Wendell Pierce Has Been Cast As Perry White In James Gunn's 'Superman'
Image Source: CultureSlate
After a disappointing 2023 for the cinematic DC Expanded Universe, it is time to turn the pages and start to focus on James Gunn's and Peter Safran's upcoming DC Universe.
The first film to hit theatres will be Superman, written and directed by Gunn and slated for a release on July 11, 2025. Previously called Superman: Legacy, the subtitle was dropped after filming began in late February.
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The movie stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, and Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, and we now know the name of the actor who will play Kent's and Lane's boss: Wendell Pierce.
Pierce has been cast as Perry White, editor-in-chief of The Daily Planet. Pierce will be the second black actor to play the journalist, after Laurence Fishburne's portrayal in Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Previously, the role has belonged to Pierre Watkin in the serials from the late 1940s and early 50s, to Jackie Cooper in the Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve, and to Frank Langella in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns (2006).
Pierce, who started as a theatre actor and still does stage work, is probably best known for his role as William Moreland in The Wire (2002 - 2008). He had recurring roles in Suits (2013-2019) and Jack Ryan (2018-2023), and among his works for the big screen are Malcolm X (1992), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), and Ray (2004).
The character of Perry White first appeared in the radio serial The Adventures of Superman in February 1940 and made his comic debut in the same year in Superman #7. Starting as a reporter and winning the Pulitzer Prize, he later became editor and then editor-in-chief.
Like many other comic characters, Perry White was rebooted several times over the decades, showing him either as a hard-boiled, no-nonsense newspaper leader or a more father-figure-like character to Kent, Lane, and fellow reporter Jimmy Olson. But White always retained the high standards of journalism, with one of his mantras being: "A good reporter doesn't get great stories — a good reporter makes them great".
It remains to be seen if Pierce will take over the two best-known catchphrases of Perry White: "Great Caesar's ghost" and "Don't call me ‘chief.’”
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