How to Get Cast in a ‘Superman’ Movie

Writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster developed Superman throughout the 1930s, and the character officially debuted in 1938 in the first issue of the comic book series “Action Comics,” published by Detective Comics Inc. (now known as DC Comics). The character is one of the first superheroes to exist. 

Born Kal-El on the planet Krypton to Jor-El and Lara, the eventual superhero travels to Earth as a baby in his parents’ last-ditch effort to save him from their home’s impending apocalypse. When Kal-El crash-lands in the countryside of Smallville, Kansas, the couple who discovers him, Jonathan and Martha Kent, adopt the boy as their son, name him Clark, and raise him into young adulthood. When Jonathan unexpectedly dies, Clark sets out on a pilgrimage to learn about his origins and reconcile his emerging powers with his responsibility to protect the people of his surrogate home. With the truth in mind, Clark takes his nerdy, clumsy persona to the city of Metropolis, where he juggles a double life as a reporter for the Daily Planet and Superman. As villains and evil-doers test his abilities time and time again, Clark must also battle the internal struggle between serving his desires and serving the people.

In the nearly 90 years since the superhero’s debut, the character has been portrayed by only a handful of actors on the big screen: Christopher Reeve (1978–1987), Brandon Routh (2006), Henry Cavill (2013–2016), and Corenswet (2025). These gentlemen are the stars behind the top (and only) movies in the “Superman” repertoire.

• “Superman” (1978, dir. Richard Donner)
• “Superman II” (1980, dir. Richard Lester)
• “Superman III” (1983, dir. Lester)
• “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” (1987, dir. Sidney J. Furie)
• “Superman Returns” (2006, dir. Bryan Singer)
• “Man of Steel” (2013, dir. Zack Snyder)
• “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016, dir. Snyder)
• “Superman” (2025, dir. Gunn)
• “Man of Tomorrow” (2027, dir. Gunn)

And who would Clark Kent be without Lois Lane? Played by Margot Kidder (1978–1987), Kate Bosworth (2006), Amy Adams (2013–2016), and Rachel Brosnahan (2025), the tough-as-nails journalist keeps Clark on his toes. So does Superman’s archnemesis Lex Luthor, played by Gene Hackman (1978–1987), Kevin Spacey (2006), Jesse Eisenberg (2016), and Nicholas Hoult (2025).

While “Superman” and “Superman II” were cast by the late Lynn Stalmaster (“First Blood,” “Battlefield Earth”), “Superman III” was cast by Jane Feinberg and Mike Fenton—the creative team behind “Aliens,” “Back to the Future,” and “Blade Runner”—along with Debbie McWilliams (“GoldenEye,” “Tomorrow Never Dies”). “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace,” however, was cast by Noel Davis and Jeremy Zimmermann (“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”).

“Superman Returns” brought the hero back to the big screen with the help of CDs Roger Mussenden (“X-Men”) and Ann Robinson (“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy). Then Kristy Carlson and Lora Kennedy (“Wonder Woman”) took the reins on “Man of Steel” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” 

For Gunn’s 2025 film that ushered in a new era for the superhero, John Papsidera took on the crucial role of CD, making him a key figure in DC’s current “Superman” franchise.

As Carlson told us, “Each project is like reinventing the wheel…. I remember when we had to cast a new Wonder Woman in ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.’ [Director] Zack Snyder said, ‘I want her to be an international actor with an accent, because she’s from this other place and time.’ My casting partner and I were just like, ‘Oh, my God.’ Hundreds of actresses must have read for it.”

Papsidera also brings a unique perspective to the franchise. As Christopher Nolan’s go-to casting director, he was in the driver’s seat when casting the filmmaker’s “The Dark Knight” Batman trilogy. That experience significantly shaped his approach to casting; and much like he did for the Caped Crusader and the other projects that define his expansive résumé, Papsidera carries his own experience as an actor into every casting process.

“I don’t know how people [who] haven’t trained or studied acting compare or look at work, but certainly you look at moment-to-moment work; you look at creativity,” he told us. “It’s informed me a lot about…what separates people. I think confidence is one of the biggest things. It’s infectious if an actor walks in with confidence and belief in themselves—and not cockiness and not hubris, but belief in what they’re bringing into the room. It’s contagious to directors and producers.

“I also think choices make a huge difference,” Papsidera continued, “and you’ll just find actors along the way [who] enable themselves…to find moments that are uniquely theirs. You’ll see a lot of people come in and the readings are fine, but they’re not individualized. They read the words on the page, and it sounds right; but it’s the person [who] comes in and makes a choice that is incredibly specific to them that then you remember those things and go, I didn’t think of it being played that way, or I didn’t know that that was what it could be. And those are truly gifted people [who] take their craft into a different realm than just anybody [who] can read lines.”

And thanks to the newest iteration’s box office success, actors will see Papsidera in the audition room once again for “Man of Tomorrow.” So what can you expect when you’re standing in front of the industry vet himself? “I hope [actors] feel like they have a space and a moment to share a bit of their soul. I think that is what my job is. Everybody who works with me tries to create a space where that can happen,” he told us. “We really respect actors, and we want them to be able to feel like when they walk into the audition room, they have the freedom to do the best work they can. That’s always the goal. We do that by making it a safe space and by being helpful, collaborative, and present. It’s a big thing for me to feel like we show up for actors, and the least they can expect is that we try and get the best out of them by having someone participate in that.”

Gunn also plays an active role in casting his “Superman” films, using what he learned from casting Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy to find the ideal Clark Kent and Lois Lane for a new audience. “I’ve always believed that the casting is the most important, and that as long as the actor is the best possible actor for that role, that’s more important than it is for a name,” he told ScreenRant. “Especially in today’s market… Movie stars are not the same as they used to be in terms of…what it was 15 years ago. [Back then, if you] open up a Melissa McCarthy movie, instantly you’re going to make this much money. Open up an Adam Sandler movie, instantly you’re going to make this much money. It’s not like that anymore. So I just wanted to go for who was the best Superman.

“A lot of people auditioned, and the weird thing is, I was so crazily nervous about getting Superman ready…. I had seen Corenswet in ‘Pearl.’ So I said, ‘Get him on, get him on.’ I said, ‘Get him on the tape.’ And then, the very first day came in David’s tape and Rachel’s tape, and I saw both of those and I went, ‘Oh, my God, we’re going to be OK.’ Because both of these people are amazing,” Gunn added. “There were other really good actors for both of those roles, but at the end of the day, it was both of them as individuals.”

According to Deadline, “Man of Tomorrow” likely won’t start filming until April 2026, so keep an eye on this space for updates on the film’s progress. Gunn confirmed the next film will serve as a follow-up more than a sequel, as it’s “a story about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together to a certain degree against a much, much bigger threat,” he told Howard Stern.

Gunn rarely holds open calls for his projects, so you likely won’t find a public listing for “Man of Tomorrow.” That’s why now’s the time to secure representation if you have not done so yet. Here’s how you can land an acting agent of your own.

However, other superhero projects are looking for their lead stars. If you hope to break into the genre, our roundup of superhero gigs will get your career off to a soaring start. 

We also suggest exploring our in-depth guides on how to get cast in a DC Comics movie or TV show and, more specifically, a Gunn movie or TV show, to prepare for the task that lies ahead. Along with those resources, we recommend bookmarking our main casting page, which frequently updates with the latest opportunities.

Credit: Jessica Miglio

Though he only played Superman once in 2006’s “Superman Returns,” Routh offered future actors who don the red cape some insight into bringing the character’s true essence to life onscreen.

“I think the biggest thing for me about Superman is always recognizing his non-physical superpowers. It can be cheesy to relate it to a ‘teach a man to fish’ story, but quite literally, that is how I see it,” he said during the 2024 Superhero Comic Con, according to Nerdtropolis. “It is very apropos to being the thing: You save people all the time, everywhere. Maybe they never learn how to save themselves. Now, that doesn’t mean that you let them—you don’t save them necessarily—but it just means that the teaching, the personality, the aspect, the human communication, is the understanding that Superman can give us of inclusion.

“And just to me, Superman’s pure love. He doesn’t judge. He has to make some hard choices and stop people from doing bad things; but my goal for Superman is that he’s the guy that everybody can be in their person, maybe without all the flying and all the other stuff,” Routh added. “But he’s an example of the best of humanity, and he can teach us to do that—not just by his actions, but by actually, you know, calling out the truth.”

As for Papsidera, he isn’t big on rules. As he told us, he’s “not a big ‘don’t’ guy.” He wants actors to be present during the audition and make smart choices in the moment if they hope to impress him and stand out from the crowd.

“If an actor makes a smart choice or an unpredictable choice in some way, the person who really thinks about the material and tries to come at it creatively, rather than just saying lines, is, nine times out of 10, the person that you’re going to think made a great choice,” he said. “[They’re] going to stick out from the rest of the crowd. It seems simplistic and rudimentary, but it would shock you how many people don’t think it through. 

“It doesn’t mean a random choice, and it doesn’t mean being outrageous,” he emphasized. “It’s about smart choices. It’s about interpreting the material and character in a certain way that nobody else thought of. Fear gets in the way of making smart choices, being present, and allowing the camera and the process to happen. It’s less about doing sometimes and more about being.”

Adams, who played Lois Lane opposite Cavill’s Man of Steel, told us that actors are often their own worst enemy. “[In the past,] I got caught up in thinking about things that weren’t that important, like being successful or getting the right job or having the right anything. No, it wasn’t that [I was turning down roles], it was just that I wasn’t kind to myself about my failures; and so one failure would feed into another failure and another because I couldn’t get ahead of it,” she said. Learning the art of letting go helped the actor alleviate the pressure she was putting on herself. Because while she’s self-aware and admittedly “care[s] way too much,” Adams could then finally leave her “socially awkward” energy behind and bring her true, “weird” self into the audition room.