James Gunn has announced that longtime working partner Bradley Cooper will be featured as Superman’s dad, Jor-El, in the new Superman movie. With fame earned through voice acting for Rocket Raccoon in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, Cooper is returning to the DC Universe (DCU) under Gunn’s direction again.
During an interview with Jake’s Takes, Gunn explained that the casting was a personal decision. “Actually, Bradley’s just doing me a favor,” Gunn explained. “He’s a friend… I just said, ‘Hey, will you do me a favor? Come down, go to England, we’re going to shoot you in a 3D environment, create a hologram of you, and you can play Jor-El.’ He was like, ‘Okay.’
Additional Guardians Enter the DCU
Cooper isn’t the sole Guardians alum to make the transition to DC. Pom Klementieff (Mantis) and Michael Rooker (Yondu) will lend their voices to robots found in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, furthering the trend of Gunn bringing familiar faces into his new creative world.
When asked if Cooper’s Jor-El could make an appearance in upcoming DCU titles, Gunn said jokingly, “You never know. It’s possible.”
A New Direction for the DC Universe
Superman, starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, hits theaters on July 11, 2025. It’s the first official movie in James Gunn’s revamped DC Universe and promises a new direction in superhero storytelling.
Corenswet recently spoke out about Gunn’s approach to the DCU.
Interviewing with Screen Rant, the actor stressed that Gunn and co-overseer Peter Safran are more focused on the quality of each individual story than they are on adherence to long-term plans. “If you hold too closely to the plan, you’re gonna be compromising on the stuff that actually matters,” Corenswet said.
Focused on Quality Over Timelines
Interestingly, Corenswet admitted that he knows “essentially nothing” about the wider DCU timeline. He explained, “They will sacrifice a timeline in order not to sacrifice a film. They want to make good movies and good TV shows, and they want them to be worth watching, and worth watching over again.”
With an emphasis on character-driven storytelling and artistic license, Gunn’s Superman is on the verge of becoming a daring new entry into superhero films a one that meshes legacy stars with a vision based on substance over quantity.
