DC Comics

DC may have found its next Man of Steel -- or at the least, a few options to consider ... and it sounds like the studio is looking toward a much younger Clark Kent than ever before.

THR reported Saturday that the casting search is on for "Superman: Legacy," and so far ... a few names have surfaced as top contenders to play both Superman and Lois Lane ... and maybe even supervillain Lex Luthor, depending on which trade you wanna believe.

For starters, we have 29-year-old David Corenswet -- who isn't really a very known name in the industry thus far ... but who apparently impressed James Gunn and co. enough to move on to the screen-testing stage ... which THR says will likely happen post-Memorial Day.

His biggest role to date was in 2022's "Pearl" -- where he plays a projectionist who falls in love with Mia Goth's serial killer protagonist. As you can see ... he's got the Supe-y vibe.

Other guys that are under consideration for Superman ... Tom Brittney and Andrew Richardson, a couple of British actors. Jacob Elordi was also apparently considered, but word is ... he never submitted an audition tape, so it seems he isn't interested in the role.

Now, as for Lois ... there's a handful of buzzy actresses who are reportedly in the mix -- including 27-year-old Emma Mackey ("Sex Education") ... who's said to be a front-runner. Other gals who are said to be in the running ... Emmy-winning Rachel Brosnahan, who's the star of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "Bridgerton" star Phoebe Dynevor and Samara Weaving.

While Mackey's name is swirling as choice #1 it seems, THR says Brosnahan churned out an epic audition -- although, apparently WB thinks she might be too old for the part. RB is 32 ... and Gunn is shooting for his characters to look like straight-up 20-somethings.

There's one other name that is being floated ... one Nicholas Hoult, who was just recently in the "Renfield" Dracula movie opposite Nicolas Cage. He was also in the 2015 'Mad Max' reboot, and it's his work there that left Warner impressed. THR says he's under consideration to play Luthor ... but Deadline's reporting he's actually a Superman contender too.

Either way ... it's clear WB's running with a youthful spirit here, very much in the vein of "Smallville," we suppose -- which chronicled young Clark Kent in his fictional hometown.

Another obvious telltale sign from all this news -- Gunn is definitely pivoting off of Henry Cavill and anything Zack Snyder-related. Time for some new blood ... that's the feeling here.

"Smallville" star Erica Durance is leaving her Clark Kent ... because she and her husband, actor David Palffy, have split.

A rep for Erica, who played Lois Lane on the superhero TV show, tells TMZ ... "David and Erica have decided to amicably separate."

The date of separation is unclear ... ditto for the reason behind the split ... but it doesn't appear Erica or David have filed divorce docs, at least not yet.

In a joint statement, Erica and David say ... "Out of respect for our children that's all that will be conveyed at this time. Thank you in advance for your understanding as we navigate the next chapter in our lives."

The relationship has been the subject of fan speculation recently ... it's been a while since Erica's posted with David on social media, and she was spotted not wearing her wedding ring last week at the Canadian Screen Awards, all while making cryptic posts online.

Erica and David started dating way back in 2001, and in 2005 they tied the knot. They have two sons together, an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old.

Before, Erica was married to Wesley Parker from 1996 to 1999 ... but it ended in divorce.

A Connecticut man turned into a real-life version of Superman as he heroically fought off a group of violent carjackers trying to steal his car ... and the savage brawl was all caught on video.

Check out Ring camera footage showing one of the suspects sneaking up to a red Infiniti parked in a driveway while chatting on a cell phone in Rocky Hill, CT, on April 10.

He opened the unlocked driver's side door and jumped behind the wheel of the car, but he didn't get very far because a homeowner who lived nearby ran up to him and ripped him out of the seat.

The two started going at it, throwing punches at one another and wrestling on the ground. Two more assailants then entered the picture and continued beating the homeowner.

One of the attackers lost his shoe while kicking the homeowner, who kept defending himself. The aggressor scooped up his sneaker and proceeded to whack the homeowner in the head with it.

Then a fourth attacker joined in the melee and got in a few licks before the entire crew could no longer trade blows with the homeowner and decided to flee in a getaway car.

Investigators were still looking for the perpetrators as of this morning.

As for the homeowner, he was not seriously injured by the assault. It wasn't clear if he was also the owner of the car that was almost jacked.

Here's a close-up look at Lady Gaga's take on Harley Quinn for the upcoming 'Joker 2' movie ... and this version looks dark and sinister.

Director Todd Phillips shared the in-your-face photo Wednesday on social media, announcing filming has wrapped and it's time for him to hunker down and transform hours of footage into a movie.

Lady Gaga's hair and makeup seem to match up with a scene she filmed earlier this week ... when she was singing and dancing on the very same outdoor Bronx staircase Joaquin Phoenix danced on in the first "Joker" film.

Remember ... we previously saw Lady Gaga in full costume as Harley Quinn last month, but she was sporting a different look than this grimy version.

Before, LG was looking pretty clownish as HQ ... and both versions seem darker than Margot Robbie's take on Harley Quinn, which has been well-received in several different flicks.

Bianca Belair could be the next John Cena, Rock or Dave Bautista -- at least, that's what wrestling legend X-Pac thinks ... 'cause he tells TMZ Sports he sees the current WWE RAW Women's champ moving from the squared circle to the silver screen!!

We spoke with the 50-year-old great out at LAX this week ... and asked the two-time Hall of Fame inductee who he believes could transition into Hollywood post-wrestling career.

After going through of list of WWE stars in his head, Pac finally figured it out ... it's Bianca.

"She's great at everything," Pac told us. "She's a good talker ... she makes her own outfits, bro."

"She's great in the ring. I'm a huge fan. That's who I'm picking."

Of course, Pac (real name Sean Waltman) doesn't see the 33-year-old starting an acting career any time soon -- Belair just made her wrestling debut in 2016 and recently became the longest-reigning Black singles champion in WWE history.

"She's still on her run," Pac added. "When she's done with her run, I think that's available for her. If she wants to."

A WWE star turned actor/actress isn't far-fetched obviously ... The Rock -- who wrestled from 1996 to 2019 -- is one of the highest-paid actors in the nation and his films have grossed over $10.5 billion worldwide.

Cena -- who still wrestles in the WWE -- has been featured in several movies and TV shows, including "Peacemaker." He also won the Action Star of the Year award at CinemaCon.

As for Dave Bautista, he solidified his spot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his part in "Guardians of the Galaxy" ... and has since taken on some wide-ranging roles.

Lady Gaga is ready for her closeup in the DCU -- she was on set this weekend for the new 'Joker 2' movie ... and she's looking pretty clownish as Mr. J's right-hand girl.

The singer and a ton of extras were on hand Saturday morning in NYC, where director Todd Phillips and co. were shooting a scene for the forthcoming sequel to 2019's 'Joker.' As you may have heard by now, Gaga signed on to portray Harley Quinn ... and here she is.

Indeed ... LG could be seen in her full costume and makeup as the Clown Prince of Gotham's famed love interest, and in these shots -- she's coming down some courthouse steps amid what appears to be a massive (staged) protest ... with "Gotham City" cops everywhere.

From the looks of it ... Gaga's Harley is very much like Joaquin Phoenix's Joker -- namely, quite realistic and not so cartoon-y ... unlike other depictions of the characters in DC films.

Of course, with Gaga's version of HQ now out ... the comparisons between her take and Margot Robbie's iteration are going to start flying in film circles. MR has been playing Harley Quinn for a while now (3 films, actually) ... and her portrayal has been well-received.

Based on what we can glean from these photos (and this vibe), however, something tells us Gaga's Harley might, perhaps, be a little darker ... and maybe even a little less giggly.

Time will tell ... we'll just have to wait and see when the flick comes out in Oct. 2024.

BTW, one last observation ... the very many background actors working today appear to have had their grievances heard when it comes to bathroom breaks. As we reported ... a lot of the extras were pissed they were having to work long hours without getting a chance to whizz.

Peep all the porta potties lining the streets ... as the actors walk by. There's more than enough stalls for everyone to empty their bladders ... and one guy even exercised his right!

James Gunn's new DCU has yet to see the light of day -- and shedding the old guard is proving brutal ... both at the box office and on Twitter, where it's all Zack Snyder all day.

First, there's 'Shazam 2' -- which just hit theaters this weekend, and is already off to a tough start with a projected $30M domestic opening ... one of the worst for any DC movie. Remember, Zachary Levi's future in Gunn's world going forward hangs in the balance ... and you gotta imagine that his film here (part of the former DCEU) bombing doesn't bode well.

There might be more growing pains for Gunn and co. before they can get to their actual new slate -- which will start with "Superman: Legacy" in like two years. DC has yet to release 'Aquaman 2' and "The Flash" ... both of which were completed before Gunn came on.

Time will tell how those do, but for now ... 'Shazam 2' ain't paying off. In the meantime, Snyder fans are celebrating the two-year anniversary of his "Justice League" flick -- the "Snyder Cut" as it's known. And yes ... they're once again clamoring for more ZS superhero content.

There are a few "Snyder" trends going off on the bird app, including folks calling on Warner Bros. to release the rights to Zack's creations to Netflix ... where he's now making other movies. The reason ... they want their guy to continue the "Snyderverse," with all those former actors/heroes -- like Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, etc.

Of course, that probably isn't gonna happen ... but the fervent fan base demands it anyway.

Making matters even more complicated is Zack himself ... who, just this week, teased an announcement -- courtesy of one of his big DCEU villains, Darkseid. Unclear what it is ... but he had the internet on fire with speculation -- so ZS is not really going away either, it seems.

And, one last Zack mention -- where someone was, again, reveling in the glory days -- came from BA himself ... who was singing the director's praises in a new THR profile this week.

Bottom line ... the DCEU has left some mighty big shoes to fill, and those shoes keep on getting brought up as everyone waits for Gunn and Peter Safran's vision to come to life.

Starting over from scratch, as it turns out, is a long and tedious process. Lots to clear out from the garage, and not everyone wants the leftovers on sale ... as WBD is now finding out.

Colin Farrell is back in chameleon mode ... looking like his typical debonair self one day, then a villainous Batman foe the next -- BTW, at the moment, he's focused on the latter.

The Irish actor was on set Monday in Manhattan, where production was getting underway for his new HBO spinoff show, "The Penguin" ... which is all about his titular role from 2022's "The Batman" ... the first time Colin rocked this truly unrecognizable look.

Welp, he's back in character and in costume ... and once again, you would never know this was CF at first glance. The hair, makeup and prosthetics are still on point.

His appearance is essentially the same as it was in the flick, only now ... he's getting an 8-episode series that's solely focused on him and his mob boss journey in Gotham (sans Robert Pattinson's Batman, per reports). It remains to be seen if other Bat baddies will make cameos in the show ... including Barry Keoghan's Joker, who also popped up in 'TB.'

Speaking of Barry, he's in another movie with Colin that's up for a lot of Oscars right now -- "The Banshees of Inisherin" -- and the 2 of them have been hitting the town as they gear up for Sunday's big ceremony, which they're both expected to attend.

Take a look at what Colin looked like just over a week ago ... completely different from his current state on set.

No, he didn't gain a ton of weight in a matter of days -- dude's wearing a fat suit, just as he did in 'Batman.'

Actor Ray Buffer is officially going up against prosecutors for his comic book theft debacle ... which includes surveillance video of him allegedly swiping merch.

A rep for the San Diego City Attorney tells TMZ ... Ray's been charged with one count of misdemeanor petty theft over the October 2022 incident. We're told the actor pled not guilty at his arraignment in January, and a further court hearing is scheduled next week.

As we reported, Southern California Comics claims Ray took $600 worth of comic books, and handed cops security cam footage of the whole caper.

Another comic shop -- this one in L.A. County -- said it had similar footage from their store of Ray attempting to swipe comics. That owner was seen on camera booting him out of the store over it.

The owner of Southern California Comics tells TMZ … he was told by the City Attorney's office that Ray's lawyer is attempting to cut a deal to handle the matter by paying restitution to the shop and entering a diversion program -- but the shop owner doesn't think such a slap on the wrist is enough.

Ray has more than 100 acting credits to his name, appearing in TV shows like "ER" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and most recently "Into the Wild Frontier".

We reached out to Ray for comment ... so far no word back.

James Gunn just dropped another truth bomb about how the 'Superman' fiasco came about -- and it sounds like Henry Cavill was kinda being used as a pawn ... or so it seems.

Here's the deal ... the new co-chief of DC Studios responded to fans Sunday who inquired about an IG Story he threw up over the weekend, which touched on when exactly he'd been hired to start working on new DCU flicks -- including a big priority, 'Superman: Legacy.'

In his IG Story, Gunn clarified that while one film he's in charge of has already gone into pre-production -- 'Creature Commandos' -- both that movie and his 'Superman' project had actually been getting worked on quietly behind the scenes before he and Peter Safran were officially hired, which was on Oct. 25 ... a day after Cavill said he was "back" as Supes.

He further confirmed in follow-up tweets -- noting he'd been hired to write 'Superman: Legacy' over SIX MONTHS ago and that his movie was always going to be separate from Zack Snyder's version of the character ... the same one Cavill briefly thought he was reprising.

The bottom line is this ... James is saying he already had the green light to start charting a path for a whole new Superman storyline, but it doesn't appear Cavill was aware of that.

According to him, he was told by the WBD to announce he was officially returning to the role ... even though it now seems clear Warner had no real intentions of pursuing that -- evidenced by the hiring of Gunn/Safran as co-bosses, and their decision to give HC the boot.

In other words, Cavill appears to have been getting jerked around. As for who's to blame ... well, hard to say. There've been so many changes at WB over the past 2 years -- with execs coming/going -- it's not really clear if Cavill was totally misled (and by whom). Alternatively, there might've just been a miscommunication that led to the confusion/psych-out. 🤷🏽‍♂️

All we know, Henry probably ain't gonna be working with them again after this. His next few films are all with different studios -- and we don't see a water tower in his immediate future.

The internet had good old George Clooney trending amid speculation he'd return as the Caped Crusader in James Gunn's DC Universe ... but the mastermind himself says it's BS.

The director and now-co-chief of all things DC shot down a rumor that started to pick up steam these past couple days ... namely, the notion that George could possibly come back and reprise his role as Batman in the new 'Batman' movie that was recently announced.

On Saturday, Gunn responded to a fan who flat out asked him if it was true he was going to cast GC in the 'Brave and the Bold' flick ... which features a much older Batman (and his son, Robin).

When someone pressed for further details -- asking if there was any truth to the idea he was going to cast an actor who'd previously played Batman, period -- Gunn again flatly denied that ... saying they were going in a completely new direction with a totally new actor.

The reason this began percolating at all is because a film journo claimed to have the inside scoop on DC's hopes when it came to who they wanted under the cowl in their latest reboot of the franchise ... suggesting it was either Clooney, Val Kilmer or Christian Bale, and that this person may even cameo in the new 'Flash' flick that's coming out this year.

She said she knew who the studio wanted -- noting a deal wasn't in place yet -- but refused to identify the alleged favorite in mind ... and Twitter handled the rest, making all 3 trend.

Considering plans for this new Bat-movie were literally just unveiled about a week ago, it's safe to say ... no one is cast until they're cast -- so it's probably best to just wait until this actually goes into production before diving head-first into conjecture.

Zachary Levi said something that Twitter's taking as an anti-vax stance -- which could spell trouble for Warner Bros. Discovery ... 'cause he's got a blockbuster movie to promote.

The actor -- who plays the lead in the "Shazam!" franchise -- replied to a question posed on the bird app by Lyndon Wood, who asked ... "Do you agree or not, that Pfizer is a real danger to the world?" ZL's response made no bones about how he feels, "Hardcore agree."

There's not much more context beyond that, and right away ... Twitter users started bashing the dude and labeling him as a right-winger spewing anti-vax rhetoric. This also prompted people to pull up old clips of Zach that they view as problematic -- including a Joe Rogan interview he did a few years ago, where they talked about Elliot Page and Jordan Peterson.

Of course, the jokes also started to fly in regards to WBD and how the execs there might be reacting to this news ... on its face, it comes across as a PR nightmare -- especially with "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" on the horizon and a press tour that'll undoubtedly come with it.

Welp, Zach caught wind of all the hubbub and attempted to clarify ... tweeting a link to a 2009 DOJ press release touching on a fraud case Pfizer was involved in at the time, when they agreed to pay a $2.3 billion settlement. He says this is what he was referring to.

In other words, he's now trying to make it seem like he was expressing a view against corruption in big pharma -- but, frankly, Twitter isn't really buying it ... especially amid the latest Project Veritas drop, which has been top of mind in much of conservative media.

Time will tell how this might affect things with the water tower team. One could argue WBD had a way bigger scandal on its hands with Ezra Miller ... and they ended up salvaging that pretty nicely. Their movie isn't canceled -- it's actually due to come out later this year.

Of course, it all comes down to what James Gunn and Peter Safran wanna do with "Shazam!". They're at the helm of DC now, and they've scrapped A LOT in recent months.

The Joker gets pregnant in a new comic series they just rolled out -- which is, expectedly, drawing some outrage and backlash among a certain demographic ... can you guess who?

The latest story about the Clown Prince of Darkness comes from DC's 'The Man Who Stopped Laughing' series, which explores different plots and subplots for the Joker ... and some aren't even canonical, including this one about him growing a baby bump.

It dropped a few days ago, and people immediately noticed that writer Matthew Rosenberg and cartoonist Carmine Di Giandomenico concocted a tale about Joker wanting an heir, but one that was of his DNA. So, he starts to pursue female super wizardress Zatanna.

Of course, she wants nothing to do with the Joker ... so she casts a spell on him that guarantees no one else will ever bare his offspring, but it backfires -- making it so Joker gives birth all by himself, via vomiting as readers eventually find out. Along the way, the comic strip depicts him with a huge belly and getting checked on gynecologically.

In the end, the Joker's "baby" is a mutated version of himself ... and they're both enamored with one another. That's about all there is to the entry, and yet -- it's caused a lot of feathers to be ruffled in conservative circles, per usual.

Some on Twitter are accusing DC of trying to push LGBT-friendly narratives onto their base ... which they say has been going on for a while, through decisions like making Robin and Superman gay in some of their newer comics. Others, of course, saw that as progress.

BTW, the word "trans" is never mentioned in this latest iteration ... but that doesn't seem to have clicked with this crowd. They see what they wanna see, and they see trans Joker.

Fans of Henry Cavill's Superman are facing more grim news ... because a supposed cameo featuring the Man of Steel in DC's upcoming film has reportedly been cut.

Henry apparently shot a scene as his titular character for Ezra Miller's "The Flash," which is set to debut in June 2023 ... but according to The Hollywood Reporter, sources say it's been scrapped. This, of course, on the heels of the actor's tough announcement that he'd no longer play Superman.

Gal Gadot also was supposed to make a secret appearance in the flick according to THR, but her cameo was cut too ... meaning she could be facing a similar fate in the wake of James Gunn reorganizing the DC universe.

As we reported, Henry broke the shocking news to fans Thursday ... saying the change "isn't the easiest, but that's life. The changing of the guard is something that happens. I respect that."

The plot for "The Flash" is still kept under wraps, but it's rumored Ezra's Barry Allen will travel through different DC universes -- possibly even meeting Michael Keaton's Batman.

What's interesting, Gal and Henry's Justice League characters might be canned, but Ben Affleck's version of Batman is still slated to be in the film ... although it's rumored he'll play a bigger part in the storyline.

Henry Cavill did a 180 on Wednesday night ... saying he's out as Superman in the film series ... just months after announcing he would be returning as Clark Kent.

The actor shared the shocking news to his 23 million Instagram followers after meeting with newly-minted DC Studios cochairmen James Gunn and Peter Safran, both of whom are producing the next installment of the "Man of Steel."

Cavill said ... "I will, after all, not be returning as Superman. After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn't the easiest, but that's life. The changing of the guard is something that happens. I respect that."

He added ... "Superman is still around. Everything he stands for still exists, and the examples he sets for us are still here! It's been a fun ride with you all, onwards and upwards."

Cavill played the role of Superman in three movies ... "Man of Steel" (2013), 'Batman v. Superman' (2016) and "Justice League" (2017). He also had a recent cameo as Superman in "Black Adam," starring Dwayne Johnson.

Iconic comic book writer Peter David is in a hospital, recovering from a series of extremely debilitating strokes ... TMZ has learned.

Kathleen David tells us ... Peter tried getting out of bed last week, but instead he slid off because he was unable to use his legs. Kathleen was able to get him standing and take him downstairs, but after he was unable to get off the couch for 5 hours, she called 911.

We're told paramedics took him to a hospital, noting he was gray when they arrived. Kathleen says she later learned Peter had suffered a mild cardiac event and a major stroke ... followed by a few smaller ones.

Kathleen says her husband -- who's written for Marvel and DC's biggest superheroes -- is still hospitalized and undergoing tests to determine the next steps.

A couple of positive signs ... she says he's able to speak, and is already complaining about still being laid up in a hospital.

She tells us the medical bills are stackin' up pretty high for Peter ... and says a friend has started a GoFundMe for anyone looking to help them out.