SUPERMAN: LEGACY (2025): Nathan Fillion is Green Lantern + Two Others cast as DC Heroes in James Gunn’s Film

Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi, and Isabela Merced cast in Superman: Legacy

Superman: Legacy (2025) has three new cast members in Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi, and Isabela Merced. Nathan Fillion has been cast as Guy Gardner / Green Lantern. Edi Gathegi has been cast as Michael Holt / Mr. Terrific. Isabela Merced has been cast as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl.

This casting follows the casting of David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan in Superman: Legacy.

Green Lantern

“Guy is raised in Baltimore by his parents, Roland and Peggy Gardner. His father, Roland, is an abusive alcoholic who beats Guy every day. Some of Guy’s injuries are visible such as bruises, cuts and bumps but others are invisible and are emotionally inflicted.

Guy works hard in school to try to win his father’s approval, but Roland instead lavishes attention and compliments upon Guy’s older brother, Mace. Guy’s only escape at this time is General Glory comic books, going so far as to model his bowl haircut on Glory’s sidekick, Ernie.

During his mid-teens, Guy becomes a juvenile delinquent. He constantly defies authority. Later, he is straightened out by his older brother, now a police officer. He eventually goes to college, supporting himself, and earning bachelor’s degrees in education and psychology from the University of Michigan, where he also plays football until a career-ending injury.

The injury deeply affects Guy. After college, Guy works as a social welfare caseworker, dealing with prison inmates and their rehabilitation. He abandons this line of work, however, fearing it brings out his aggressive nature. Moving on, he becomes a teacher for children with disabilities.

The Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814, an alien named Abin Sur from the planet Ungara, crash-lands on Earth after being mortally wounded. As Sur dies, his power ring seeks and finds two potential successors: Guy Gardner and Hal Jordan. Jordan is nearer to the crash, so he is chosen over Gardner.

In the same story, the Guardian supercomputers predict Guy would have perished early in his career if he had been chosen first. In the later Booster Gold series it is shown that a time traveling Booster convinces Gardner to visit his dying father, thus ensuring that Jordan would be the candidate in closest proximity. Gardner is relegated to backup status should anything happen to Jordan.

When Jordan becomes aware of Gardner’s status as his backup, he sets up a chance meeting, and the two become friends. Though Gardner is originally naive to Jordan’s secret identity, he eventually assists Jordan during his adventures. He is later partnered with Jordan after completing his training under Kilowog.”

Mr. Terrific

“At a very young age, Michael Holt shows remarkable intelligence, reading and assimilating the works of Aage Bohr, Albert Einstein, Max Planck and Richard Feynman, the pantheon of theoretical physics.

Holt displays “a natural aptitude for having natural aptitudes”, as he calls it, easily picking up and retaining complex skills and abilities that others spend their entire lives perfecting. Before he begins his career as a superhero, he already possesses 14 Ph.Ds (two in engineering and physics—including doctorates and master’s degrees in law, psychology, chemistry, political science, computer science, rocket science, and mathematics)—is a self-made multi-millionaire with a high tech firm called Cyberwear (subsequently sold to Waynetech), and is a gold medal-winning Olympic decathlete.

The accidental deaths of his wife and unborn child are a devastating blow to Holt. He considers himself responsible for the accident as he made his wife late for church by arguing with her about the value of religion. While contemplating suicide, he is met by the Spectre (Jim Corrigan), who tells him about Terry Sloane, the Golden Age superhero known as Mister Terrific. Inspired by Sloane’s life story, he takes the name Mister Terrific and later joins the current Justice Society of America (JSA), eventually serving as its chairman.”

Hawkgirl

“Kendra Saunders was a young Hispanic woman who took her own life. When Kendra’s soul left her body, that of her grandfather’s first cousin Shiera Hall, the Golden Age Hawkgirl entered it, making Kendra a walk-in. Her grandfather, former OSS agent and globe-trotting adventurer Speed Saunders, recognized this, in part due to a change in eye color, and encouraged his granddaughter to embrace her destiny as the “new” Hawkgirl.

Still believing herself to be Kendra, she debuted as a hero using the original Hawkgirl’s equipment and set out in search of a being called the Fate-Child (actually her own reincarnated son, Hector Hall). This led to a meeting with the Justice Society and Kendra’s induction to that team.

She currently has all of Kendra’s memories, but almost none of Shiera’s save for fighting experiences. This creates tension with Hawkman since he remembers all of their past lives together and believes they are destined for each other. Kendra has been presented as a very troubled young woman, haunted by the murder of her parents by a corrupt cop and confused by her jumble of memories and feelings.”

Casting in General

“In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra for a particular role or part in a script, screenplay, or teleplay.

The casting process involves a series of auditions before a casting panel, composed of individuals within a theatrical production such as theatrical producer, and theater director. However, within a given television production a casting panel can consist of a television producer, or within film production a casting panel could contain a film producer, film director, and/or choreographer. Usually, in nearly all areas of show business, a casting director is on this panel as well. In the early stages of this process performers often may present, or are presented with prepared audition pieces such as monologues, songs, choreography, scripts and or sides.

These audition pieces are usually videotaped, typically in the form of screen tests and then attached with resumes, as well as head shots and or viewed online via websites such as IMDb, then shared with film producers, film directors and or studio executives. Later stages may involve groups of actors both union, (SAG-AFTRA) and non-union depending on the size and scope of the production, attempting to read material from the work under consideration, paired off in various combinations of two, three or more. With each of the actor’s overall motivational choices evaluated, the casting panel considers both the individual actor, and the “chemistry” created from either one of the combinations set forth within the read-through.

An actor may go through several casting calls before receiving a part, and even though well-known actors or actresses often still go through this very necessary process, some are privileged enough to have well-known writers, screenwriters, directors and/or producers pitch a project for their intent to be cast in a role. The well-known actor or actress often negotiates producer credit as well as very lucrative monetary compensation.

Most films use either a casting agency or a casting director to find actors to match the roles in the film, apart from the lead actors, who are often chosen by directors and producers. The job of a casting director is to know a lot about a lot of actors, so that they can advise and present to the director the best of the available talent. Casting directors are highly influential and are usually on the project because the director trusts their judgement; they are also the ones who decide who the director does see.”

Release Date

Superman: Legacy is part of a DC Universe re-set instituted soon after Peter Safran and James Gunn were hired as co-chairs of DC Studios.

Superman: Legacy will be released in U.S. theaters through DC Studios on July 11, 2025.

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