Some DC fans think they’ve already spotted Will Reeve, son of the late Superman/Clark Kent actor Christopher Reeve, in the trailers for this summer’s Superman. In the thick of a battle scene between the Man of Steel (David Corenswet) and a gargantuan fire-breathing kaiju, a suited television news anchor appears on a big screen on a building in Metropolis.
That is not, in fact, Will, Entertainment Weekly has learned. However, the real-life ABC News and Good Morning America correspondent will indeed make a cameo in the movie.
Corenswet reflects on what it was like having a physical representation of the former Hollywood Superman on set with them for this new incarnation of the DC Comics hero.
“Will is great,” the actor tells EW. “He is the Superman type for obvious reasons. He’s tall, he’s handsome, and he’s got a great smile. Having him show up and give his support in that moment was very heartwarming. He also got to meet my kid when she was only a few months old. She happened to be on set that day, too. I don’t think she’ll remember it, but that was a nice little thing, as well, a little parallel.”
Will confirmed his Superman cameo to TMZ last July, after paparazzi photos of him on set leaked through Cleveland.com. “I know the folks making the film, and they’ve been so kind to me and my family, and I had a free day so we made it [happen],” he said at the time.
Will previously joined his family — including siblings Alexandra Reeve Givens and Matthew Reeve — in the making of Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, a documentary about his father that premiered in theaters in September and is now available to stream on Max. Corenswet says he watched the doc ahead of filming Superman.
“We were shooting a big climactic scene. He visited and watched us shoot a little bit,” Corenswet says of Will’s visit to the set. “It was nice in a lot of different ways. It was nice in the same way when we had all of the [DC] comic writers and artists visit set. They were all wearing their Superman T-shirts and they were all excited to be there. Anybody who’s involved with a great character, whether it’s directly as writing and drawing for them — or, in Will’s case, his dad put the character into the public consciousness — when those people are excited about what they see, that just gives you a little fuel to keep going.”
Superman, written and directed by James Gunn, the co-head of DC Studios with Peter Safran, tells of a superhero who’s grappling with his otherworldly heritage as Kal-El, the last son of Krypton, and his upbringing as Clark Kent from small-town Smallville. Rachel Brosnahan also stars as Lois Lane, the ace Daily Planet reporter who’s been dating Clark for about three months and fully knows his identity as Superman, while Nicholas Hoult plays Lex Luthor, the tech billionaire behind LuthorCorp who’s hellbent on destroying Superman at any cost.
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A meaty ensemble cast surrounds this core trio, including Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, and Edi Gathegi as Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, and Mr. Terrific, respectively — all members of the super team known as the Justice Gang. There’s also Anthony Carrigan as metahuman Metamorpho, María Gabriela de Faría as Luthor’s cohort the Engineer, Sara Sampaio as Luthor’s girlfriend Eve Teschmacher, Beck Bennett as Daily Planet sports reporter Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as gossip columnist Cat Grant, Skyler Gisondo as photographer Jimmy Olsen, and more.
When asked if there are more characters that will appear in Superman, beyond the already-announced players, like Will’s cameo, Gunn simply told EW, “Yes.”
Superman will open in theaters July 11.