UPDATE: Everyone thought Will Reeve made a cameo in James Gunn’s Superman trailer—but it turns out it was Lawrence Gilligan.
You probably missed him on your first watch of the new Superman trailer—but he is there. No, not David Corenswet’s Superman. We’re talking about the real-life son of the most beloved Superman of all time, Christopher Reeve. Blink and you’ll miss Will Reeve’s cameo in the new Superman trailer.
Before James Gunn officially handed the keys to the Fortress of Solitude to Corenswet, DC fans (ourselves included) made a solid case for casting Reeve in the iconic red-and-blue suit. The resemblance is uncanny, right? His jawline, the Superman smile, his charisma… It’s all there. It was the kind of casting that practically writes itself.
But Will didn’t end up donning the cape—and there’s good reason for that. In an interview with Jeff Pearlman, he was pretty blunt about his superhero preferences: “I’m not a huge Superman fan or fan of superhero movies in general.” Ouch. Still, you can’t really fault the guy for wanting to make his own mark outside of his dad’s shadow.
Well, even though James Gunn hasn’t made Reeve Superman, he did the next best thing: he gave him the perfect cameo in his new Superman film.
In the first trailer, there’s a chaotic shot of Superman battling a Kaiju. Look carefully and you’ll see a familiar face: Reeve as a news reporter reporting the news in the background. It’s a clever nod because, not only is his real-life job ABC News correspondent, but seeing Christopher Reeve’s son on screen is a clever little Easter egg that tugs at the heartstrings of longtime fans.
That’s not all Will’s doing to honour his dad’s legacy either. He was recently featured in Super/Man, the moving documentary by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui that chronicles Christopher Reeve’s incredible life. Speaking to Variety, Reeve said, “The majority of my memories of my dad involve him after the accident because I was not yet three years old when he was injured. So to see his entire life leading up until that time laid out so poetically and cinematically and authentically by our wonderful directors has been a real gift for me.”
So, even though Will Reeve doesn’t love superhero movies (or really Superman for that matter), it’s clear that he understands how much the character means to fans—and how much his father still does. Now, thanks to James Gunn, the Reeve legacy gets a quiet but powerful nod in the new DCU era of Superman.
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