Does 'Superman: Legacy’ New Casting Confirm DCU Reboot? Not So Fast

Cinema Blend

The latest round of “Superman: Legacy” casting is raising a lot of questions. James Gunn confirmed Nathan Fillion has been cast as Guy Gardner (a Green Lantern), Isabella Merced will play Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi will play Mister Terrific and Anthony Carrigan has been cast as Metamorpho.   Some DC fans are concerned Gunn is crowding his film with too many DC heroes, and the film won’t focus on Superman. Others are wondering if “Superman: Legacy” will in fact be a hard reboot for the DC universe, given that Nathan Fillion previously played T.D.K. in Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad."  In this video, CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell and Hannah Saulic react to the casting and give their opinions on what this means for the DCU moving forward.

Transcript

00:00 (fighting sounds)

00:02 - What the?

00:10 - I didn't pick the damn team.

00:12 (upbeat music)

00:15 - Hey everyone, it's Sean O'Connell,

00:18 the managing editor at Cinema Blend.

00:19 Here with Hannah Sollack to discuss

00:22 some of the latest happenings.

00:24 Like you trampled all over my intro, Hannah.

00:26 - Oh my God, I was just saying hi.

00:28 (laughing)

00:29 - Is that rat waving at me?

00:31 - I ruined everything.

00:34 - Sorry, we're talking about--

00:35 - Let's not even do this video.

00:37 - You sure, yeah, it's a good idea.

00:38 - Yo, let me out!

00:39 - I can't be a part of this.

00:40 - Did you wear red for Superman?

00:43 - Yes, I did.

00:44 - That is a cape-esque red.

00:47 I like it.

00:47 - Yes, I did.

00:48 Thank you for noticing.

00:49 - And if you haven't seen Hannah's amazing Barbie interviews,

00:54 they're also on our YouTube channel where she wore pink.

00:57 - I did wear pink.

00:58 - Very literal dressing lately.

01:00 (laughing)

01:01 - So let me get this straight.

01:03 You do dress like a bat, like an actual bat.

01:06 - We wanted to get on and discuss this

01:07 because, surprise, surprise, DC fans are mad

01:11 about some of the stuff that's going on

01:12 with Superman Legacy.

01:13 - Some DC fans.

01:14 - Some DC fans, that's fair enough.

01:16 So Hannah, why don't you kick us off

01:17 and tell us what has happened

01:19 in the world of Superman Legacy

01:21 and then we will weigh in with our opinions.

01:23 - Yes, okay, so we got a whole bunch of new castings,

01:26 which I think is super exciting.

01:27 So we have Nathan Fillion,

01:29 who was cast as A Green Lantern, Guy Gardner.

01:32 We got Isabella Merced cast as Hawkgirl.

01:37 We got Eddie Gathegi as Mr. Terrific

01:39 and Anthony Kerrigan as Metamorpho and I love him.

01:43 I don't know if you've watched Barry.

01:45 - I watched a lot of Barry.

01:46 I haven't seen the whole thing, but I do like him.

01:48 - No HoHank fan, like A+ character.

01:50 I'm obsessed with him.

01:51 So I was super excited about that one in particular.

01:54 But yeah, people are basically mad about that

01:56 because there's a concern that

01:58 because there are so many characters from DC Comics

02:03 in a DC Comics movie.

02:06 (coughing)

02:08 - Oh my God.

02:09 - That the film will not center on Superman/Clark

02:13 as much as certain fans think they should.

02:16 James Gunn has responded and made it clear.

02:18 He said something like, you know,

02:20 the choices were made for story.

02:22 He also said something like, you know,

02:24 we're gonna flesh out Clark's life as Clark.

02:27 So that requires characters like Jimmy Olsen,

02:30 Perry White, Lois Lane, but also as Superman.

02:33 Like he is going to be in a world

02:34 in which superheroes have existed, do exist.

02:38 So it's important to also establish

02:40 that he's in that world with some of these other DC heroes.

02:43 So people are still not convinced though.

02:47 - He has been with us the whole time.

02:50 - Somebody named Milton has been with us the whole time.

02:53 - Yes!

02:54 - But you said you were excited and fascinated

02:56 by the choice to have so many, I guess,

02:59 characters with recognizable names.

03:02 - Yeah, very much so.

03:04 And not at all concerned in a way where,

03:09 I understand that people were like,

03:12 when they did Batman versus Superman,

03:14 and all of a sudden it was like,

03:16 it wasn't a traditional Superman sequel

03:18 the way that we viewed it at the time.

03:19 It was like, oh, all of a sudden

03:21 you're trying to introduce a new Batman.

03:23 You're trying to introduce a Wonder Woman

03:25 and then Cyborg and the Flash and Aquaman.

03:28 And it didn't seem like a rush to build a universe.

03:30 But what I don't understand,

03:32 and I've seen certain tweets that are like,

03:35 where are all of the traditional Superman

03:39 supporting characters?

03:40 Like, why aren't we hearing about the casting

03:42 of Jonathan Kent?

03:44 And I don't want, I specifically don't want a rehash

03:49 of all the other Superman type of movies

03:52 that we've seen up until this point.

03:53 So when you tell me that there's a story

03:56 that's going to need a Hawkgirl or need a Green Lantern,

03:59 like, this is extremely exciting to me.

04:02 - I like it.

04:03 - I think it's incredibly smart

04:05 that you're starting a new universe.

04:08 This 10 film, whatever chapter one is gonna be,

04:11 that I think is gonna involve more films

04:14 and television shows, where the universe exists.

04:17 It already is in place.

04:19 And we can start with a sequence where

04:21 maybe Superman is battling with Green Lantern,

04:24 you know, up in somewhere deep in the universe.

04:27 And it's, you see, it's Guy Gardner

04:30 and we meet Nathan Fillion,

04:32 and we just know now he's there kind of thing.

04:34 Like, the idea that people are wringing their hands

04:37 over the amount of characters

04:39 that are suddenly being introduced in this thing

04:41 without having any clear indication

04:43 about how they're used is preposterous to me.

04:47 - This is insane.

04:48 - It reeks to me of, I just want to be upset about something

04:53 because, you know, just telling me

04:56 that there are characters in a screenplay

04:59 doesn't concern me in the least bit.

05:00 Like, of course. - Yeah, that's the weirdest

05:02 part of this. - So stupid.

05:03 - That's like being like, oh, you know,

05:05 Benji's gonna be in "Mission Impossible"

05:07 and so is Luther, and people being like,

05:09 well, it's not about Ethan Hunt anymore then.

05:11 It's like, no, there's just characters.

05:13 - 100%.

05:14 - Like, do you think if they would have just said,

05:15 not that they would have, but they said like,

05:17 oh, you know, Eddie Gathegi's been cast as, you know,

05:20 reporter number three in "Superman Legacy" or whatever.

05:22 Like, no one would care, but it's almost like

05:25 because it's like the hero, you know,

05:27 or like a recognizable name or something

05:29 that people are making, it's very interesting.

05:32 - Now, I will say to give the other side their equal due,

05:36 Black Adam tried this and it didn't work.

05:41 So I'm not saying that, you know,

05:43 it's one side or the other is a guaranteed success

05:47 because I would have liked more time

05:49 with the Justice Society characters

05:50 who we met in "Black Adam."

05:52 So it's 100% how you use them.

05:55 But if you take Gunn's suicide squad as an example,

05:59 he kind of hit the ground running

06:01 with a bunch of characters that we hadn't met before,

06:03 you know, one or two that we were familiar with.

06:05 And then another whole slate of team

06:07 who didn't make it past the first five minutes.

06:10 So he has been known to do irreverent things.

06:13 And I'm not saying that he's gonna kill off Hawk Girl,

06:16 you know, or something stupid like that.

06:18 But I'm just saying that there are scenarios in place

06:20 where these characters could be a part of a scene

06:23 or like who's to say that there isn't a hall of justice,

06:27 you know, scene where Superman has to go by there

06:30 at some point because in the middle of whatever mission

06:32 he's trying to figure out.

06:34 And these characters who he's talking about

06:37 are there already kind of thing.

06:39 One of them goes to help them,

06:40 but the other ones stick behind.

06:41 I mean, they're just there.

06:42 They're part of the universe.

06:43 And I think that that's fine.

06:45 - We gotta calm down.

06:46 - Yeah, you make a very, very good point.

06:48 It's like, people are almost like inferring

06:51 that they're going to be like main characters

06:53 instead of just like, oh, this person is like in a scene

06:56 for maybe a few seconds.

06:58 And I don't know that I've ever seen a James Gunn movie

07:00 where I've thought like, oh, that, you know,

07:03 script didn't really give enough time to X character.

07:06 Like I've never felt like his movies are overstuffed

07:09 in a way and like, you know what I mean?

07:12 - In the Guardians movies,

07:14 well, maybe Guardians volume two.

07:16 The end of volume two gets to be a little bit heavy.

07:20 - I am Groot.

07:21 - But so here's a name that I haven't heard yet

07:24 that I'm really glad that I have it.

07:26 Lex Luthor.

07:27 I don't think we need, I think we're going to get one,

07:30 but I don't think we need Lex to be a driving force

07:33 of this new Superman movie moving forward.

07:35 Try another villain.

07:37 - Okay.

07:38 - The new Blue Beetle trailer,

07:39 there's like a Lex Corp building in the back.

07:42 - Oh no.

07:42 Is there?

07:43 - Yeah.

07:44 And I, like, I mean,

07:45 I know James Gunn has never said anything about Lex.

07:48 He's like, even on a podcast, he was like,

07:50 "Who said that Lex is even in my movie?"

07:52 But like, I have a feeling Lex is in his movie.

07:55 - Interesting.

07:55 - But, but yeah, I mean, if he's not the main villain,

07:59 that's-

08:00 - Because with all of the casting, it was like,

08:02 oh, well then I guess Nicholas Holt is,

08:04 if he's not getting Superman, he's probably up for Lex.

08:06 And James Gunn never really came out

08:08 and said he was casting Lex.

08:09 - No, he has not.

08:12 He never even said that he was including him, but.

08:14 - It just feels like, so, you know,

08:15 Hackman played Lex for multiple films.

08:18 When they brought back "Superman Returns,"

08:20 it was Kevin Spacey.

08:22 Eisenberg obviously came on board

08:24 for "Batman vs. Superman."

08:27 And they crammed in the "Doomsday," you know,

08:30 story angle of BVS.

08:31 But like, there are enough Superman villains to bring in.

08:36 - I totally agree with you,

08:37 but what if Lex is just like in the newspaper in a shot?

08:41 Like, what if he's just, again, there,

08:44 but not necessarily the villain?

08:46 'Cause Lex is around.

08:48 - Of course.

08:50 And I mean, in "Man of Steel,"

08:52 how they peppered in, you know, LexCorp references

08:55 and Wayne Tech references, where you were just like,

08:58 oh, okay, well, they're part of the universe.

09:00 I guess we'll see them at some point later.

09:02 - I say.

09:03 - The other interesting thing this casting news raises

09:05 is Nathan Fillion was the detachable kid

09:09 in James Gunn's "The Suicide Squad"

09:11 and is now appearing in "Superman Legacy" as Guy Gardner.

09:15 Some people are taking this as a clear indication

09:17 of like "Superman Legacy" is a hard reboot on the DCU.

09:22 I don't think that's the case,

09:24 but it does kind of signal to me

09:26 that maybe James Gunn just really does not care

09:28 about anything that has previously happened.

09:30 He's going to take what he wants to take

09:32 and work with the actors he wants to work with.

09:34 And whether that be, you know,

09:35 keeping John Cena as Peacemaker

09:37 in that cast and that storyline.

09:39 Like, I don't think he's so concerned

09:41 with the rules of what came before

09:44 versus what he's doing now.

09:46 What do you think?

09:47 - I think you're right.

09:48 I think you're right, a hundred percent.

09:49 I think he's, and he's allowed to do this,

09:53 making up the rules a little bit as he goes.

09:55 - And it stands for what?

09:56 - Stands for me.

09:59 - Because hasn't he just recently said

10:01 like Blue Beetle is the first official DCU,

10:04 like going forward, you know,

10:06 he will continue to be Blue Beetle in this universe.

10:09 - Has not said that about Aquaman.

10:11 - No, no, he hasn't.

10:13 And then we do know that Peacemaker season two

10:18 was already in development and underway.

10:20 And he has the Waller show too, that had been announced.

10:23 So I think he can pick and choose.

10:28 Now, I don't think TDK was a big enough character

10:31 that people associate with Nathan Fillion.

10:34 You know, that they could be like,

10:35 well, hold on a second, that looks just like TDK.

10:39 That seemed to be just a running joke.

10:39 - Also, there are doppelgangers in real life, you know?

10:42 - Yes, exactly.

10:43 People tell me I look like Brad Pitt all the time.

10:46 - Exactly.

10:47 - It's exhausting.

10:48 Some have said you look like Amy Adams.

10:51 I've heard that every once in a while in the comments below.

10:54 - Those people are high.

10:55 - Peacemaker.

10:58 It's actually very nice.

11:02 Looks nothing like me.

11:03 So the point being, stop getting upset.

11:05 We're two years away from this movie happening.

11:09 We just got a Superman and a Lois.

11:12 We haven't even spoken about how we feel

11:13 about the casting of Superman and Lois, have we?

11:15 - We made a whole video, Sean.

11:17 - Yeah, really?

11:18 - Yeah.

11:19 - I should watch our stuff more often.

11:21 - I'm only laughing on the outside.

11:23 If you could see inside, I'd really cry.

11:28 [MUSIC PLAYING]

11:31 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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