DC Studios

James Gunn reveals why he chose David Corenswet for ‘Superman’: “Can you bring this guy in?”

The director was captivated by one of his previous performances before he was the Man of Steel.

Update: Jul 14th, 2025 17:07 CEST

‘Superman’ has been a phenomenon in its first weekend. With over $125 million grossed and around $20 million in pre-sales, James Gunn’s film has had one of the best starts of 2025. The critics have been benevolent with the film, and from MeriStation we affirm that ‘Superman’ “has a great main trio of characters, a beastly pace and a story that goes beyond superheroes.” David Corenswet has been one of the reasons for the success of DC’s feature film. The actor who brings Clark Kent to life has been widely praised for his performance as Kal-El.

In a recent interview with Konbini media, James Gunn revealed why he chose Corenswet to be his Superman. Apparently, the filmmaker liked one of his previous performances in one of the most popular slasher films of recent years.

A crush at first sight

James Gunn admitted that he discovered David Corenswet in the middle of Ti West’s ‘X’ slasher trilogy. “I actually was watching this movie [Pearl], which is great. It’s a great movie… And I saw a character whose name is just the Projectionist in the movie, and I’m like, ‘That guy looks like he could possibly be Superman. I looked up his name on IMDb and said, ‘Can you bring this guy in?,’” the ‘Superman’ director stated. The American actor’s role in ‘Pearl’ (2022) was that of the projectionist, the love interest of Mia Goth’s character.

In the meeting with Konbini, James Gunn also took the opportunity to dig into the vast filmography they have to their credit. He is dumbfounded by the number of titles and, at one specific moment, he starts talking about ‘Until It Was His Time’ (1968). “I’m a big fan of Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone [...] When you see the final shootout, the actors are moving to the music. ‘Till Their Time Came’ I think is my favorite Sergio Leone film, but I can’t pass up ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ either.”

James Gunn reveals why he chose David Corenswet for ‘Superman’: “Can you bring this guy in?”

‘Pearl’ can be watched on HBO Max.