Waltz as Vril Dox / Milton Fine / Brainiac ?

[Vordan]

Just throwing it out there:

Two-time Oscar winner Christopher Waltz as Vril Dox / Milton Fine / Brainiac ?

If you think the movie needs a “star actor” then you can’t be grabbing people the general public can’t identify at a glance. No one is going to the theaters just to see that guy. You’d need to get Tom Cruise or Leo DiCaprio to play the main villain in order to get people curious.

[Vordan]

Dunno if it was a rando or DC Studios, but IMBD updated the synopsis to incorporate the new motto:

[Last Son of Krypton]

Kurt Russell talks rumors of him playing Superman's papa:

[Jeffrey2]

Kurt Russell talks rumors of him playing Superman's papa:

Russell seems to shoot the rumor down - or not? Either way Superman Legacy needs star power. Preferably in the casting of Brainiac? But given there are 7 villains already cast (not counting Luthor and recognizing that The Engineer is not really a villain) it's not a given that SL gets a Big Bad. The film is overcrowded as it is. There is not that much buzz for the film and it needs a big star in a prominent role to get audiences interested.

[Last Son of Krypton]

Another casting rumor from the agencies:

[Jeffrey2]

Another casting rumor from the agencies:

If true not a surprise. SL is an ensemble film meant to showcase upcoming DCU projects/characters with Superman effectively a plot point. Gunn's focus is not on telling a Superman-centric story - the more bloated Superman Legacy becomes the harder it becomes to deny it. Superman fans will not be happy if Superman/Clark end up having less than optimal screentime/story development to make room for explicating all the other characters squeezed into the film.

[Last Son of Krypton]

Kara is Superman's Legacy and Krypton's Legacy. She should be a must in a movie about Superman balancing his dual heritage and with that title (Legacy).

[Vordan]

Kara is Superman's Legacy and Krypton's Legacy. She should be a must in a movie about Superman balancing his dual heritage and with that title (Legacy).

She wasn’t in Birthright which was all about Superman grappling with his Legacy and the story worked just fine. I don’t buy that she’s a needed complement for Superman grappling with his heritage… but I can see how she might be an asset for that. At the very least we’re starting to see the Brainiac influence:



Bet we get a scene like this and I bet Brainiac comes to Earth in the first place because of Kara.

[Last Son of Krypton]

She wasn’t in Birthright which was all about Superman grappling with his Legacy and the story worked just fine. I don’t buy that she’s a needed complement for Superman grappling with his heritage… but I can see how she might be an asset for that. At the very least we’re starting to see the Brainiac influence:



Bet we get a scene like this and I bet Brainiac comes to Earth in the first place because of Kara.

Yeah but Birthright is an origin story. DCU's Superman already live in a world filled with superheroes and he is past his "origin" phase. Kara like Kandor connect him in a more concrete way with his heritage when Superman is years into his superhero career.

[Vordan]

Yeah but Birthright is an origin story. DCU's Superman already live in a world filled with superheroes and he is past his "origin" phase. Kara like Kandor connect him in a more concrete way with his heritage when Superman is years into his superhero career.

My concern is I do not want this to be a movie more about Kal showing Kara around then it is about him. Even if it’s not an origin he can still learn about his heritage in other ways. I don’t want Kara to be the stealth main character, she has her own movie coming where she can be the focus. Now Johns/Frank Brainiac managed to walk that line of keeping Kal centered while still giving Kara a mini arc of her own fairly well, hopefully Gunn can do the same.



I can see both Brainiac and Kara being unimpressed with Earth and asking Kal why he is so dedicated to protecting it, meanwhile Stormwatch accuses him of disloyalty for not turning over Kara to them and views him as an alien threat. That could be the balance he has to strike, honoring his heritage while not losing sight of Earth’s worth.

[Jeffrey2]

Interesting timing as today Deadline has an article critical of WBD and hinting at what is not the best kept secret - that WB will be sold. That is the expectation of many and adding Supergirl to the already overstuffed SL is seen by some as evidence Superman Legacy is a DC Showcase film meant to highlight many of the DC properties to potential buyers. Remember how folks freaked over all the characters in BvS? Well Snyder can hold Gunn's beer. BTW, Gunn apologists have no problem with this happening in SL but sharply criticized Snyder for doing the same thing on a smaller scale.

Zaslav and WBD are not respected in Hollywood. Creative talen is reluctant to work with WBD given what has happened. A key quote from the article.

Warners is playing hardball as it wants to cover the $70M and then some. So, TBD who wins this. But at the end of the day, Warners, Acme vs. Coyote isn’t Disney’s Song of the South. There’s no reason to bury this film in the vault for others not to see it. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this, and the sense of humor rivals the sophistication of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Also, wake up, Warner Bros — all of this is bad for business.

One filmmaker told me recently: “We have a project over at Warners in development. We’re so not pursuing active development until the studio is sold. God knows what will happen to projects in development.”

https://deadline.com/2023/12/coyote-...rs-1235658240/