Key Takeaways
- David Corenswet was the top choice for Superman from the start, as confirmed by James Gunn.
- The audition video highlights Corenswet’s chemistry with Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Lois Lane.
- Gunn expressed relief and excitement over the film’s success, which grossed over $600 million.
- Superman will be available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD starting September 23.
James Gunn had anticipated a lengthy search to find an actor to play Superman, but he knew David Corenswet would be his man. “From the very beginning, he was the guy to beat, frankly,” Gunn told GQ last month. A self-taped audition has been going viral, showcasing why David Corenswet was the perfect choice for Superman and Clark Kent.
In the video, the actor is reading an early version of the scene in which Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) interviews Superman, with Corenswet’s wife, Julia Warner, reading the Lois part.
Although Gunn oversaw the audition of other potential Superman actors (including Nicholas Hoult, who would later sign on as Lex Luthor), he knew it would be Corenswet, and his chemistry with Brosnahan confirmed it. “We mixed and matched these different actors and actresses to find out not only who was the best Clark and who was the best Lois, but who was the best ‘Clois,’ who was the best together,” Gunn told Entertainment Weekly. “I do think that David was the best Clark, Rachel was the best Lois — but they also had the most chemistry together.“
With largely positive reviews and a decent box office of over $600 million, Gunn recently expressed relief that the film has succeeded. “That’s all it is, it’s just an enormous sense of relief,” Gunn said. “It’s relief, and then followed very quickly by excitement. Because Superman in some ways was the proof of concept. It was so, so hard, in the same way that Guardians [of the Galaxy] was so, so hard. Once you’re in the groove, you realize, ‘Oh, this is what works, this is what doesn’t, this is where we can go with this.’“
Gunn continued, “It means now we have the freedom to tell these other stories in a way that’s really exciting. Now I can just be creative and I don’t have to be as concerned with the life and death of the DC brand as I was a month and a half ago. I feel really embraced by the audience. My feeling is that the movie spoke to people, but it also spoke to people because there was a reason for its existence. There was this message of kindness that spoke to people.“
Superman is already available on Digital and will be released on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 23. You can check out the (very different) reviews from our own Chris Bumbray and Tyler Nichols, and don’t forget to let us know what you thought of the film as well!
