Slumbering Superman fans patiently awaiting some casting news for the DCU’s upcoming Man of Steel reboot have finally had some good food to chow down on of late as reports are piling in surrounding who writer/director James Gunn could hire for Superman: Legacy. In addition to a couple of names surrounding the coveted part of Kal-El himself, a number of exciting actresses are apparently circling the role of Lois Lane.
Likewise, it seems casting for the Last Son of Krypton’s eternal nemesis Lex Luthor is also underway. Word has it (via The Wrap) that Gunn is searching for Black actors to play Clark Kent’s follicly challenged foe, a character who is currently going under the codename “Apex.” DC die-hards are getting excited that this means the film could be adapting the Apex Lex arc from the comics, in which the villain gained superpowers in order to become more of a physical threat to Supes.
However, the secondary implication of this juicy piece of news is being rather overlooked: if we take this codename at face value, it strongly suggests Gunn has plans to honor a character the SnyderVerse royally wasted. You see, in the source material, Apex Lex got his powers after experimenting on Martian Manhunter. With any luck, then, the shapeshifting superhero could have a key presence in Legacy, something that’s much deserved after all he managed in the OG DCEU was a cameo in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Gunn is bound to be looking to capitalize on areas of the mythos that previous DC movies failed to use to their full potential, and J’onn J’onzz is certainly one of the most notable of the SnyderVerse’s oversights — alongside the Green Lantern Corps, which Gunn is already rebooting in the Lanterns TV series. All I’m saying is, Martian Manhunter maniacs, your time may finally have come.
Published: May 15, 2023 11:32 am