James Gunn’s Latest Response To A New ‘Superman: Legacy’ Rumor Calls Into Question His Previous Explanations For Ditching Henry Cavill
John F. Trent
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Director James Gunn recently responded to a rumor that claims his upcoming Superman: Legacy film has started casting actors and that the roles of Clark, Lois, and Jimmy Olsen were “open to all ethnicities.”
James Gunn via DC YouTube
This rumor came from scooper and critic Grace Randolph, who wrote on Twitter, “Weird, despite recent insistence that it’s not casting, there’s a casting breakdown going out to all talent agencies etc for Superman: Legacy.”
She added, “Clark, Lois & Jimmy Early 20s, open to all ethnicities.”
Grace Randolph Twitter
Twitter user DCEUMX picked up the rumor and ran with it writing via a translation from Google, “CASTING on the way. According to Grace, a casting notice has been sent to all the talent agencies etc. for Superman: Legacy. Characters include Clark, Lois, and Jimmy. Ages early 20s, open to all ethnicities.”
DCEUMX Twitter
Gunn would respond to the rumor writing, “Untrue. We haven’t begun casting other than making lists, and it’s not limited to people in their twenties.”
James Gunn Twitter
Gunn’s admission that the casting of the characters is “not limited to people in their twenties” calls into question his previous reason for giving Henry Cavill the boot from Superman.
If you recall back in December, Gunn claimed the reason he didn’t keep Cavill on was because he would be focusing on “an earlier part of Superman’s life.”
He wrote on Twitter, “In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill.”
James Gunn Twitter
The next day he went on to claim Cavill’s age was the real reason why he would not be returning to the role.
Gunn tweeted, “As I said yesterday, it is very simple, he’s a different age.”
James Gunn Twitter
RELATED: James Gunn Claims He Didn’t Fire Henry Cavill From Superman, Says “Henry Was Never Cast”
However, at the end of January, Gunn told The Hollywood Reporter, “We didn’t fire Henry. Henry was never cast. For me, it’s about who do I want to cast as Superman and who do the filmmakers we have want to cast. And for me, for this story, it isn’t Henry.”
Gunn added, “I like Henry, I think he’s a great guy. I think he’s getting dicked around by a lot of people, including the former regime at this company. But this Superman is not Henry, for a number of reasons.”
Henry Cavill as Superman in Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), HBO Max
So, Gunn went from claiming his Superman: Legacy film was about a younger time in Superman’s life implying Henry was too old to play the character to flat out claiming Cavill’s age, 39, was the main factor to he just wasn’t the right guy for any “number of reasons.”
And now he’s claiming that casting isn’t limited to actors in their 20s. That would seemingly indicate he’s either open to teenagers taking on the role or people in their 30s and above, which Cavill clearly fits into.
It’s hard to see a way for Gunn to worm his way out of the own hole he has dug concerning Henry Cavill. And it just further cements Gunn’s reputation as untrustworthy especially when dealing with moviegoers.
James Gunn speaking at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
What do you make of Gunn’s recent comments about the casting process for Superman: Legacy?
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