Kurt Russell says he’d be willing to play Jor-El if the role is offered to him in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy.
Speaking with ComicBook.com, Russell responded to rumors suggesting he may be in consideration to play Jor-El, Superman’s birth father, in James Gunn’s upcoming DCU superhero movie.
“Yeah! Yeah, I’ll take on Marlon Brando!” Russell said. “I mean there was something awesome about the way he was just looking around — I don’t care that he was looking at his lines — he’s crazy-great to watch!”
Brando played Jor-El in 1978’s Superman, which was directed by Richard Donner and starred Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel. Archival footage of Brando’s Jor-El was also used in 2006’s Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut and 2006’s Superman Returns.
Russell Crowe later portrayed the character in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, which was released in 2013.
Speaking further about the rumors, Russell (who played Ego the Living Planet in Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) said, “You know what: we don’t know a lot about Jor-El. Maybe there’s a version … I never heard this, so I don’t know. James Gunn was a blast to work with, though, so you never know.”
Who is starring in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy?
David Corenswet is playing Clark Kent in Gunn’s Superman: Legacy, while Rachel Brosnahan has been cast as Lois Lane. They’ll be joined by Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, and María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer.
Written and directed by Gunn, Superman: Legacy hits theaters on July 11, 2025. The movie will be set in Gunn and Peter Safran’s upcoming DCU, which begins in 2024 with the animated Creature Commandos series.
