James Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy” Casts Its Villain

While Marvel Studios looks like they’ve found their next big superhero, James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Studios has just landed their first big villain. Deadline reports that Gunn has cast María Gabriela de Faría to play Angela Spica, aka The Engineer, in his upcoming Superman: Legacy. The Venezuelan actress has had roles in the comedies Animal Control and The Moodys for Fox, and she starred in Lionsgate’s The Exorcism of God. Playing a villain in Gunn’s hotly-anticipated Superman reboot is a major step for the rising star.

Her character, Angela Spica, was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch for “The Authority vol. 1” in 1999. Her abilities are based on nanotechnology that she’s got built into her body, which gives her tremendous powers due to having what is essentially a liquid metal form. She’ll be facing off against David Corenswet’s Superman, yet plot details are, of course, being kept under wraps.

Gunn’s Superman: Legacy will be the first official film in his and Safran’s new DC Studios, kicking off a unified universe of feature films and television series. The film isn’t being billed as a Superman origin story, however, but rather will focus on Clark Kent’s struggles to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage and his human connections as he faces down evil in the world that adopted him.

With the casting of María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer, Gunn is setting up The Authority movie that he and Safran previously announced, which will bring in more characters from the WildStorm comic book universe that DC Comics bought in 1999. Gunn has previously teased The Authority as a film focused on a team of superheroes who deploy extreme methods to protect the planet. “One of the things of the DCU is that it’s not just a story of heroes and villains,” Gunn said. “Not every film and TV show is going to be about good guy vs. bad guy, giant things from the sky comes and good guy wins. There are white hats, black hats, and grey hats.”

Joining Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman and María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica/The Engineer are Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, and Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason/Metamorpho.

Superman: Legacy is slated for a July 11, 2025 release date.

For more stories on all things DC Studios, check these out:

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James Gunn Reveals 3 Stars Who Are Keeping Their Roles in the New DC Universe

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Featured image: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 14: María Gabriela de Faría attends the premiere week screening of SYFY’s “Deadly Class”, hosted by Kevin Smith, at The Wilshire Ebell Theatre on January 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paul Butterfield/Getty Images)