Having made their first live-action debut in Wonder Woman 1984, I’m very curious to see the DCU’s new take on a character who’s recently been confirmed for Superman. It’s been known for some time that Sean Gunn, brother of director James Gunn, will have a role in the upcoming Superman movie, with several reports indicating that he would be playing Maxwell Lord. However, Gunn playing Lord has finally been officially confirmed by the actor himself, and his recent comments have me very intrigued about the type of Maxwell Lord we’ll be getting in the DCU.
Superman won’t be the first time audiences will be seeing Maxwell Lord in live action. Back in 2020, Pedro Pascal played a one-and-done version of Maxwell Lord, a television personality and oil magnate operating in the 1980s who gets his hands on the Dreamstone. However, it’s already quite evident that Sean Gunn’s Maxwell Lord will be quite different from Pascal’s in Superman, and might not even be a villain at all in the modern-day DCU.
The DCU’s Maxwell Lord Is Set To “Kinda” Be In Superman
His Presence May Be Felt Through Other DCU Characters
Recently at Northern Fancon, Sean Gunn spoke about playing Maxwell Lord in Superman, sharing that he was “kinda” in the upcoming DCU movie. Not only that, but he also shared that he and James Gunn had looked at some specific pieces of DC Comics source material to bring this new version of Maxwell Lord to life, though he was unwilling to share what those pieces were, at least until after the movie is released in July. Nevertheless, Superman’s trailers and greater cast do provide some clues.
David Corenswet’s Superman won’t be the only superhero in his upcoming movie. He’ll also be joined by Guy Gardner’s Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Mister Teffific, and Metamorpho. Each of these heroes has been depicted with LordTech-branded uniforms, suggesting that Gunn’s Maxwell will be financing their team as a live-action version of Justice League International. This would mirror Lord’s story in the original DC Comics (at least before he becomes an outright DC villain). Regardless, it’s possible that Gunn only “kinda” being in Superman may mean that his role might be pretty small, while his team has much more screentime in comparison.
Having The DCU Bring Back Maxwell Lord After Wonder Woman 1984 Makes His Return All The More Interesting
We Should Be Getting A Very Different Version of Maxwell Lord
A character who has been both an ally and an adversary to the Justice League (and specifically Wonder Woman), it certainly looks as though Sean Gunn’s Maxwell Lord will be going in a completely different direction compared to Pedro Pascal’s version. In Wonder Woman 1984, Pedro Pascal’s Maxwell Lord had a very specific and ultimately villainous depiction, a man who underwent a corruptive arc that was very much tied to the movie’s 1980s setting. Likewise, his character couldn’t exactly go anywhere or have any bearing on the modern-day DCEU either.
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Conversely, it looks as though Sean Gunn’s Maxwell will have a major impact on the greater DCU at large, especially if he is indeed running a team of superheroes in the modern era. While Superman probably won’t be interested in fully joining Lord’s corporate roster in any official capacity, it does look as though he’ll become an ally to the group in the face of some major threats. To that end, it’s going to be fascinating to see if Sean Gunn’s Lord starts out with some genuine altruism in Superman, or if he’ll already have some secret agendas behind his founding of the DCU’s JLI.
Will Maxwell Lord Have A Bigger Role Beyond Superman?
The idea that Sean Gunn is only “kina” in Superman does suggest that he might have multiple DCU appearances beyond this first live-action movie. Perhaps the debut of the JLI in Superman is simply the opening act for Lord, one that begins a longer form arc where Gunn’s version of the DC characters does become more of a supervillain over time, perhaps even coinciding with Wonder Woman’s expected debut at some point in the DCU’s future. At any rate, DCU fans should fully expect Sean Gunn’s Maxwell Lord to be worlds apart from Pedro Pascal’s version, something that will be fascinating to see play out when Superman releases this Summer.
Superman releases in theaters on July 11th from DC Studios.
- Release Date
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July 11, 2025
- Producers
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Lars P. Winther, Peter Safran
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Clark Kent / Superman / Kal-El
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Rachel Brosnahan
Lois Lane
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Nicholas Hoult
Lex Luthor
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Edi Gathegi
Michael Holt / Mister Terrific
