What's Inside?
- David Corenswet grew up idolizing Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, not Superman.
- Corenswet says Superman isn’t “cool” but deeply relatable and grounded.
- His audition for Superman felt surreal and unexpectedly aligned with James Gunn’s vision.
David Corenswet is the new Superman for James Gunn’s revamped DC Universe, but the actor who donned the classic blue and red superhero costume was inspired by a Marvel superhero. Of course, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man has a global and astounding fanbase, and the way Maguire portrayed the character left a legacy in the franchise. Corenswet, like many fans worldwide, could not help but fall into the aura that came from the iconic Marvel character. In a recent interview, the Superman star candidly shared his love for Maguire’s Spider-Man.
Not Superman, David Corenswet reveals his favorite superhero growing up— and it’s Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man
Just weeks before David Corenswet’s highly anticipated Superman, the 31-year-old stunned DC fans, or Marvel, for that matter, when he revealed that he loved Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man.
“I grew up uh on the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies,” Corenswet told Ben Mankiewicz in his latest appearance at CBS Sunday Morning. “Those were the superhero movies that I saw in theaters and that were really sort of relevant to me just because of the timing of when they came out,” he continued.
“And I think as a kid, I wouldn’t describe myself as a kid who who who fit in that well, you know, being a fan of the Marx Brothers. I had one very close friend who also was a fan of the Marx Brothers, and everybody else was kind of confused by me, I would say. Um, there’s something very romantic about the Peter Parker superhero story, which is that you’re a nerd that gets bullied, and then you get these amazing powers and you get to do cool things with them.”
Superman, on the other hand, Corenswet asserted, is quite different. “And Superman, I think, is a different kind of superhero fantasy for a kid.”
David Corenswet says Superman is not “cool” for one reason
Superman is not cool? While many fans would debate over Corenswet’s statement, as he said Superman is not “cool,” he has a valid reason behind his statement about his own character in his own movie.
For Corenswet, the essence of Superman lies in something far more grounded. He said, “You come running out of your room in your underwear and you save the day… That’s Superman energy.”
That offbeat image, dashing to stop a smoke alarm at 11 p.m. in boxers, is what makes Superman relatable. Corenswet sees Clark Kent not as the guy everyone wants to be, but the one you want around.
“He’s not the cool guy. He’s not necessarily the guy you look at and you think, I want to be that guy. You’re like, I want to have that guy around. I want to hang out with my friends and get into trouble and when things go bad, I want him to show up to save the day.”
Interestingly, Corenswet never saw himself as a contender for the role. His self-taped audition, read with his wife playing Lois, felt like just another gig. He even penned a letter to director James Gunn, expressing rare vulnerability about how he connected with the character. “I just thought it doesn’t happen… it’d be too good to be true,” he said, sharing how surreal it felt to align so closely with Gunn’s vision. Whether or not Superman is “cool,” Corenswet is clearly bringing something profoundly human to the role.
The Gunn-directed highly anticipated DC movie, first since he revamped the studio, also stars Rachel Brosnahan as Superman’s love interest Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt aka Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner aka Green Lantern, Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason aka Metamorpho, and Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders aka Hawkgirl.
Superman is set for a July 11 release.
