Inside ‘Superman: Legacy’ Screen Tests As Decision 2023 Drags Into Week Two

With The flash not proving to be the box office savior Warner Bros. expected, the pressure on new DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran increased exponentially.

And that, in turn, means weight gain Superman: Legacy, the inaugural film from Gunn and Safran. And it may not be more important than choosing the right actor to play Clark Kent / Superman and the professional and romantic film of him, Lois Lane.

Gunn, who is writing and directing the film, held tryouts the weekend of June 17 on the Warner lot in Burbank, and the process was held in a lead-lined box as Gunn demonstrates the assembled cuts to a decision-making committee of executives, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is among them. Despite the secrecy, some details have emerged, although not the final choice.

Gunn, according to sources, gathered three actors and three actresses for Superman and Lane respectively, and on Saturday, the first day of tests, the actors were seen in predetermined pairs: Nicholas Hoult and Rachel Brosnahan; Tom Brittney and Phoebe Dynevor; and David Corenswet and Emma Mackey. They were given several scenes to film, where the males were made up and dressed like Daily planet reporter Kent while the women were brave reporter Lane.

Then on Sunday, Hoult, Brittney and Corenswet had another round of tryouts, this time in Superman suits. Interestingly, only Mackey was brought in that day to play Lane in front of the actors.

Sources caution that just because Mackey has moved on to day two doesn’t mean she’s the favorite for Lane, though it might be hard not to draw that conclusion.

The search for Superman is complex. In Gunn’s version of back to basics, any one chosen has to be able to play someone who is believably a Kansas farm boy, a big-city media reporter, and the Man of Steel, capable of to jump tall buildings in just one limit.

The research brings back memories of tests for leadership in the infamous 2011 Green Lantern, in which the actors were to play cocky pilot Hal Jordan and a masked space cop from the Green Lantern Corps. The casting was entrusted to Ryan Reynolds and Bradley Cooper, but the focus was on the mask. Some within the studio favored Cooper, but he fared poorly in superhero costume tests. It is very likely that the same situation is happening Inheritance.

Gunn had an assembled cut of the tryouts by Wednesday to show at Warner’s top brass. A decision could come this week.

And once the decisions about Kent and Lane are made, Gunn will quickly pull the trigger on the next wave. Sources say there’s also a shortlist for villain Lex Luthor (brothers Alexander and Bill Skarsgard have been mentioned as members, and it’s unclear whether Hoult, who was initially wanted for the part before deciding to try out for Kent /Superman, would put himself back in the running.) There are other heroes to choose from as well, such as members of a supergroup called the Authority (part of the new storyline is Superman joining a world where superheroes already exist).

Gunn hopes he has Superman: Legacy before the cameras in early 2024, in time for a July 11, 2025 release. The film will attempt to kick off an entirely new slate based on DC characters after two attempts over the past twelve years failed due to various factors, including box office failures and changes in studio ownership. Warner is about to release the last three films made by the previous regime. Fast, which was internally deemed the best of the bunch (and, buoyed by high test screening scores, foreordained a hit), unexpectedly cratered theatrically. Box office expectations are not sky-high for Blue Beetle, which opens in August and stars Xolo Maridueña, who will continue in the new Universe. Meanwhile, observers are wondering if Aquaman and the lost kingdomdue out in December, can match the $1.1 billion high from the original, released five years ago, an excruciatingly long time to wait for a sequel in the world of superhero movies.

Superman will have a year-and-a-half theatrical hiatus between films from the former regime, but Gunn and Safran know they not only have to nail it as a blockbuster on its terms, but do their best to generate excitement for the films and shows to come After.