James Gunn debunks rumour that new Superman actor has already been cast

DC Studios boss James Gunn has stepped in to deny the online rumour that Euphoria star Jacob Elordi has been cast as the new big screen Superman.

Speculation has been swirling online about the possible identity of cinema's next Man of Steel in the wake of the announcement that Henry Cavill would no longer play the character.

Read more: How did Henry Cavill become an internet darling?

Responding to a fan who shared some edited pictures of Elordi in the Superman suit, Gunn revealed that "no one has been cast as Superman yet".

He added: "Casting, as is almost always the case with me, will happen after the script is finished or close to finished, and it isn’t. We’ll announce a few things in not too long, but the casting of Superman won’t be one of them."

Cavill announced his return to the role of Superman in October after his incarnation of the character showed up in the post-credits scene of Black Adam — his first appearance since Justice League in 2017.

However, the revival of this Superman was nixed when Gunn and co-head Peter Safran took the reins of DC Studios and began to clear the slate.

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Gunn is currently working on the script for a Superman movie of his own, which will focus on a younger version of the character than Cavill's version of Kal-El.

25-year-old Elordi was tipped for the role thanks to his work in the buzzy teen show Euphoria, as well as the Netflix romcom franchise The Kissing Booth.

Gunn and Safran are said to be planning out a 10-year strategy for the future of DC Studios, which has struggled for direction since the box office disappointment of Justice League.

The studio had high hopes for Black Adam, starring Dwayne Johnson in the title role, but it fell short of $400m (£327m) at the global box office and could represent a loss as big as $100m (£82m) for DC and Warner Bros.

Read more: James Gunn and Chris Pratt tease final Guardians movie

Gunn recently helmed The Suicide Squad for DC and will focus on the studio full-time after his third Marvel blockbuster, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, is released into cinemas this year.

There have been numerous rumours around his approach for DC, prompting the filmmaker to respond that "some of it is true, some of it is not".

Watch: James Gunn addresses backlash over Henry Cavill's Superman exit