'Man of Tomorrow': James Gunn Denies Ella Purnell, Adria Arjona & Marisa Abela Testing Report

The next chapter of the Superman franchise is officially coming to fruition this summer, as James Gunn is rounding out the stacked ensemble for the highly anticipated sequel Man of Tomorrow. There is reportedly one major casting left to do for the film, which features Superman (David Corenswet) and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) teaming up against the intergalactic threat known as Brainiac. However, it seems like there will be at least one other villain in the film, and a star-studded shortlist made its way online, shortly before it was debunked by DC Studios.

Deadline shared a recent shortlist of actresses testing for a key villain role in Man of Tomorrow. It was reported that Marisa Abela (Industry), Adria Arjona (Andor), and Ella Purnell (Fallout) were screen testing for the follow-up to 2025’s Superman. The story stated that the character in question would be Maxima, an alien queen who eyes Superman as a suitable mate, who first appeared in Action Comics #645 in 1990 and was created by Roger Stern and George Pérez.

Shortly after Deadline‘s story, Gunn took to Threads to debunk it. The co-CEO of DC Studios, who often uses social media to debunk false rumors about the DCU, stated that he was “disappointed” with the outlet’s coverage. Gunn said:

“Deadline’s reporting is shoddy & incorrect. I’ve always thought Deadline was pretty thorough in their journalism but that’s not the case here so I’m frankly disappointed. If someone would have run these names by us we would have said it’s bullshit. I’ve been friends with Adria a long time since I cast her in the Belko Experiment. I’m a fan of both Marisa and Ella but I’ve never met either of them. Crazy.”

Maxima in DC Comics — Maxima from DC Comics

While Gunn might be telling the truth that these specific names are not being considered for Man of Tomorrow, he didn’t rule out that the character in question would be Maxima. She has been rumored to be part of Man of Tomorrow since January 2026, shortly after the news broke that Lars Eidinger would be playing Brainiac. Maxima and Brainiac teamed up in the crossover event “Panic in the Sky,” though Gunn has already made clear that Man of Tomorrow will not be adapting that specific story.

If Abela, Arjona, and Purnell are not screen testing for Maxima, that opens the door for them to appear in other DCU titles. Adria Arjona has been a popular fan favorite to play the DCU’s Wonder Woman. A reboot for the DCU is currently in development with Supergirl screenwriter Ana Nogueira penning the script. Arjona previously starred in Sony Pictures’ Morbius. Purnell herself has been in two superhero-related projects: Kick-Ass 2 and voiced the character Jane on Invincible.

Man of Tomorrow is set to begin filming in April 2026, with a Jul. 9, 2027, release date. If the character of Maxima does appear, the casting news would need to break soon. In addition to actors like David Corenswet as Superman, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Man of Tomorrow will also feature Isabella Merced as Hawkgirl and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart / Green Lantern, following his debut on Lanterns. Whoever is cast as Maxima will be joining an all-star cast.