Casting is already well underway for CBS’ upcoming series Supergirl, but on Wednesday the casting team added a wrinkle into the mix. As it turns out, Supergirl is looking to hire a body double who is 5’ 11 or taller, who must be “square jawed” and who must have “a ripped physique.” Any one of these attributes and we wouldn’t blink twice. But add them all up and what do you get? S-U-P-E-R-M-A-N!
That’s right, according to early casting call details, CBS is looking for a dude to play the body double of Superman, a character that wasn't necessarily expected to appear on the series. Project Casting first delivered the news and made it pretty clear that Supergirl was looking for its Superman when it requested applications to put the word Superman in the byline. All in all, it looks like Kara Zor-El’s famous cousin will make his way into the new pilot.
We’ve known for a while that Superman would actually play an important role in Supergirl. About a month ago, cast auditions revealed already-announced characters like Jimmy Olsen discussing Superman at length, including a time when he saw Superman save the day when a building was burning and people were trapped inside. So, Superman should be a part of the Supergirl universe before Kara even dons the Supergirl cape.
It’s been kind of difficult to tell whether or not Superman would have a prominent role in Supergirl, however. Common sense says no, as a major Superman presence would take the spotlight off of Kara Zor-El. Regardless, this casting news gives us a glimpse of how Superman might affect the pilot, at least. A body double doesn’t generally have any speaking lines, so we might be seeing Superman save the day from afar, at least during the pilot episode of the series. Moving forward, Superman’s role may be more touch and go, as this body double has only been cast to shoot “several days” during March.
While I don’t think most DC Comics fans would mind if Superman entered the picture (especially if the cameos came from Henry Cavill, although that’s a pipe dream I probably shouldn’t have even mentioned since the TV and film universes are separate), it does kind of detract from Supergirl’s potential as a female-driven superhero show. Luckily, it doesn’t seem as if the CBS drama has any intention of bringing Superman to the forefront anytime soon. Several nods to the square-jawed character might be just the ticket to keeping comic book fans happy while keeping Kara Zor-El at the center of the story.
CBS has already picked Supergirl up to series, and we’ll keep you updated as new details emerge.
