Image via Complex Original
What a difference a year makes. Last spring, Supergirl looked like a sure-fire success, a suitable path for CBS to attract younger viewers, and a smart way to integrate an important female character into DC’s televisual universe. Weirdly, the show actually delivered on all that potential, only for a disappointed CBS to orchestrate a relegation to its younger, cheaper corporate sibling, The CW. And as you’ve probably heard, Supergirl plans to celebrate its new home by doing something its producers suggested they’d never do: make Clark Kent/Superman a real character and not just a plot device, talking point, or pair of boots in the corner of a frame.
Whether a living, breathing CK will serve as anything more than promotional fodder—and/or a Kryptonian dog whistle for a certain segment of the DC fan base that may have been turned off by Supergirl’s consistent nods toward feminism—remains to be seen. However, who is cast in the show’s take on the world’s most popular alien will go a long way in telling us what Supergirl has in mind for Kara’s cousin.
By now, we’re all familiar with the web’s Superhero Fantasy Casting Industrial Complex. Everyone—from fans to writers and directors to studios—has their default favs and the entire process gets drawn out with rumors, costume fittings, and chemistry tests. But don’t let the Superman of it all, or the rumor mill, fool you, this isn’t your normal superhero casting process. It’s time to be realistic.
Right now, the role is only slated for a few episodes, it’ll still serve a supporting role to Supergirl’s other titular hero, and it surely pays CW money. Meanwhile, in the show’s canon, Superman is likely a decade or so older than Kara, who was 24 when the series began last fall. A mid-30s version will likely still hit that balance between the bumbling Midwesterner needed for Clark and the Crossfit pro needed for Superman, but it does age the character out of The CW’s normal age range, if even by a little. Finally, while savvy TV viewers are bound to suggest some names and faces associated with The CW, DC properties, or just shows produced by Greg Berlanti, the expanded connectivity of all these DC shows means that a number of potential choices are already occupied or have previously appeared on Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow.
With all those categories in mind, you can simply cross off a bunch of names: Smallville’s Tom Welling never wanted to be in the suit. Brandon Routh, Robbie Amell, and Colton Haynes play notable characters in the DC TV universe and the latter two are probably too young. Colin Donnell’s Tommy died on Arrow and now he’s making that Dick Wolf money on Chicago Med. Older generation WB heartthrobs like Josh Jackson (too busy), Chris Pratt (too Marvel), Jason Behr (too MIA), Matt Long (too small), Gregory Smith (too Canadian), and Chad Michael Murray (too Chad) are out as well. And as much as we’d all love to see Nic Cage finally get to achieve his destiny and play Kal-El, even he is probably too costly for Supergirl at this point.
But don’t fret—even with our properly measured expectations, there are still good candidates that meet some of these broad criteria. Here are five perfectly dope yet still realistic options for Supergirl’s take on Supes.
Matt Bomer
Bonafides: The universe has been trying to make it happen for over a decade
Matt Bomer almost played Superman in Brett Ratner’s abandoned early-aughts Superman feature film revival, long before he established himself as a great, versatile performer on Chuck, White Collar, and beyond. His association with the Man of Tomorrow continued when he voiced the character in 2013’s animated Superman: Unbound. Given that he certainly looks the part, that kind of additional preparation can only help Bomer’s case. He’s also the most recognizable of my choices, a guy with established fans from those aforementioned projects and American Horror Story, and a performer with real range. Supergirl is the lightest and most comedic of the Berlanti DC shows; Bomer could handle those tonal swings effortlessly without losing the aura needed for Superman. It’s fated.
James Wolk
Bonafides: Berlanti approved, always on the verge of breaking out, and part of one of pop culture’s greatest moments of the 21st century.
In a fairer world, James Wolk would have just finished a wonderful six-season run on Fox’s Lone Star. Or maybe he'd be revving up for another six-episode run of Berlanti’s USA miniseries Political Animals. Or guest starring on another episode of Happy Endings, the best post-Friends hangout sitcom. None of those things are happening. Instead, he’s on CBS’s Zoo. James Wolk is fine on Zoo, but deserves something a little more than a show called Zoo. He’s on the younger side, but wouldn’t really seem like it on screen; he could easily function as an older brother type for Melissa Benoist’s Kara and fits the All-American characteristics needed for CK and Superman. Let’s make James Wolk finally happen, people.
Enver Gjokaj
Bonafides: Comic-Con friendly and a chameleon of an actor
Like Wolk, Enver Gjokaj can’t seem to find a steady role that properly highlights his numerous talents. His work on Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse was revelatory in its variety and depth, but also unfortunately slotted him into Very Good Character Actor territory. But Marvel’s Agent Carter illustrated that Gjokaj is leading man material, an actor who can play a sturdy, ethical totem to traditional masculinity just as easily as he can uncork a genocidal cult film lover. That recent Marvel connection might be too much for The CW, DC, and Warner Bros. TV to overcome, but Gjokaj would surely be game for anything.
Scott Porter
Bonafides: CW and TV vet, very Midwestern, and low-key everywhere
Did you know that Scott Porter, most famous for his work on Friday Night Lights, has voiced Cyclops, Nightwing, Aquaman, the Scarlet Spider, and Superboy in various animated projects or video games in the last five years? Me neither. Maybe it doesn’t matter to you, but these superhero projects, across all mediums, are very incestuous. With a preexisting relationship with the various decisions makers (don’t forget he did four fun years on Hart of Dixie, too), a professed interested in comic book material, and the most fitting “All-American” look in the bunch, Porter would be a fine choice. Dude was born in Nebraska. That’s basically Kansas, right?
John Cena
Bonafides: ‘Super Cena’ has been playing Superman for years.
Though a bit of an unorthodox choice on the surface, WWE’s biggest star has been preparing for this role for a decade. John Cena’s on-screen persona is basically what would happen if Superman were raised by the calculating McMahon family instead of kind-hearted farmers: he’s The Most American, comically patriotic, enormously strong, never gives up in the face of adversity, and, for better or worse, always wins. More seriously, Cena is an improving “real” actor, particularly on the comedic side, after great recent turns in Trainwreck and Sisters where he’s proven that he’ll do anything to entertain. And of course, he’s got the look to fill out that suit. A well-intentioned but kind of annoying meathead Superman would be a wonderful contrast to whatever it is that Henry Cavill is doing on film.