James Gunn’s upcoming Superman: Legacy has received a slew of casting updates, with some of the DCU’s characters hinting at a new superhero team.
The barrage of casting updates for James Gunn’s upcoming Superman: Legacy hints at a powerful new superhero team being included in the future of the DCU. Since the casting of David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan in the film’s dual protagonist roles of Superman and Lois Lane respectively, Superman: Legacy‘s casting has gone into overdrive. Part of this comes from a report by The Hollywood Reporter, in which it was stated that Corenswet’s Superman would be joining a world in which plenty of superheroes already exist, rather than Clark Kent’s Kryptonian alter ego kickstarting the wave of DCU metahumans.
As such, the casting updates for Superman: Legacy confirm this, providing plenty of heroic characters alongside Superman. As officially confirmed by James Gunn, Nathan Fillion will join the cast of Superman: Legacy as the DCU’s first Green Lantern, Guy Gardner, and Isabela Merced will portray Hawkgirl. However, it is two other confirmed castings for Superman: Legacy that hint at a big future in the DCU for one specific DC Comics superteam.
Superman: Legacy Cast Includes Important Members Of The Terrifics
The two other confirmed superheroes for Superman: Legacy are Edi Gathegi as the DC character Mister Terrific and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho. These two characters are strongly connected in DC Comics, as they are two members of The Terrifics. In the comics, The Terrifics are a team consisting of four DC superheroes that emulate Marvel’s The Fantastic Four.
While it is unclear whether The Terrifics will be utilized to the full in Superman: Legacy, it is clear James Gunn is putting two of the core members in place. Mister Terrific is where the team’s name comes from, as he is the leader of the four superheroes on the roster. The team’s origin in the comics comes from Mister Terrific attempting to stop a man named Simon Stagg from opening a portal to the Dark Multiverse. Stagg intended to use the other hero included in Superman: Legacy, Metamorpho, to obtain his goals, as the character can transform his body into any element
In the comic story, Metamorpho was being forced by Stagg to transmute into Nth Metal in order to open the portal. Mister Terrific then arrived, and the two became embroiled with the Dark Multiverse and two other superheroes to form The Terrifics. As evident, both Mister Terrific and Metamorpho are vital to the creation of the team, and both will play a role in 2025’s Superman: Legacy, potentially laying the foundations for a movie centered on The Terrifics as part of the DCU’s “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.”
James Gunn Has Teased The Terrifics Before
For those who have been keeping tabs on the DCU via James Gunn’s various hints and teases, it may not come as a surprise that Mister Terrific and Metamorpho are part of Superman: Legacy. As has always been the case with Gunn, the filmmaker likes to be open and honest with fans of his films regarding confirmed rumors or denying theories. Similarly, though, Gunn also likes to provide various teases be it through images of current DC Comics he is reading or vague social media posts about differing DC characters.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 29, 2023
As evident by this Twitter post, one of these hints and teases from Gunn was centered on The Terrifics. The image tweeted by Gunn is directly from DC Comics – months before the casting of Superman: Legacy began to be announced – and features Mister Terrific and Metamorpho front and center. While not a concrete confirmation that Gunn intends to make The Terrifics a vital part of the DCU going forward, it is clear the filmmaker at least likes the team and their comic book iteration, as compounded by his casting of Mister Terrific and Metamorpho in Superman: Legacy.
Which Members Of The Terrifics Might Join The DC Universe Next
When concerning the other two members of the team, it is unclear whether they will be a part of Superman: Legacy or be saved for future DCU projects. The other two members of The Terrifics are Plastic Man and Phantom Girl. In the comics, Mister Terrific initially brought Plastic Man with him to stop Simon Stagg from opening the Dark Multiverse portal, primarily because Plastic Man is immune to the Dark Multiverse and its effects. However, the duo and Metamorpho are pulled through the portal where they encounter Phantom Girl.
After escaping the Dark Multiverse, the four heroes attempt to go their separate ways before finding themselves drawn back to each other. Eventually, it was revealed that the Dark Multiverse’s energy cosmically bound the four together, causing them to formally become known as The Terrifics. As Metamorpho and Mister Terrific are already part of Superman: Legacy, it would make sense for Plastic Man and Phantom Girl to be the next two heroes to join the DCU.
Also, Gunn has expressed his desire to make a Plastic Man movie in the past. It was revealed via James Gunn‘s Twitter page that he initially pitched a Plastic Man movie to Warner Bros. back in 2000 during production on Scooby-Doo with Matthew Lillard in the role. The obvious fondness Gunn has for the character – and his and Phantom Girl’s importance to The Terrifics – almost makes the characters inevitabilities to be included in the DCU. Whether this will come in Superman: Legacy remains to be seen, but it is clear Gunn intends to use the first official DCU movie to flesh out his fledgling superhero universe and other potential teams.
Source: screenrant.com
