Superman: Legacy - After months of speculation, Henry Cavill’s successor is announced

One actor fended off competition from Nicholas Hoult and Tom Brittney for the role

The next Superman has officially been cast.

DC Studios announced Tuesday (27 June) that David Corenswet will play the Man of Steel and Rachel Brosnahan will star as his love interest, Lois Lane.

The pair will make their Superman debut in 2025’s Superman: Legacy, directed by DC Studios co-CEO and Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn.

Coronswet, 29, broke out in Ryan Murphy’s 2019 Netflix drama series The Politician before starring in A24’s acclaimed indie horror Pearl last year. You can read more about his life and career here.

Meanwhile, Brosnahan, 32, is best known for her lead role in the popular Amazon Prime Video period comedy series The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Her film roles include The Courier (2020), and I’m Your Woman (2020).

Gunn responded to the news of the casting on Twitter, writing: “Accurate! (They are not only both incredible actors, but also wonderful people).”

The news ends months of speculation over who would be the next actor after Henry Cavill to take on Clark Kent (AKA Superman).

In a report published on 8 June, insiders claimed that DC co-heads Peter Safran and Gunn were meeting with Nicholas Hoult (The Great), Corenswet, and Tom Brittney (Grantchester) for the role of the titular superhero.

Emma Mackey (Sex Education), Brosnahan and Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton), meanwhile, were reportedly up for Lois Lane.

David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan have been cast in ‘Superman: Legacy’ (Getty Images)

Gunn previously shut down a rumour in March that Perks of Being a Wallflower star Logan Lerman was the “top choice” for Superman.

The director responded curtly, stating: “For the record, I don’t know who that is.”

In December last year, it was confirmed that Cavill would not be reprising his role as the superhero, despite being told by the studio to “announce his return in October”.

Cavill began his Superman tenure in 2013’s Man of Steel. He reprised his role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Justice League (2017) (and its 2021 director’s cut).

Superman: Legacy will be the first film in the new era of the connected DC Universe, followed by Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II, which is set for an October 2025 release.

The movie will reportedly tell the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas.