Superman Legacy just cast the most unexpected hero

Anthony Carrigan has been cast in the role of obscure DC superhero Metamorpho in Superman Legacy written and to be directed by James Gunn.

Not long after the casting has been revealed of three additional members within the upcoming 2025 film Superman: Legacy, following the two leads of this major motion picture already cast the aforesaid titular superhero and Lois Lane, another name as per The Hollywood Reporter was included in the casting call.

Fresh after landing his Emmy nom from HBO’s Barry, Anthony Carrigan, has landed his role as DC superhero Metamorpho aka Rex Mason. Carrigan, who after a brief period has been known to portray villains such as Victor Zsasz on Fox’s Gotham and The Mist on CW’s The Flash on the small screen has been placed as more of a heroic figure.

Carrigan will join David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, and Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern.

Who is Metamorpho from DC Comics?

Created by writer Bob Haney and artist Ramona Fradon, the man that would be later known as Metamorpho was a soldier of fortune turned adventurer connected to the CEO of Stagg Enterprises, Simon Stagg, who hired Rex Mason to retrieve a rare Egyptian artifact.

Mason also dated his daughter, Sapphire, which Simon grew a disdain for Mason was transformed by a meteorite exposed to radiation. From then on, Mason headed to another path toward heroism as he gained the ability to shapeshift and transmute or combine into any element in his body.

During the beginning of his crime-fighting escapades, Metamorpho (once called Element Man) had a sidekick called Elemental Girl. He made his debut in The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 No. 57. The anthology series then spun out into a short-lived 17-issue self-titled ongoing series (Metamorpho Vol.1).

Metamorpho then appeared in two issues of Justice League of America in No. 42 and No. 44 before he appeared in many backup features in Action Comics and World’s Finest Comics once popularity scaled upwards. Metamorpho then became linked with super teams from the likes of the Outsiders, Justice League Europe, Doom Patrol, and The Terrifics.

What did Anthony Carrigan say about Metamorpho?

Carrigan, who suffers from an autoimmune disease known as alopecia, explained Metamorpho was somewhat always in the cards for him, but not just of the character’s aesthetic. He said:

"“I like comic books, but I’m not a diehard, but I did when all my hair fell out, go through the kind of pantheon of all these bald superheroes and supervillains and made a note of all of them. I remember seeing Metamorpho and I think he had like a giant like hammer for a hand and I was like, that guy’s badass. Noted. We’ll store that one away.”"

Speaking on what this enigmatic character means to him, Carrigan stated relating to how Metamorpho looked and how people had perceived him, “This character from what I’ve learned of the source material, he didn’t like the way he looked, and I can relate to that.” Carrigan shared his thoughts as a member of the alopecia community.

Now that an additional cast has been revealed for Superman: Legacy, it would be interesting how those ancillary characters from the far corner of the DC Universe get rolled in the first official motion picture film in the DCU and play a role in shaping DC Studios younger take of the Man of Steel.

On the heels of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, while the film so far has sidestepped the recurring WGA Strike, could Superman: Legacy hold out long enough to stay the course when hopefully the disagreement between the unions gets resolved?

What are your thoughts on Metamorpho being included in Superman: Legacy? Are you interested that Metamorpho could be in the new Superman film? Do you think Anthony Carrigan fits the role? Sound off in the comments!