The world waits with bated breath for James Gunn to respond to Rick Astley’s ‘Superman’ pitch

Once the dust eventually settles on Henry Cavill’s shocking departure as the DCU’s canonical Superman, attention will turn to the next candidate set to follow in the illustrious footsteps of Christopher Reeve, Brandon Routh, and Cavill by taking on the role of the Big Blue Boy Scout in a live-action feature film.

The “Superman Curse” may have gained increased notoriety due to the former Witcher star’s five-year exile ending with Black Adam before almost immediately imploding all over again, but in the right hands it remains one of the most coveted roles in all of cinema.

James Gunn has revealed he’s planning to skew younger with a story focusing on Clark Kent’s early days as a reporter in the hustle and bustle of Metropolis, but an elder statesman has nonetheless thrown his hat into the ring to take on the mantle of the Big Blue Boy Scout, and fans have been waiting with bated breath for the co-CEO to respond after he was tagged in Rick Astley’s post.

At 56 years old, we’ve got the sneaking suspicion the one hit wonder to end all one hit wonders might be a little long in the tooth to lead the DCU into a brave new future, but for argument’s sake we will point out that Astley is only a year older than Mark Ruffalo and two younger than Don Cheadle, both of whom have major parts to play in Hollywood’s other shared superhero universe.

Gunn is getting more meticulous in his Twitter activity due to the overwhelming backlash he’s been facing, but let’s hope Astley at least gets a response.