James Gunn Race-Swaps Perry White For Upcoming ‘Superman’, Casts Wendell Pierce As Daily Planet Boss
And there it is – in bringing an end to his comic book accurate casting plans for Superman‘s already extensive cast, James Gunn has officially chosen The Wire star Wendell Pierce as the next actor to portray the Daily Planet’s tough-but-loveable editor-in-chief Perry White on the silver screen.
News of Pierce’s casting in the newly-renamed film was first broken on March 1st, courtesy of an exclusive published by The Hollywood Reporter‘s Borys Kit.
With his attachment to the role, Gunn’s upcoming first entry in DC’s new cinematic universe has officially rounded out The Daily Planet’s main news team, which also includes Skylar Gisondo’s Jimmy Olsen, Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, and, of course, David Corenswet’s Clark Kent.
Unfortunately for fans, while an appearance by Pierce in a project would normally be something to celebrate given his incredible acting talents, this sentiment is undercut in this instance by the fact that his casting stands as yet another instance of lazy Hollywood race-swapping.
Following his official Superman canon debut in the second episode of the 1940 The Adventures of Superman radio serial ‘Clark Kent, Reporter’, the only man capable of ordering around Big Blue received his first visual depiction in Superman Vol. 1 #7, wherein he would be drawn as a brown-haired white man with a receding hairline and a penchant for cigars.
And though the years would see his design shift ever so slightly to give him back some of his hair (in exchange, sadly, for its color), it is this appearance with which White has been depicted in every single one of his appearances – animated, Elseworlds, or otherwise – prior to the modern era.
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In regard to that qualifier, while White’s race-swapped appearance in Gunn’s Superman will not be the first time he’ll have been subjected to such a change, it should be noted that this idea is a relatively new one, only beginning in 2013 with his portrayal by Laurence Fishburne in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel.
From there, the newsman would be race-swapped two more times, once in the 2019 Super Sons YA graphic novels and again in Cartoon Network’s My Adventures with Superman animated series.
Notably, this is not the first race-swap Gunn has made amidst the Superman casting process.
As previously reported, the character of Lex Luthor henchman Otis Berg, who was first introduced to audiences in 1978’s Superman by way of Ned Beatty, will be portrayed by long-time Gunn collaborator Terrence Rosemore.
Per THR, filming on Superman is now underway in Atlanta, Georgia ahead of the film’s July 11th, 2025 theatrical landing date.
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