'A Very Superman-Like Person': Hawkgirl Isabela Merced Shares Take On David Corenswet's Man Of Steel And Reveals Their Surprising Batgirl Connection
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Of the upcoming DC movies that fans are currently aware of, James Gunn's Superman has the most riding on it as the launching pad for the DCU. It's a lot of pressure for leading man David Corenswet, the latest to take up the Man of Steel's live-action mantle, but co-star Isalbela Merced doesn't sound too worried about his ability to win fans over. Quite the contrary.
The Hawkgirl portrayer, who only recently shared her geeked-out reaction to her comic-inspired costume, appeared on Happy Sad Confused podcast to get fans stoked for the upcoming horror movie Alien Romulus. While she obviously couldn’t dig too deep into the well of Superman details, she did speak to how much she can’t wait for audiences to see Nathan Fillion’s debut as Green Lantern Guy Gardner. And when asked for her thoughts on Corenswet as Superman, she had nothing but kind things to say. As she put it:
I think David himself is, in my opinion, a very Superman-like person, and has the patience of a Buddhist. He is super, super kind and talks to everyone. Babies love him, and kids love him. I think he will be a wonderful Superman.
I mean honestly, does anyone want to live in a world with a Superman that babies don’t love? That could have been the very first step in James Gunn’s audition process: stand in front of a bunch of babies, and if the majority of them start crying, the audition is over. Perhaps not the best use of anyone’s time, but still.
By and large, Isabela Merced sounds extremely excited to bring Hawgirl to life, and teased that her room in the movie is very informative for the character, so I’d imagine it’s one that’s full of easter eggs and references.
Isabela Merced And David Corenswet's Batgirl Connection
Movie audiences wouldn't be faulted for assuming that Isabela Merced and David Corenswet sharing the screen together in Superman will be their first time they perform together as DC Comics heroes. But while it may indeed be the first time they share the big screen, they'd actually met years prior during the audition process for the filmed-and-shelved standalone Batgirl feature. That said, it wasn't exactly at the top of her memories. In her words:
He read with me for that. . . . I forgot that he read with me, and felt like a dick. [Laughs.] But he was the opposite reader for that. He was like the male reader for that. It was crazy. It was so wild I forgot; I felt so bad. But he was so kind about it. He was like, ‘I really loved it and I thought you did a great job.’ Yeah, super random.
Merced was reading for the role that Leslie Grace ended up landing, even if fans will probably never get to see her performance, though it’s unclear who David Corenswet’s character would have been. How wild would it be if he was set up for a Superman cameo in that movie? Not that it would have been looped into the DCU’s first Gods and Monsters chapter, but still fun to think about during the long wait for Gunn’s feature to hit theaters.
James Gunn’s Superman wrapped filming at the end of July, and is on pace to hit the 2025 movie schedule on Friday, July 11.
