The quest to bring Maxima to life on the big screen is almost over. The all-powerful alien warrior queen is set to appear in Superman: Man of Tomorrow, the upcoming sequel to 2025’s Superman, with four finalists in the running for the role.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the list has reportedly been narrowed down to Adria Arjona (Andor), Eva De Dominici (The Cleaning Lady), Sydney Chandler (Alien: Earth), and Grace Van Patten (Tell Me Lies). DC Studios declined to comment, but this update comes after co-head James Gunn shot down an earlier casting report by Deadline, which named Arjona, Marisa Abela (Back to Black), and Ella Purnell (Fallout) as potential candidates. The article has since been updated.
“Deadline’s reporting is shoddy & incorrect,” wrote the filmmaker in a Threads post. “I’ve always thought Deadline was pretty thorough in their journalism, but that’s not the case here, so I’m frankly disappointed. If someone would have run these names by us, we would have said it’s bullshit. I’ve been friends with Adria [for] a long time since I cast her in The Belko Experiment. I’m a fan of both Marisa and Ella, but I’ve never met either of them. Crazy.”
Whoever ends up playing the character will join David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, and Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific. Dumbo star Lars Eidinger is stepping into the role of Brainiac, with Lanterns lead Aaron Pierre also showing up in some capacity.
Introduced in Action Comics No. 645 in 1989 by writer Roger Stern and artist George Pérez, Maxima debuted as a morally ambiguous alien queen from the planet Almerac who later reformed herself to become a superheroine. She has also served as a member of the Justice League and is known for her obsession with Superman, whom she considers the only man worthy of being her mate. The character previously appeared in live-action TV shows Smallville and Supergirl, portrayed by Charlotte Sullivan and Eve Torres Gracie, respectively.
Gunn will return to helm Superman: Man of Tomorrow, which flies into theatres on 9 July 2027. Before that, the titular superhero is due to play a small role in Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl this June, starring Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) in the lead role.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
