James Gunn’s Superman (formerly Superman: Legacy) is in production and ready to take the Man of Steel in a new direction, but there remain fans who aren’t ready to move on from Henry Cavill and embrace new actor David Corenswet.
Funnily enough, they don’t recognize him. Photos shared on X by DCU Updates show an incident of mistaken identity that happened in Mexico during a commercial shoot involving Corenswet.
The actor took time off reportedly from filming scenes in the cold outdoors of Norway – possibly devoted to the Fortress of Solitude – to partake in an ad in sunny Mexico.
The fan who met him and allegedly took the photos confused Corenswet for the Witcher and Man of Steel star. “Now I can die in Peace I got to meet Superman and the Witcher in person face to face,” the person wrote.
Corenswet has been given credit for the mass he’s added to his usually lean frame for Superman and he has drawn comparisons to Cavill before in that respect.
However, the vision Gunn has for his actor’s adventure is believed to differ greatly from the harshly muted tones and cynicism of the Snyderverse.
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“The next Superman has to be someone who has all the humanity that Superman has but he’s also an alien,” he remarked to Variety during his search for a cape bearer.
“It’s gotta be somebody who has the kindness and the compassion that Superman has and be somebody who you want to give a hug,” Gunn continued.
The director sounds like he will channel the “more joyful” approach Cavill wanted a few years before he ever returned in Black Adam. Interestingly, Corenswet, like his predecessor, wants much the same thing.
“But my pie-in-the-sky ambition is definitely to play Superman,” he said to Entertainment Weekly in 2019.
“I would love to see somebody do an upbeat, throwback [take on Superman]. I love the Henry Cavill dark and gritty take, but I would love to see the next one be very bright and optimistic,” Corenswet added.
Brandon Routh, another famous former Superman, agrees as he warned last year not to go for the “dark and gritty” Zack Snyder view.
“The most important thing about Superman is that he is a teacher, first and foremost. Putting that as a direction, you can’t go wrong. You can’t overreach because then you become dogmatic,” Routh said to E! News.
“It’s understanding that Superman’s role is not just to save the day. It’s to help all humanity find a better path forward.”