James Gunn is not one to shy away from deep comic book lore and characters, and he’s showing off with his villain choice for the upcoming Superman: Legacy, as reported by Deadline, casting María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica, aka The Engineer.
Superman: Legacy is set to feature a younger Superman as the film reboots DC’s film slate (yet again) under Gunn and James Safran’s control. That means we’ll be seeing Superman/Clark Kent portrayed by a younger actor, David Corenswet, as he struggles with his Kryptonian heritage and life on Earth. It appears he will also be struggling with a group of villains if the casting of The Engineer is any hint. The character is part of The Authority, a supervillain group introduced by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch in 1999. The group is an anti-hero team that got the job done by any means necessary.
Whether or not the full team will appear is unclear, but Superman: Legacy already has a stacked cast of heroes with 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. Cramming even more into the film seems like a lot. Still, there could be room for other, better-known Superman villains. Gunn has already mentioned a few times that Lex Luthor may appear in the film, though it seems like he won’t be the main villain. The ever-expanding cast might be worrisome under any other director/writer, but Gunn has proven with both Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad that he’s the master of multi-hero movies that pull in deep lore and characters while still being accessible.
As for Gabriela de Faría, the Venezuelan actress is currently on Animal Control, but landing this role should put her on the public’s radar, especially because roles in superhero movies are often the juiciest.
Superman: Legacy will be released on July 11, 2025.
