Superman: Legacy adds three new heroes, and James Gunn teases even more for the new DCU

The first movie in the new cinematic DC Universe is going to show more of the universe than it first appeared, with the news that James Gunn's upcoming Superman: Legacy has added three more actors to its cast, with all three additions playing known members of the Justice League — but whether the Justice League itself will appear in the movie is still to be announced.

Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle), Isabela Merced (Transformers: The Last Knight, Dora and the Lost City of Gold), and Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class, For All Mankind) are joining the cast of the upcoming Superman: Legacy as Guy Gardner (aka Green Lantern), Hawkgirl, and Mister Terrific, respectively. This casting news was originally reported by Vanity Fair, and was later confirmed by James Gunn himself on Twitter.

This casting news follows the June 27 announcement of the casting of David Corensweet as Superman and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.

On Threads, Gunn went into some more detail about what’s happening. The three characters were added because ”they fit the story I’m telling. Story always comes first,” he explained, confirming that the actors and characters will appear throughout the new DCU. Indeed, Fillion specifically was confirmed as Guy Gardner in all DCU projects, with Gunn adding, “the Green Lanterns show is not separate.”

About Fillion playing Guy Gardner — fans of the character can rest assured that the actor will sport Guy’s, uh, “distinctive” hairstyle. “Giving my old pal Nate a bowl cut might have been my primary reason for casting him,” Gunn joked.

Gunn also confirmed that Jimmy Olsen will be part of the upcoming movie, but that the movie’s focus is most definitely on the characters audiences want to see: “The primary story most definitely revolves around Superman and Lois,” he teased.

As if that’s not enough, Gunn also revealed something else interesting about the new DCU on Threads: “Blue Beetle (played by the wonderful @xolo_mariduena) & a handful of other characters will continue on in the DCU,” he wrote, although he repeated that the first DC Studios movie is officially Superman: Legacy, with Creature Commandos being the first DC Studios project overall.

Superman: Legacy will hit theaters July 11, 2025. Blue Beetle, meanwhile, is set to debut August 18, 2023. Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets.

Check out our list of upcoming superhero movies for the next few years right here.