Jacob Elordi turned down Superman audition because it was “too dark”

Before David Corenswet was cast as the Man of Steel in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy, one name brought up by fans was Jacob Elordi.

While speaking with GQ, Jacob Elordi said that he actually received a proposal to test for the role of Superman but turned it down. “Well, they asked me to read for Superman,” he said. “That was immediately, ‘No, thank you.’ That’s too much. That’s too dark for me.” Odd to hear someone refer to Superman’s story as too dark, but it’s unclear how much Elordi would have known of the movie.

It’s not just Superman, as Jacob Elordi isn’t keen to appear in any type of superhero movie. “Not particularly, no. I’ve always been told to say a rounded answer or my agent will get mad at me. ‘Anything can happen!’” he said. “And obviously anything can happen, but at this stage in my life, I don’t see myself having any interest in that. I like to make what I would watch, and I get very restless watching those movies.“

The actor also took the opportunity to slam The Kissing Booth trilogy, which helped make him a star, calling them “ridiculous” and that he “didn’t want to make those movies.” This has led some to call the actor pretentious for being ungrateful for the opportunities he’s been provided. “How is caring about your output pretentious?” Elordi said. “But not caring, and knowingly feeding people shit, knowing that you’re making money off of people’s time, which is literally the most valuable thing that they have. How is that the cool thing?“

James Gunn will write and direct Superman: Legacy, and he has promised that the tone of the movie will be different from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Co-chair of DC Studios Peter Safran has also teased that Superman: Legacy will not be an origin story and will focus on “Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned.” Superman: Legacy is slated to hit theaters on July 11, 2025, which Gunn recently confirmed was still the case.

Jacob Elordi can currently be seen starring alongside Cailee Spaeny in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, and you can check out a review from our own Chris Bumbray right here.