Who are all these people in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy cast photo?

You know Superman and Lois, but who are Eve, Metamorpho, and The Engineer? And is that Skyler Gisondo?

By Sam Barsanti | February 22, 2024 | 10:47pm

Aux News James Gunn

Who are all these people in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy cast photo?

Rachel Brosnahan (Getty Images), Nathan Fillion (Getty Images), Anthony Carrigan (Getty Images), David Corenswet (Getty Images), Nicholas Hoult (Getty Images), Skyler Gisondo (Getty Images) Image: The A.V. Club

Warner Bros. is launching production on Superman: Legacy, and to celebrate, director/co-head of DC Studios James Gunn recently shared a photo on Instagram of the cast having a good time and staring directly into the sun. Gunn captioned the photo with clockwise character names, specifically: Eve, Mr. Terrific, Superman/Clark, Otis, Lex, Jimmy, Metamorpho, Lois, Hawkgirl, Guy, and The Engineer, plus him and co-DC Studios boss Peter Safran. That’s a lot of names, and seeing as how Gunn’s digging pretty deep into DC lore for this film—which will be the official launch of his new DC universe—we thought it would be helpful to break down who the heck these people are and who they’re playing.

One person you won’t see in this photo, though, is House Of The Dragon’s Milly Alcock. She was just cast as the new DC universe’s Supergirl, and while she will reportedly make an appearance in something soonish, she won’t make her proper debut until the Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow solo movie (coming at some point in the future).

In the order that Gunn named them, here’s who’s who in the Superman: Legacy cast photo.

Eve

Eve — Sara Sampaio Photo Francois Durand/Getty Images for Messika

Eve is Eve Teschmacher, Lex Luthor’s personal assistant. She was created for the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, where she was played by Valerie Perrine. This one is played by model Sara Sampaio.

Mr. Terrific

That’s as super-genius wrestling fan Mr. Terrific. In the comics, he has these high-tech spheres that do high-tech stuff, plus a “T” on his face and a cool jacket that says “FAIR PLAY.”

Most Popular

Superman/Clark

This is a spoiler, but Superman/Clark is Clark Kent, who takes off his glasses and becomes Superman. After a huge casting campaign, from We Own This City won the gig.

Otis

Otis is Lex Luthor’s dopey henchman in the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, and that’s Terence Rosemore in the photo. He’s a regular Gunn collaborator, having playing aliens in the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies.

Lex

Lex — Nicholas Hoult Photo Dia Dipasupil Getty Images

Lex is Lex Luthor, as indicated by . (Though if you were to glance at this photo and assume everyone with a bald head was playing Lex Luthor, you’d be wrong.) This seems to be our first look at Hoult’s with his head shaved, unless you hang around him in regular life.

Producer Peter Safran

Producer Peter Safran is Producer Peter Safran. He’s not an actor, or at least he’s not acting in this. Or maybe he’s playing himself? Gunn used character names for everyone else.

Jimmy

? Why, that’s Skyler Gisondo playing Superman’s pal Jimmy Olsen! Jimmy works at the Daily Planet with Clark and Lois, and he has a tendency to find himself in difficult situations where he has to be saved by Superman.

Metamorpho

No, that’s not a second Lex Luthor, that’s Barry’s as Metamorpho. In the comics, he’s an adventurer who got exposed to radiation and developed the ability to transform into various elements. Also he looks super weird, no offense.

Lois

Lois Lane, ace reporter for the Daily Planet. That’s shielding her eyes from the sun, which is ironic since Superman gets his powers from our yellow sun. Wait a minute… All-Star Superman is about Superman dying from being overexposed to the sun, and at one point he grants his powers to Lois Lane so they can have a super-day together. Is that what’s happening here?

Hawkgirl

Not to be confused with Hawkman, who you definitely remember from Black Adam. This is Hawkgirl, the star-crossed lover of Hawkman who has died and been reborn alongside him for centuries… or maybe she’s an alien from a planet of bird-people? There are different origin stories. Either way, that’s .

Me (James Gunn)

That’s James Gunn. He made the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies, and he’s to the war between DC and Marvel.

Guy

Guy — Nathan Fillion Photo Matt Winkelmeyer Getty Images

You know that guy, it’s Castle from Castle! The rookie from The Rookie! Firefly from Firefly! (Just kidding, we know his name was Serenity on Firefly). The man’s name is , and it’s about time James Gunn put him in a movie. He’s playing Guy Gardner, the brash and annoying Green Lantern who once got beaten by Batman with one punch. ()

The Engineer

Don’t tell anyone else on this list, but this might be the coolest one. The Engineer is Angie Spica from Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch’s Wildstorm comics, which is to say that she didn’t even originate in DC’s own books (but, thanks to years of mergers and takeovers, she’s now part of Superman’s universe). There are a few different versions of the character, but she’s generally a human who is bonded with high-tech nano machines of some sort that give her a telepathy-like control over machines. Neat! That’s María Gabriela de Faría from Animal Control playing her.