We have a new Perry White. James Gunn’s just renamed Superman has cast The Wire, Jack Ryan, and Broadway star Wendell Pierce in the role of the iconic editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet newspaper. His casting potentially closes out the main cast.
Superman stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as nemesis Lex Luthor.
Perry White is Clark and Lois’ boss at the newspaper, and his editorial assignments frequently are the catalyst that launches them on an adventure. Jackie Cooper played the role in the Christopher Reeve movies. Frank Langella took it on for Superman Returns before Laurence Fishburn stepped in for Zack Snyder’s version.
On TV, Lane Smith played him in Lois and Clark with Michael McKean covering for Smallville.
In 1981, Pierce was named a Presidential Scholar of the Arts. As a young actor, he appeared in The Winter’s Tale at the Tulane Shakespeare Festival. He produced and hosted Think About It, a youth-themed talk show, for the local NBC affiliate station, and also hosted a weekly jazz show on WYLD-FM Radio called Extensions from Congo Square.
Pierce then attended the Juilliard School’s Drama Division from 1981 to 1985, graduating as a member of Group 14 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In May 2023, Pierce received an honorary doctorate from the Juilliard School.
Superman also stars Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen), Sara Sampaio (Eve Teschmacher), Edi Gathegi (Mister Terrific), Terence Rosemore (Otis), Anthony Carrigan (Metamorpho), Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl), Nathan Fillion (Guy Gardner), and María Gabriela de Faría (The Engineer).
In other Superman news, James Gunn has been all over social media, including Threads, disowning the fake AI-generated Superman set photo that many are claiming is real. It is not. Gunn has been pointing out the AI-generated issues with the image.
Superman takes flight on July 11th 2025.
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