Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘Superman’One of the most fun aspects of anyJames Gunnmovie is looking out for cameos and special roles. After years in the business and over a decade making superhero movies, Gunn has developed his way of insertingnods and referencesinto his works, and also enjoys honoring some of his long-time partners and collaborators by giving them a few seconds in his movies.Supermanisno different, as it pretty much requires nods and references to its previous lore. With such a rich history in comics and cinema, how could you not do it, right? Gunn andSupermanfeel like amatch made in heaven—one loves inserting cameos into his movies, and the other requires them. If you’re lost on what these cameos actually are, don’t fret, for we’ve got you covered.
Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan as Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van
One of the most recognizable cameos comes right at the beginning of the movie, withBradley CooperandAngela Sarafyanplaying Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, Superman’s (David Corenswet) biological parents. They left him a message upon sending him to Earth to survive the fall of their homeworld, Krypton. After suffering his first defeat at the hands of the so-called Hammer of Boravia,Superman retreats to the Fortress of Solitude, where his parents’ message is playing in the background. Later, of course, the second part of that message creates many problems for him.
Cooper and Sarafyan weren’t announced as part of theSupermancast, making for a big surprise when they show up in the movie’s initial minutes. Cooper is actually a long-time collaborator of James Gunn’s, having provided the voice for everyone’s favorite talking raccoon, Rocket, in Marvel’sGuardians of the GalaxyandAvengersmovies. InRichard Donner’sclassicSupermanfilms, Jor-El is played byMarlon Brando, while inZack Snyder’sMan of Steel, the character was played by Russell Crowe. SoGunn needed someone who he knew could shoulder such a heavy legacy, and Cooper agreed as a favor. Sarafyan, on the other hand, is known for roles in HBO’s acclaimed seriesWestworldand theTwilightsaga.
Frank Grillo as Rick Flag, Sr.
After Superman’s initial defeat, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) pitches his PlanetWatch initiative to a government committee led by General Rick Flag, Sr. (Frank Grillo). This isn’t Flag’s firstappearance in the DCU, however, as he’s one of the protagonists in the animated seriesCreature Commandos, which debuted on streaming in 2024. He mentions to his peers in the committee that he isn’t afraid of metahumans because he has worked withsome of thembefore in the series. Later in the movie, he accepts Superman’s surrender and then discusses the future of metahuman participation in security efforts.
Flag is also the father of Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman), who shows up in 2016’sSuicide Squadand in Gunn’s ownThe Suicide Squadin 2021. In DC Comics lore, there is a rather long dynasty of characters named Rick Flag, all of them attached somehow to Task Force X, a special team of villains gathered by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to carry out black ops missions around the world. Flag Jr. led the Suicide Squad, and his demise prompts his father tocome out of retirement. BesidesSuperman, Flag Sr. will also be inPeacemakerSeason 2, premiering this August.
Will Reeve as a GBS News Reporter
After Luthor’s grunts release a kaiju upon Metropolis, and it grows to gigantic proportions, it becomes Superman’s problem to handle. In the Daily Planet newsroom, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) watches the news while talking to Cat Grant (Mikaela Hoover) at the Daily Planet newsroom,as a reporter from GBS News is on TV live from the battle site. That reporter, although unnamed, is played byWill Reeve, the son ofChristopher Reeve, who played the ultimate Superman iteration in four movies during the 1970s and 1980s, including Richard Donner’s first two. In real life, Will Reeve is a correspondent for ABC News, so having him perform his own profession is not only a tribute tohim and his father, but to journalism itself, which has always played a huge role inSupermanstories. Clark Kent and Lois are both journalists, after all.
John Cena as Peacemaker
When Jor-El and Lara’s full message to Kal-El is publicly revealed, it becomes the subject of scrutiny by everyone, includingJohn Cena’s Peacemaker.He can be seen commenting on it on TV when Superman arrives in his apartment, while the Justice Gang battles the interdimensional imp in the background. Peacemaker’scommentsare rather clueless and narcissistic, but that’s exactly who the character is and why he is so funny to watch. He’s an anti-hero in the truest sense of the word, a complete mess of an individual, but who, somehow, firmly believes he’s better than everyone. Peacemaker’sfirst appearancewas inThe Suicide Squad, becoming a favorite of Gunn and the fans afterward.
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Michael Rosenbaum as One of the Raptor Guards
Another of Gunn’s frequent collaborators,Michael Rosenbaum, also has a cameo inSuperman, although it’s a rather difficult one to spot — or, better yet, hear. He is credited as the voice of one of Lex Luthor’s Raptor guards.While some of the Raptors show their faces behind their helmets, that’s not the case with Rosenbaum, so it’s all about keeping a sharp ear to catch him there. BeforeSuperman, Rosenbaum had also worked with Gunn in theGuardians of the Galaxymovies for Marvel, playing Martinex.
But Rosenbaum’s cameo is actually important for another reason, too.He is best known for playing a younger Lex Luthor in the classic seriesSmallville, withhis take on the characteroften lauded asone of the best. So it makes sense that he would play a character who servesanother version of Luthor, even though he and Nicholas Hoult don’t share a scene. This is certainly not the last time we’ll see him in the DCU, though, as he is often someone Gunn likes having on his projects in some capacity.
Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord
Someone else who James Gunn likes having around is his brother,Sean Gunn. He usually provides motion capture work for characters like Rocket inGuardians of the Galaxyand Weasel inThe Suicide Squad, but has other memorable roles,such as KraglininGuardians of the Galaxy, Kirk Gleason onGilmore Girls, andmany othersin movies and television. InSuperman, he plays tech mogul Maxwell Lord, the owner of LordTech, and a rival to Lex Luthor in the business. He can be seen towards the end of the movie in a brief interview,boasting that everyone can agree, “Lex Luthor sucks.”
In the DCU, Lord also finances the Justice Gang, so it’s interesting to see how tech billionaires have become obsessed with having their own paramilitary metahuman forces — thankfully, there are no metahumans in our world, right? Lord will also show up inPeacemakerSeason 2, with the Justice Gang also having a role to play. Another iteration of the character shows up inWonder Woman 1984, played byPedro Pascal, but we don’t talk about that.
Milly Alcock as Supergirl
The final cameo inSupermanis another pretty obvious one. As Superman is recovering from everything that’s happened in the Fortress of Solitude,Milly Alcock’s Supergirlsuddenly shows up, barging in to pick up Krypton, who is actually her dog. Kal-El and Kara Zor-El arecousinsand are both the last survivors of Krypton, although their relationship isn’t the best — she even calls him a “b*itch” before leaving with Krypto. As Superman points out, she also likes to get drunk, so she’s often hanging out on planets with red suns, since Kryptonians can’t get drunk on planets with yellow ones, like Earth. The reason for their estrangement will certainly be addressed in her own upcoming movie,Supergirl, which adapts the incredible comicSupergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, byTom KingandBilquis Evely, in which Kara leaves to celebrate her 21st birthday by getting drunk, but ends up tangled in a quest for revenge that’s pretty muchTrue Gritin space.
There’s a lot more to her, though, because, althoughfoul-mouthed and often short-tempered, Kara’s heart is just as golden as Kal-El’s, if not more. She just has some issues to work through, but don’t we all?Supermanis currently in theaters everywhere.
