David Corenswet is officially the new face of the DCU, whether you like it or not. The young actor was announced as the lead role in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman: Legacy and as expected, the director has decided to choose a younger actor for the role. But just how young is he, exactly?
Corenswet was born on July 8, 1993, making him 29 years old currently, although he’ll be in his early thirties (the same age as Cavill in Man of Steel) by the time the cameras start rolling for the first official DCU movie since Snyder’s era. Arguably, he is the perfect age for someone who will likely carry the franchise for the next decade or so.
Corenswet’s portfolio so far
Being a relatively fresh face in the industry, there are doubts that Corenswet has the experience to take on such a super role. However, despite this, he has been busy acquiring a multitude of roles under his belt. He began acting at a young age with his first stage performance at the age of nine. In 2011 he wrote the screenplay for and starred in a short film before working on a comedy sketch series.
His first major break was in the 2018 political thriller, Affairs of State followed by appearances in House of Cards, Elementary and The Politician. However, his most noteworthy role is pretty recent as Corenswet starred opposite Mia Goth in Pearl as the projectionist/future husband of the X villain.
All this is to say that despite his youth, David Corenswet is far from wet behind the ears. He’s not too young for the role but he’s not too old either. Whilst Henry Cavill is far from what you’d consider to be old (he’s only 40) it’s worth bearing in mind that Gunn wants a frontman who can lead the franchise into the future. Would Henry Cavill really still want to play Superman when he’s in his fifties? Robert Downey Jr quit being Iron Man when he was 53 and it took boatloads of money to keep him coming back long before that.
Could he lead a cinematic universe despite his age?
So yes, whilst Corenswet may be very young for someone in a role such as this. That doesn’t take away from more than a decade of acting experience in front of a camera and two decades of experience if you count his stage performances and all before turning 30.
On top of this, Superman’s character in the comics is quite young. While there is no definitive accepted age, Clark Kent/Kal-El is usually estimated to be late twenties or early thirties. Corenswet fits neatly in the middle of that bracket so the actor is certainly a solid choice.