The MCU is already getting ahead of the distinguished competition as ‘Superman’ star is swiped from DC for upcoming Marvel movie

The gloves are off when it comes to the long-simmering Marvel vs. DC battle. For a while there, the MCU was able to kick back and take it easy as DC kept shooting itself in the foot with one ruinous release after another, but now the heat is on thanks to former Marvel darling James Gunn taking over the reins to what Stan Lee used to punningly call the Distinguished Competition.

We’ve even already seen the two studios start poaching stars from each other, like Gunn stealing MCU stalwarts David Harbour and Frank Grillo for Creature Commandos and Deadpool & Wolverine taking jabs at the SnyderVerse through Henry Cavill’s cameo. The ball’s in DC’s court now, though, as Marvel has pulled off another poach right under Gunn’s nose.

Thunderbolts* not content with introducing Marvel’s Superman, adds actual Superman actor to its cast

Thunderbolts* is an MCU movie that ironically has a strong whiff of the DCU about it. As an ensemble superhero flick about a team of anti-heroes and villains brought together by a shady female spymaster, the Thunderbolts have clear echoes of the Suicide Squad. Not to mention Lewis Pullman’s Sentry is widely described as Marvel’s answer to Superman. The first-look trailer only encouraged the comparison, what with Bob’s bulletproof chest moment.

The DC connection is only about to get more literal, however, as it’s been discovered that an actual DCU star has been secretly added to the cast. According to a project profile that erroneously leaked online — before it was quickly removed from public view again — Superman actor Wendell Pierce is set to feature in Thunderbolts*.

Those keeping up to date with 2025’s slate of superhero movies may know that Pierce is due to portray Clark Kent’s boss Perry White in James Gunn’s Man of Steel reboot. Funnily enough, this will make him the second Perry White actor, after Laurence Fishburne, to play in both the Marvel and DC sandboxes. His MCU role, meanwhile, has yet to be disclosed at this time.

In addition to Pierce’s involvement, this leaked document confirms that Chris Bauer (also Pierce’s co-star in The Wire) is similarly on board the cast of director Jake Schreier’s film. As with Pierce, we don’t know who he’s playing. Clearly, Thunderbolts* has even more secrets up its sleeves than we’ve been led to believe, hence all of this additional cloak-and-dagger secrecy. Uh, that’s not to suggest the Marvel heroes Cloak and Dagger will show up in the movie — although, at this point, who knows? Maybe.

Thanks to his unexpected Thunderbolts* presence, this means Pierce’s first comic book project will no longer be Superman, as the Marvel’s film’s release predates that of the DC reboot by a few months. Catch Thunderbolts* in cinemas on May 2, with Superman flying into theaters on July 11.