Ever since it was announced that the forthcoming reboot Superman: Legacy will star David Corenswet as DC Comics’ Man of Steel and Rachel Brosnahan as a perfectly-cast Lois Lane, the Legacy cast list has become amazingly stacked. And yet, there have been a few casting rumors for the upcoming DC movie that writer/Director James Gunn has taken time to debunk, one of which involves Kurt Russell. After reading the filmmaker’s explanation, I completely get why the Escape from New York actor hasn’t been cast in this particular role.
In case you missed it, Russell, who can currently be seen as a member of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ cast, was rumored to be playing Jor-El, Superman’s biological father, in Superman: Legacy. Russell was even listed for the role on IMDBPro, and the actor expressed interest in playing the Kryptonian scientist. When a fan inquired with Gunn on Threads about if this casting was true, here’s what the man who’s also co-running DC Studios with Peter Safran said:
I just answered this to someone else but, no. Love Kurt, and, although the mores of Krypton are certainly different than ours, I’m not sure I see him as the first-time father of a newborn!
To be fair, both Marlon Brando and Russell Crowe previously played Jor-El, with the former being 53 when Superman: The Movie came out, and the latter being 49 when Man of Steel was released. Yes, Kurt Russell’s current age of 72 is a big leap ahead of those other two actors, but still, I don’t blame some for thinking he’d be a reasonable choice for Jor-El. But alas, James Gunn has set the record straight that Russell is not involved with Superman: Legacy. Fortunately, he already has some superhero movie experience under his belt from Sky High and the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2., the latter of which was also written and directed by James Gunn.
It is worth noting that while other classic Superman characters like Jimmy Olsen and Lex Luthor are set to appear in Superman: Legacy, there’s no guarantee we’ll see Jor-El or Lara-El, Superman’s biological mother, in this first movie on the DC Universe Chapter One slate. Remember, Legacy won’t show Superman’s origin story, meaning we won’t revisit baby Kal-El being launched in a rocket by his parents off of Krypton right before it’s destroyed. However, that doesn’t necessarily take seeing Jor-El and Lara-El completely off the table, as we could still see them in flashbacks to other periods of their lives, or holographic copies of their consciousnesses could be contained within the Fortress of Solitude.
In any case, if it’s officially announced that someone has been cast as Jor-El in Superman: Legacy, we’ll let you know. The reboot flies into theaters on July 11, 2025, and if you have an Apple TV+ subscription, you can see Kurt Russell playing Lee Shaw in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters now.
