When it was announced a short while back that the actor for Supermanwas being replaced in James Gunn's upcoming DCU, the news was met with a fair degree of hostility to say the least. It once seemed impossible to imagine that anyone else could don the famous red cape and represent the character's legacy better than Christopher Reeve once did, but Henry Cavill certainly did make the role his own in modern renditions. Given the popularity of Cavill as Superman and the way he looked like, embodied, and added a distinctive charm to the character, whoever came after him was bound to be treated with a lot of skepticism.
While many fans around the world are still disappointed that Cavill won't be returning to the role, the news recently broke that David Corenswet has been chosen as his replacement. Corenswet will don the iconic cape for the upcoming film, Superman: Legacy that will restart the DCU. The news has been met with a mixed reception since Corenswet, who has proven to be a great actor in the past, is yet an unproven entity in a superhero role — leave alone one as legendary as the last son of Krypton himself. However, given what we know about the actor already, here are ten reasons why David Corenswet will make a great Superman.
10 His Background
Playing a role as globally popular as Superman comes with a great degree of pressure since the character is a beloved icon of millions. The character debuted in 1938 and has become the face of DC Comics as a company and a brand ever since. He's since grown into a massive franchise, whether for his solo films, comic books, TV series, video games, and all manner of other merchandise, or as a significant part of the extended DC character universe.
Living up to the heritage of such a massive character isn't likely to be easy no matter how strong an actor's caliber is. However, on the face of it, David Corenswet's background seems to indicate that he has what it takes. As the son of two lawyers, Corenswet's father was a stage actor when he was younger. He has also been acting since he was a child himself. Lastly, Corenswet is an alumnus of the prestigious Juilliard School and has already proven himself in many great roles so far.
9 He's a Generational Talent
The fact that David Corenswet has great genes goes beyond his parents. His maternal grandfather was the creator of the famous Choose Your Own Adventure bookconcept and personally authored over 50 books in the series. While Corenswet's fine background will inevitably bring around arguments that he's been very privileged, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, in some ways, his genes and upbringing indicate that he's probably been groomed for greatness. As a result, he isn't likely to be easily overawed by the magnitude of the role and the history it comes with.
8 He's a Stage Actor
There's a reason why classically trained theater actors are so highly regarded. Acting on stage is a far cry from having the luxury of being able to redo scenes and practice takes until you get it right. In this sense, not only was David Corenswet an accomplished child actor, his roles as a child were mainly in theater productions.
Among others, he acted in the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival's 2003 production of Macbeth when he was still barely even 10 years old. That's certainly impressive and shows that he likely possesses remarkable poise as an actor. While he turns 30 next month, his youth gives him a fresh look for the character, yet he still has a wealth of great experience behind him despite his young age.
7 His Looks
Even from the earliest renditions of Superman, the character has always been depicted as classically handsome. The charm of the character usually exists in the duality between the alluring and confident persona he has as Superman and the shy, nerdy one he takes on as Clark Kent. However, whether intentional or not, Superman's looks has always been one of the chief reasons why he's been popular, and has often been credited with the reasons why comic book characters have become so appealing to people across genders.
It's difficult to ever imagine a Superman that doesn't have the looks capable of getting hearts racing. In that aspect, David Corenswet continues the tradition of certainly looking the part. The moment the news of his casting first broke, fan art imagining him as Superman already began hitting the web. The early results already show that he more than looks the part, both as Superman and Clark Kent.
6 A Smaller Superman Still Works
One of the most alluring reasons for why Henry Cavill was revered as Superman was that his looks, build, and physical stature seemed to have jumped right off the cover of a Superman comic. Physically, Henry Cavill could not be faulted as Superman since he just looked like a real life muscle-laden superhero. However, while the character is classically depicted as a buff, muscly hero whose physical build exudes his actual strength, this isn't necessarily always how the character has to look.
There's no doubt that David Corenswet currently has a much smaller physique than Cavill. However, the character's strength famously comes from being able to drink in the radiation of Earth's sun and not because he never skips leg day. As buff as Superman usually looks, he can be a physically smaller character without his strength being affected in any way. After all, Christoper Reeve, Brandon Routh, and Tyler Hoechlin have all proven this point when they've played the character.
5 An Up-and-Coming Star
Often a role with the kind of history and heritage that Superman comes with can suffer from casting a massive star. Actors who are already an established household name become so recognizable on their own that it's difficult to see them as the character alone, without their fame pressing down on the role. Ben Affleck's Batman was a prime example. Many Batman fans will argue that he was an actor who was just too darn famous so every time we were meant to see Bruce Wayne, all we could think of was Chuckie Sullivan from Good Will Hunting, Capt. Rafe from Pearl Harbor,or J-Lo's bae instead.
Right now, David Corenswet is still unknownenough to not be type cast and that's probably a good thing. Yet, he's also a star on the rise since he recently joined the cast of Lady in the Lake alongside Natalie Portman and is also part of the cast of the upcoming film, Twisters. His career was already growing, so Superman seems to be the cherry on top of where the actor was already headed in his career anyway.
4 His Acting Range
Superman, like many other superhero characters these days, is a franchise character who ideally will undergo a great deal of character development beyond merely showing off his powers. Superman is far from the straightforward classical hero most people know him to be. Dig deep enough into his history, and you'll be sure to find that he is in fact a multi-layered character with plenty of emotional journeys that accompany his super feats.
Pain, grief, rage, depression, you name it, Superman has experienced all these things at times. Playing him well therefore doesn't just rely on being strong and looking good, but being able to reach the depth and emotional range necessary to give the character the nuance he deserves. David Corenswet already has experience playing characters with depth. As River Barkley in The Politician, he played a seemingly spoiled and privileged young man, though under the surface, was dealing with a lot of painful emotions too.
3 He's Multi-Talented
Playing a role of this magnitude requires a lot more than some good acting range. In some ways, Superman being such a multi-faceted character requires an actor that isn't one-dimensional. Despite his young age and relatively small filmography so far, David Corenswet has proven that he's multi-talented. Aside from the fact that he's already done great turns in theater productions, major TV shows, and films, he also played the lead in the drama miniseries, Hollywood.
The show featured a great ensemble cast. Corenswet played the part of Jack Castello, a World War II vet who moves to Hollywood to pursue acting. The show has been highly acclaimed, earning itself 12 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and winning two. Showing how multi-talented he is, David Corenswet appeared in seven episodes of it and also worked on it as an executive producer.
2 Glimpses of Brilliance
In his relatively short career so far, David Corenswet has already shown some clear signs of brilliance as an actor and a propensity for picking great roles. In 2022, he played one of the leading roles in the thriller-drama, Pearl. The story told the tale of a disturbed young woman during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Sheltered and showing some signs of extreme behavior, she falls for a projectionist at the local cinema played by Corenswet.
Their steamy affair takes a dark turn when he notices the signs of her instability and tries to pull away from her. The film was dark and racy in a thrilling way and has been critically acclaimed, currently holding a 92% approval rating and being nominated for a host of awards. Pearl was a great example of the fact that, in Corenswet, Superman will be getting a proper actor who is capable of excellent performances when the occasion calls for one.
1 He Loves the Character
Whether it was movie fate or just having a good agent, it may surprise fans to learn that David Corenswet once spoke off playing Superman long before he actually landed the role. Back in 2019, fans were already noticing that he kind of looked like a younger version of Henry Cavill. When pressed about it, a lot of David Corenswet's comments showed he was a fan of the character. Just check out this excerpt from an article by EWwhere it was revealed what he once said about Man of Steel.
"Superman is an amazing character, a classic American character. He's been done right and he's been done wrong. It's time for another right one. The cool thing about Superman is the thing that everybody says is the problem with the character, which is that he's invincible. That's the most interesting thing abut him. What a difficult position for a person to be in. There's so much to be mined there, and deal with the drama that's inherent in somebody who doesn't have any problems and can't die."
It was pretty clear all the way back then that the actor had given a great deal of thought to playing the character. As super fans will attest, it was also clear that no one thinks that deeply about a superhero character unless you're actually a fan of them. If there was ever any reason to believe that David Corenswet will be a great Superman, this was it. It lets us know as fellow fans that the character is in safe hands. After all, who else would give the role the respect it deserves and treat it with the degree of passion Superman deserves and fans demand, but a fan himself.
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