James Gunn’s Darkseid Gets First Official Casting Update

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I just heard some amazing news! Apparently, James Gunn is actively casting Darkseid for his DC Universe. It’s so exciting to think about! Darkseid has appeared on screen before, in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but with Gunn now in charge, everything feels fresh. We’re getting a ton of new DC projects, and it’s awesome to see new actors, characters, and stories from the comics finally coming to life.

An exciting new project is the upcoming Mister Miracle series, inspired by the popular comic book by Tom King and Mitch Gerads. This animated series will focus on DC’s New Gods, including the powerful villain Darkseid. Often considered DC’s equivalent to Marvel’s Thanos, Darkseid’s appearance in any DC project is significant, as he’s one of their most iconic and formidable foes.

According to Tom King, the search for a new actor to play Darkseid is already underway. While discussing the upcoming Mister Miracle project with ComicPop Returns, King revealed they are currently holding auditions, stating, “We’re doing casting,” and that there are “a thousand roles to cast.”

We haven’t announced the cast yet, but that information is coming soon, and I’m really excited about it. Right now, we’re focused on casting, and as the executive producer, I’m overseeing a huge number of roles.

Considering Darkseid is confirmed to be in the new animated series, one of the roles must be the infamous DC villain. This will be the first time James Gunn, now in charge of DC, will feature the ruthless ruler of Apokolips in a project.

Tom King’s run on the Mister Miracle comic tells the surprising story of its hero, Scott Free, being secretly exchanged for Darkseid’s son and raised by the villain himself. The story unfolds against the backdrop of a war between Scott’s home planet, New Genesis, and Darkseid’s Apokolips, sparked by Darkseid’s quest to obtain the incredibly powerful Anti-Life Equation. You can find more details about the Mister Miracle storyline here.

There’s currently no news on when the animated Mister Miracle project will be released. The project is a collaboration between Warner Bros. Animation and James Gunn’s DC Studios. Importantly, it won’t be part of the main DC Universe that Gunn is creating; instead, it’s one of the separate “Elseworlds” stories he’s planned.

James Gunn’s Plans for Darkseid

While DC Comics has even more formidable villains, Darkseid is arguably its most iconic. Similar to how Thanos is a major threat in Marvel, Darkseid holds a similar level of recognition and importance within the DC universe.

Unfortunately, fans who were hoping to see Darkseid as an enemy for David Corenswet’s Superman and the other DC Universe heroes will be disappointed. There are currently no announced plans to include Darkseid in the DCU in the near future.

James Gunn is still building the foundation for his DC Universe, and introducing a major villain like Darkseid too soon would likely be a misstep. For the first few years of the new franchise, Gunn and the team are planning to focus on villains who are less overwhelmingly powerful – though they’ve already confirmed appearances by significant threats like Brainiac.

Even with these changes, James Gunn and his team will continue to explore iconic DC characters in separate, non-canon stories. Projects like Mister Miracle offer a great way to introduce characters like Darkseid without disrupting the main storyline of the DC Universe.

As a big fan, I’m really excited about what James Gunn is building with the DCU. This new take on Mister Miracle feels like more than just a standalone project – it could be Gunn subtly showing us what Darkseid might eventually look and feel like when that big story finally happens. If the DCU takes off, Darkseid will be a major player, and I think this movie is laying the groundwork for how that character will be presented – his vibe, his voice, everything. It’s a clever way to start building towards something huge!

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2026-01-14 06:08