James Gunn Officially Shuts Down a Major Man of Tomorrow Casting Rumor

Oct 01, 2026 - 19:16

0 1

James Gunn Officially Shuts Down a Major Man of Tomorrow Casting Rumor

Published Oct 1, 2026, 10:30 AM EDT

Willa Rowe is a contributing writer at Polygon, covering games and entertainment. She is a New York-based journalist and critic whose work has been featured in Kotaku, Digital Trends, the A.V. Club, GamesRadar+, and more. She also co-hosts the Girl Mode podcast.

Matthew Lillard's role in the Superman sequel remains a mystery

David Corenswet as Superman at the height of a fight in his self-titled 2025 film

While we already know a number of familiar faces will be reprising their DC roles in Man of Tomorrow, James Gunn's sequel to 2025's Superman, fans are most intrigued by the possibility of new cast members. Earlier this week, rumors began swirling that Scream and Scooby-Doo actor Matthew Lillard would be the DC Universe's Barry Allen. The theory made its way to Gunn, who gave a definitive answer on the topic.

Asked by a fan on Threads if Lillard is playing the Flash in Man of Tomorrow, Gunn didn't mince words with his response, simply saying, "No." The rumor began after an "insider" account on X posted that Lillard's character would have a biracial family and share scenes with Jimmy Olsen, Kat Grant, and Perry White. These are all unconfirmed details, but fans decided they could all be true if Lillard were playing Barry Allen.

Some thought that the ongoing HBO show Lanterns lent credence to this theory since it depicts Hal Jordan, the first human member of the Green Lantern Corps, as an older hero passing the torch to his successor. Fans theorized Lillard would play a retired version of Allen mentoring Wally West. Now that Gunn has shut down the rumor, fans are still left wondering who Lillard will play and if the Flash will show up on the big screen again anytime soon.

What we know about Man of Tomorrow

Man of Tomorrow is set to be released on July 9, 2027. According to Gunn, the film will see Lex Luthor and Superman forced to work together to fight a bigger threat: the iconic villain Brainiac. David Corenswet and Nicholas Holt will reprise their roles as Clark Kent/Superman and Lex Luthor, respectively, with Lars Eidinger joining the cast as Brainiac.

Plenty of other characters from across Gunn's DC Universe will also appear in the film. These include Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., María Gabriela de Faría as the Engineer, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Milly Alcock as Supergirl, and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. In addition to Lillard, Andrey Royo and Sinqua Walls have been cast in unspecified roles. Adria Arjona will also be in Man of Tomorrow, and fans speculate she'll be playing Wonder Woman.