Superman Cast: Every Actor Who Played Superman and Who Stars Beside Him

Superman (1978) starred Christopher Reeve, Superman Returns (2006) starred Brandon Routh, Man of Steel (2013) starred Henry Cavill and Superman (2025) stars David Corenswet, with a new Lois Lane and Lex Luthor in each. For the full run of releases, see our guide to the superman movies, which also covers the current film, Superman (2025). For a closer look at each lead, see superman actors.

Superman (1978), directed by Richard Donner, starred Christopher Reeve as Superman and Clark Kent, with Margot Kidder as Lois Lane and Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor. Marlon Brando played Jor-El, Ned Beatty played Otis, and Jackie Cooper played Perry White. Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter played Pa Kent and Ma Kent, Susannah York played Lara, and Jeff East played the young Clark Kent.

Terence Stamp appeared as General Zod. Jack O'Halloran played Non. Valerie Perrine played Eve Teschmacher, Trevor Howard played the 1st Elder, and Maria Schell played Vond-Ah.

Superman (2025), directed by James Gunn, stars David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. The supporting ensemble is wide: Edi Gathegi plays Mr. Terrific, Nathan Fillion plays Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced plays Hawkgirl, and María Gabriela de Faría plays the Engineer. Skyler Gisondo is Jimmy Olsen, Alan Tudyk is Gary, Bradley Cooper is Jor-El, Angela Sarafyan is Lara, and Sara Sampaio is Eve Teschmacher.

TMDB credits Michael Rooker as the voice of Superman Robot #1, Pom Klementieff as Superman Robot #5 and Grace Chan as Superman Robot #12. Corenswet also appears as Superman in Supergirl (2026), starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El.

Henry Cavill led Man of Steel (2013), directed by Zack Snyder, opposite Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Michael Shannon as General Zod. Kevin Costner played Jonathan Kent, Diane Lane played Martha Kent, Russell Crowe played Jor-El, and Laurence Fishburne played Perry White. Antje Traue played Faora-Ul, and Ayelet Zurer played Lara Lor-Van.

Cavill then played Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), where Ben Affleck played Batman, Gal Gadot played Wonder Woman and Jesse Eisenberg played Lex Luthor. He played Superman again in Justice League (2017), with Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa and Ray Fisher joining the team.

Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) all starred Christopher Reeve. Superman II (1980) added Sarah Douglas as Ursa, with Terence Stamp and Jack O'Halloran back as Zod and Non. Superman III (1983) brought in Richard Pryor as Gus Gorman, Annette O'Toole as Lana Lang and Robert Vaughn as Ross Webster. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) starred Mariel Hemingway as Lacy Warfield, with Jon Cryer as Lenny and Mark Pillow as Nuclear Man.

Superman Returns (2006), directed by Bryan Singer, starred Brandon Routh as Superman, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane and Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. James Marsden played Richard White, Frank Langella played Perry White, and Sam Huntington played Jimmy Olsen.

Richard Donner, Richard Lester, Sidney J. Furie, Bryan Singer, Zack Snyder, James Gunn and Craig Gillespie have directed the Superman films, and James Gunn directed the latest one, Superman (2025). To see how the releases line up, read superman movies in order.

Richard Donner opened the series with Superman (1978), released in the US on December 15, 1978 and earning more than $300 million worldwide on a $55 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo. Richard Lester then directed both Superman II (1980) and Superman III (1983), and Sidney J. Furie directed Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) on a $17 million budget.

Bryan Singer directed Superman Returns (2006), which carried a $270 million budget per Box Office Mojo. Zack Snyder directed Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017). James Gunn directed Superman (2025) and is confirmed as director and writer of Man of Tomorrow, according to Variety. Craig Gillespie directed Supergirl (2026), released June 26, 2026.

Four actors have played Superman across the main films, in this order:

• Christopher Reeve in Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
• Brandon Routh in Superman Returns (2006)
• Henry Cavill in Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017)
• David Corenswet in Superman (2025) and Supergirl (2026), and, according to Variety, Man of Tomorrow

Henry Cavill was not replaced for a publicly stated reason; Superman (2025) is a reboot under James Gunn that recast every major role. His run ended with Justice League (2017), and Superman (2025) starts over with a new director, a new cast and a new Lex Luthor. No sourced studio explanation is attached to the change, so the plain answer is that the series restarted. Every major role from Lois Lane to Jor-El was recast at the same time.

Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman and Jackie Cooper returned most often, across the Christopher Reeve films. Kidder played Lois Lane in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), appeared in Superman III (1983), and returned for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Hackman played Lex Luthor in Superman (1978), Superman II (1980) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), and Cooper played Perry White in all four. Terence Stamp and Jack O'Halloran carried General Zod and Non from Superman (1978) into Superman II (1980). Marlon Brando also appears as Jor-El in archive footage in Superman Returns (2006).

The Cavill films kept Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Diane Lane as Martha Kent through Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017), and Laurence Fishburne as Perry White through the first two. Corenswet carries over from Superman (2025) into Supergirl (2026) as Superman, with Milly Alcock leading as Kara Zor-El.

No, neither Matthew Reeve nor any other Reeve family member is credited in the lead cast of Superman (2025), according to TMDB. None is named in the reported Man of Tomorrow cast either.

The next Superman film is man of tomorrow, dated July 9, 2027, and Variety reports David Corenswet, Nicholas Hoult and Rachel Brosnahan returning. James Gunn announced the date, and a change has not been reported. Lars Eidinger is confirmed as Brainiac, according to TheWrap. For the other films in the run, see the superman movies guide.

No Superman film opened in 2026, because Supergirl (2026), released June 26, 2026, was the year's entry. Variety also reported on August 27, 2026 that Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, Isabela Merced, Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi and Milly Alcock (as Kara Zor-El) are in the cast. TheWrap reported Aaron Pierre as John Stewart and Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes, also known as Blue Beetle.

Adria Arjona is reported as joining Man of Tomorrow in an unconfirmed role. As a rumor, one TheWrap report says she plays Maxima, but Gunn said he was "absolutely not confirming that" and had not confirmed it, and DC Studios had no comment, so the status is unconfirmed.