The DCU's lineup of leading superheroes just hit a dozen, across a variety of past and future projects, thanks to a surprising but welcome casting choice. James Gunn is busy filling out his new DCU with heroes and villains galore. In fact, the iconic Batman villain Clayface (Tom Rhys Harries) is getting his very first solo movie with the upcoming Clayface. That said, there are a lot of heroes who have already taken center stage or will in the future, and not all of them are A-listers.
DC Studios co-head Peter Safran revealed in an interview with IGN that Josh Hutcherson has been cast as the leading hero of the studio's animated Mister Miracle series. The actor will voice leading character Scott Free, aka Mister Miracle, alongside his warrior wife, Big Barda (Mackenzie Davis).
Safran also praised showrunner Tom King's adaptation of his own acclaimed comic as "just dynamite." It seemed like Safran added in the cast news casually, despite it not yet having been announced by him or the studios, or Gunn:
"'Mister Miracle,' I think that Tom King really learned a lot in his season of co-creating and executive producing 'Lanterns,' and he adapted his book Mr. Miracle fully on his own, wrote all eight episodes, and I think it's just dynamite. Josh Hutcherson as Scott Free and Mackenzie Davis as Big Barda."
Following the newfound Skydance, which is keeping DC Studios and the new DCU intact, even more news came out about Mister Miracle. Safran separately told Collider that Mister Miracle is targeting 2028, and DC Studios has already "seen animatics of the whole season."
Episodes are expected to run roughly 30 minutes each. The exec also told the outlet that the show is part of the DCU and said there's "no reason why it couldn't be an ongoing season series."
This is notable, as prior to that statement, it had been assumed since its announcement that this would be a limited series.
What also makes this casting more notable than your typical animated DC show is that DCU actors can voice a character and play them in live action.
Just look at Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), who debuted in the animated Creature Commandos before making the leap to Superman, Peacemaker Season 2, and soon-to-be Man of Tomorrow. So, the former Hunger Games star could be a new face of DC, if that's part of Gunn's master plans.
Hutcherson joins a growing list of actors taking on leading roles in a wide variety of DCU projects, and some of those shows and movies have more than one lead.
Lead Actors Across All DCU Projects
Xolo Maridueña - Blue Beetle Movie and Animated Series
Before Gunn's DCU existed, Maridueña led 2023's Blue Beetle as Jaime Reyes, the first time this character had been brought to life on the big screen.
Thanks to his planned role in the new universe, including a spot in next summer's Man of Tomorrow, that movie is now retroactively canon (or at least parts of it). A Blue Beetle animated series is also in the works, and he will be the lead again in that series.
John Cena - Peacemaker
More anti-hero than superhero, Cena's Christopher Smith was just one piece of Gunn's The Suicide Squad, and really turned out to be a villain in that.
Two seasons of Peacemaker have since given the character room to grow in his own spotlight. Season 2 left him trapped in Salvation, with no current plans for the future, and while Season 3 looks unlikely, it could still happen down the line.
Indira Varma - Creature Commandos
Monsters, freaks, and robots need a leader too. Varma headlined the animated Creature Commandos as The Bride (yes, the Bride of Frankenstein).
She ended Season 1 in charge of Task Force M and will lead a refreshed roster of creatures in Season 2, coming to HBO Max in 2027.
David Corenswet - Superman / Man of Tomorrow
Corenswet's Superman is the face of the entire DCU, a role that goes beyond even headlining his own movies. Superman launched the franchise back onto the big screen and became 2025's highest-grossing superhero film, beating out three MCU movies, more importantly.
The leading man has since appeared in Supergirl, and will be back to the superstar in Man of Tomorrow.
Milly Alcock - Supergirl
Sadly, Supergirl bombed in theaters this summer, earning just $126 million worldwide against a reported budget of up to $186 million. Because of that, Alcock's Kara Zor-El, who cameoed at the very end of Superman, will probably stick to team-ups moving forward.
Aaron Pierre - Lanterns
Pierre was one of two leads on HBO's Lanterns, but his John Stewart is the one who will be alive and well for the rest of the DCU. The finale saw him embrace his fear to become Earth's new Green Lantern (kind of), and he'll appear next in Man of Tomorrow.
Hopefully, he'll also get to headline a second season of Lanterns, though right now, nothing is officially greenlit.
Kyle Chandler - Lanterns
Fans instantly fell for Chandler as the DCU's Hal Jordan, even though Lanterns wasn't a typical Green Lantern story.
The HBO series swapped space-cop action for a grounded murder mystery that left Hal dead, but fans sure would be thrilled to see the character, or his Halogram, in a future project.
Tom Rhys-Harries - Clayface
On paper, Harries' Matt Hagen is a Batman villain, plain and simple, but he's also been described as an anti-hero.
In Clayface, the rising Hollywood star turns to an experimental cure after being disfigured, only to spiral into a quest for revenge. Audiences will discover the real truth when the R-rated body horror flick hits theaters on October 23.
Skyler Gisondo - The People Vs Gorilla Grodd
Jimmy Olsen isn't a superhero, but he's a good journalist, and he helped save Metropolis in Superman.
Now, Gisondo's Jimmy will get more of the attention in The People v. Gorilla Grodd, a mockumentary series currently in production for HBO Max from the team behind Netflix's American Vandal.
Jimmy Tatro - The People Vs Gorilla Grodd
A classic Flash villain, Gorilla Grodd appears to have a nuanced past in the DCU, even getting a show centered around him in college at Metropolis University. Jimmy Tatro plays the telepathic ape, convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City. It's time for everyone to learn his story.
Nicholas Hoult - Man of Tomorrow
Hoult's Lex Luthor was a snotty, cold-blooded killer in Superman, so don't mistake him for much of a superhero. Still, he'll be teaming up with the Supes in Man of Tomorrow to take on an even greater threat: Brainiac (Lars Eidinger).
