The DCU’s debut movie, Superman: Legacy, is poised to set the bar for future DCU releases, and is hitting the ground running by featuring 5 DC superheroes that have never appeared before in live-action movies. Despite ostensibly being a Superman film, Superman: Legacy has been confirmed to feature a cavalcade of other DC heroes in supporting roles. The plot for Superman: Legacy, meanwhile, will not comprise an origin story for Clark Kent, suggesting that these other DC characters will be long-established parts of the world in which the movie takes place.
The introduction of brand-new characters is well-trodden ground for Superman: Legacy director and writer – as well as DCU co-CEO – James Gunn, who is responsible for delivering top-tier superhero movies that center around lesser-known comic book characters such as Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad. Similarly, Gunn has a proven track record of capably dealing with multiple noteworthy characters in one movie. This is a good thing because the characters that are set to make their live-action movie debuts in Superman: Legacy are particularly strong additions to the DCU.
Every Actor Cast In Superman Legacy (So Far)
Superman: Legacy will be the first film released in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe, and the Man of Steel reboot boasts an impressive cast.
Superman: Legacy’s 5 Live-Action Movie Hero Debuts Explained
DC Hero | Confirmed Casting |
|---|---|
Metamorpho | Anthony Carrigan |
Hawkgirl | Isabela Merced |
Mister Terrific | Edi Gathegi |
The Engineer | María Gabriela De Faría |
Guy Gardner | Nathan Filion |
The connection between the confirmed cast of DCU heroes is yet to be established, though all are already associated with several DC teams. For example, The Engineer – a scientist with a liquid body that can create solid objects – has strong ties with the Authority, a team that will appear in a self-titled movie in the DCU’s first chapter. Metamorpho, meanwhile, is a DC hero with the powers of self-transmutation that can turn him into myriad elements and states of matter, and is also notably a permanent member of the Outsiders – a team that arose in the Brave and the Bold comic run, which shares its name with Batman’s first DCU movie.
Hawkgirl possesses the typical bevy of superpowers bestowed by the Nth Metal belt around her waist and was also first introduced in The Brave and the Bold. Mister Terrific also has ties to the Dark Knight in terms of his similarities to Batman, both in terms of physical prowess and their brilliant minds, which for Mister Fantastic begets some astounding technology. Both Hawkgirl and Mister Terrific have ties to the Justice Society of America. Finally, Guy Gardner is a Green Lantern and founding member of the Justice League who has had significant run-ins with Batman in his time. With all this in mind, it could be that all of these heroes are poised to set up huge future DCU stories.
Why DCU’s Early Live-Action Hero Introductions Are So Promising
Aside from the promising fact that it is James Gunn specifically taking the well-trodden path of portraying underappreciated heroes on-screen, introducing five of DC’s biggest yet underrepresented characters in the DCU’s debut movie is an exciting step that promises unique narratives in the DCU’s world that have never been done before in the live-action movie landscape. While The Brave and the Bold and Superman: Legacy will feature two DC heroes that have been done to death in movies, the fact that the latter will feature these characters alone sets up excitingly fresh future prospects for DC’s new cinematic franchise.
Key Release Dates
Joker: Folie a Deux
Release Date:2024-10-04
Superman: Legacy
Release Date:2025-07-11
The Batman – Part II
Release Date:2025-10-03
