James Gunn confirms return of three DC actors ahead of first ‘canon’ release

James Gunn has confirmed the future of three key DC actors.

Following the conclusion of the writers’ strike, the director, who oversees DC Studios with Peter Safran, is sharing updates about forthcoming films set to be released as part of the comic book film adaptation series.

While doing this, Gunn announced that Viola Davis, John Cena and Xolo Maridueña will all return as their characters Amanda Waller, Peacemaker and Blue Beetle, respectively.

Gunn shared the news on Instagram’s Threads, in which he was posed questions by fans. Maridueña’s return as Blue Beetle will follow the film’s underwhelming box office takings of $125m.

Cena will reprise the role of Peacemaker in the second season of his standalone show, which was released to acclaim on Max in 2022.

Davis, who has cropped up as Waller in numerous DC films, will return in voiceover capacity for animated series Creature Commandos. Other cast members include David harvour, Frank Grill, Maria Bakalova, Indira Varma, Zoe Chao, Alan Tudyk, Sean Gunn and Steve Agee.

Gunn described Creature Commandos as the next “canon” DC release, meaning the forthcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will be the last film to be released that was greenlit before Gunn and Safran’s hiring. It’s set to be debuted in December.

This will be followed by Superman Legacy. His Superman filmwill star David Corenswet as the Man of Steel and Rachel Brosnahan as lois Lane, as “a very human drive to want to understand everything all the time, but I think it’s okay to be confused on what’s happening in the DCU since no one has seen anything from the DCU yet,” Gunn answered.

Coronswet’s career was launched in Ryan Murphy’s 2019 Netflix drama series The Politician before starring in A24’s acclaimed indie horror Pearl last year. You can read more about his life and career here.

His casting ended months of speculation over who would be the next actor after Henry Cavill to take on Clark Kent.

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Meanwhile, Brosnahan is best known for her lead role in the popular Prime Video period comedy series The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Her film roles include The Courier (2020), and I’m Your Woman (2020).

Hollywood writers officially agreed to end their five-month strike and return to work this week, after union leaders approved a contract agreement with Hollywood studio bosses.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced in a statement on Tuesday 26 September that it had voted to accept the deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group which represents studios, streaming services and producers in negotiations, after 148 days on the picket line.

The writers would be free to work starting midnight local time, as the guild votes to ratify the new three-year contract with Hollywood studios.