Smallville's Michael Rosenbaum Is In James Gunn's Superman Movie — You Just Won't See Him
On his birthday, July 11, Smallville alum Michael Rosenbaum this year will get to hear himself in one of the most anticipated movies of the summer — James Gunn's Superman.
Written and directed by James Gunn, Superman marks the theatrical launch of the "new DCU" being shepherd by DC Studios co-CEOs Gunn and Peter Safran. The film stars David Corenswet (Hollywood) in the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult (The Great) as Lex Luthor — the supervillain Rosenbaum of course played in TV's Smallville.
The cast also boasts Edi Gathegi (For All Mankind) as Mister Terrific, Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho, Nathan Fillion (The Rookie) as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced (The Last of Us) as Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl, Skyler Gisondo (The Righteous Gemstones) as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, María Gabriela de Faría (The Moodys) as The Engineer, Frank Grillo (Creature Commandos) as Rick Flag Sr., Wendell Pierce (Elsbeth) as Perry White, Mikaela Hoover (Duster) as Cat Grant, Pruitt Taylor Vince (The Mentalist) as Jonathan Kent, and Neva Howell (Beckinfield) as Martha Kent.
But just as Alan Tudyk (Resident Alien) has a voice role in Superman (as "Robot No. 4"), Rosenbaum also will be heard, not seen, in the big-screen adventure.
"James [Gunn] asked me to do something fun, so I have a couple of lines that I voice," Rosey recently shared at Fan Expo Dallas, per Screen Rant.
"Anyway, there was nothing [on-camera] in this one, but he's the head of DC, so I think he can stick me in a [future] movie or something," Rosenbaum ventured. "He's thoughtful, so I hope that happens."
"He's one of my best friends," Rosenbaum noted of his longtime ties to Gunn, "and he's very loyal."
Sadly, Gunn's Superman film is one of the reasons that The CW powered down its Superman & Lois series after four seasons.
After holding court at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in February 2024, CW president Brad Schwartz said that it was decided by Warner Bros. that the small-screen Supes should be grounded.
"They don't want a competing Superman product in the marketplace," Schwartz told TheWrap.