David Corenswet says he was "really was not expecting" to even get an audition for Superman, and thought the call was for Top Gun 3: "It feels completely impossible"

It is not a huge surprise to hear that David Corenswet was shocked when he first found out he had been cast as Superman, but the star thought the role was so out of reach that when he got a call back to audition, he thought it was for Top Gun 3.

"When I got the audition, I was standing on a ladder changing a light fixture. My agent said, “We think you know what this is about." I said, "Is it Top Gun 3? What am I waiting for?" said Corenswet to Wicked: For Good star Jonathan Bailey, as part of Variety's actors on actors series. "I really was not expecting it, although I think other people thought that I should be expecting it. Just statistically speaking, it feels completely impossible."

Although right now we couldn't imagine anyone else playing James Gunn's Man of Steel, Corenswet's casting did come as a bit of a shock. At the time, Corenswet had appeared in smaller projects such as Ti West's horror prequel Pearl and Ryan Murphy's The Politician, and DC fans had already pegged actors such as Nicholas Hoult or Jacob Elordi for the role. Plus, many fans were still mourning Henry Cavill's departure and thought the Witcher star might still return.

However, Corenswet managed to win most DC fans over, with Superman grossing over $616 million worldwide. The film's upcoming sequel, Man of Tomorrow, is already on the way, and from its first look, it seems as though the film will see Corenswet's hero and Hoult's Lex Luthor team up to defeat Braniac.

The rest of the interview consisted of Corenswet and Bailey bonding over being theatre kids, flying, and what it means to be cool. Corenswet admitted that he doesn't think he is very cool and let Gunn know this before he took on the role. "If you wanted somebody cool, you should have hired somebody else," said Corenswet, recounting his conversation with Gunn, "And he was like, 'Oh, believe me. I know.'"

The Man of Tomorrow is due to hit screens on July 9, 2027. For more on DCU: Chapter One, check out our guide on how to watch the DC movies in order, and keep up with other upcoming DC movies and shows.