The Daily Planet Gets a New Boss: Wendell Pierce Joins James Gunn’s “Superman”
The beloved Wendell Pierce—the kind of actor who elevates every scene he’s in—will now be making a trip to Metropolis in James Gunn’s Superman, The Hollywood Reporter scoops. Pierce will be playing Perry White, the Editor-in-chief of “The Daily Planet,” the paper where Clark Kent (David Corenswet) and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) work.
Clark and Lois’s new boss will have all the gravitas necessary in Pierce, best known for his stellar performance as Detective William “Bunk” Moreland on HBO’s sensational The Wire. Pierce will deploy his skills to keep young reporter Clark Kent and his more seasoned and fearless colleague Lois Lane in line. Just how this version of Perry White will handle his cub reporters is an open question.
Perry White first came on the scene not in the comics but in a Superman radio serial in 1940. White’s approach to leading “The Daily Planet” and dealing with Clark Kent and Lois Lane has differed over the years, from rough and tumble to being more of a mentor. He’s been portrayed on the big screen by Jackie Cooper in Richard Donner’s seminal 1978 film Superman and the rest of the Christopher Reeve-led films, Frank Langella in 2006’s Superman Returns, and Laurence Fishburne in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and his Synderverse films in the 2010s.
There’s been a lot happening with Gunn’s upcoming film, the first feature set to roll out of his new-look DC Studios, which he’s running alongside Peter Safran. Superman—recently titled Superman: Legacy until Gunn decided to tighten it up—will kick off the new DC Studios’ first phase of films and series and is titled Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. This first phase includes a TV series set on Wonder Woman’s home island of Themyscira called Paradise Lost, the introduction of a new Batman in The Brave and the Bold, the film Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow starring Milly Alcock, and Swamp Thing, in development with director James Mangold, which will return the infamous monster to the big screen.
Rounding out the Superman cast are Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer, and Gunn’s longtime collaborator Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner.
For more on Superman—previously titled Superman: Legacy—check out these stories:
James Gunn Reveals New Title For “Superman: Legacy” on First Day of Filming
James Gunn Reveals First “Superman: Legacy” Cast Photo With Filming Beginning Next Week
James Gunn Teases “Superman: Legacy” Set in Photo With “Peacemaker” Cast
Featured image: NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 11: Wendell Pierce attends the National Board Of Review 2024 Awards Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on January 11, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for National Board of Review)
