We don’t know much about the future of James Gunn’s DC Universe, but one thing seems all but certain: Superman will be back. He’s the universe’s most powerful metahuman, after all, and one of the most famous, popular characters on the DC roster. Clearly, he’s going to have a role to play in whatever is coming next. And, along with Superman, come a few of his friends and foes. People like Lois Lane and Lex Luthor.
So it kind of goes without saying that David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult will be back after the events of Superman, in theaters July 11. But if you ask them about it, they aren’t so sure.
Last summer, io9 was on the set of Superman and asked Corenswet, while he was still in costume and all, what he knew about Gunn’s plans for the character after this film. “Essentially nothing,” he replied. “Essentially, just that he means it when he says that no plan is better than the quality of the scripts and the directors who he and Peter [Safran] have to do them… They want to make good movies and good television shows. And they want them to be worth watching and worth rewatching.”
Over a year later, and despite rumors of Gunn writing Superman into whatever movie he’s writing next, the actor says he still doesn’t know what’s next. “No, that’s true,” Corenswet told io9 in Los Angeles last week. “I asked James about [what he’s got planned next for Superman] on the plane to Rio. And he said ‘No.’ And I said ‘Okay.’ And then he’s been telling everybody that I was badgering him about it! And I asked him once! I’m just curious. I’m excited.”
Rachel Brosnahan agreed with Corenswet’s assessment. “I badgered him,” she said. “And he gave me absolutely nothing. We know nothing.”
Whether or not the actors are being honest, we can look back at what Corenswet said in Cleveland last summer as for the reason why, if they don’t know, it’s for the best. “I don’t know very much about the comic book fandom and the idea of getting a timeline announcement. I know very little about that. But I know it’s a thing,” he said. “And I know that for better or for worse, they will compromise a timeline rather than compromise a film… If people knew what goes into getting a movie together and making a movie, they’d understand that if you stick too closely to the plan, you’re going to end up compromising on the things that are actually important and the things that keep people coming back to the theater and get people wanting to show their kids the movies that they saw. So that’s the guiding light for him and Peter moving forward. I mean, you know there are some things coming up, but that’s the main principle. And that’s a good person to be working for.”
In typical Lex fashion, though, Nicholas Hoult knows everything. “We’re doing a three-part film series about Lex Luthor,” he joked. Or did he?
Superman is in theaters July 11.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
