In a new awards season interview with Rolling Stone to celebrate his Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy Nomination for his contributions to HBO's Barry, actor Anthony Carrigan reflected on his long career- which typically involved playing villain roles and whether his usual preparation changes now that he's going to be playing the superhero Metamorpho in Superman: Legacy.
Carrigan previously played Mist on The CW's Flash, Victor Zsasz on Gotham and Dennis Caleb McCoy in 2020's Bill & Ted Face the Music.
However, in Legacy, Carrigan will finally get to play a superhero, albeit a tragic one as Rex Mason's transformation into a mass of gasses and chemicals meant he could never assume a regular, fully human appearance.
Naturally, Carrigan explained that he couldn't give away any details on Superman: Legacy but he happily shared that he's excited to work with Legacy director James Gunn.
"I can't give away any of those details, but I can just reiterate that I'm so grateful to be part of it. I've been wanting to work with James Gunn for such a long time, and this opportunity is the coolest that you could possibly get. I'm so, so grateful."
Concerning his transformation from bad guy to hero, Carrigan says he's grateful for the chance, but no matter the nature of the role, he's constantly searching for ways to ensure his characters aren't one-dimensional.
"It's very refreshing to be playing a superhero, finally, but I don't think it quite matters to me. My favorite game is to, no matter what I'm given, try to find the opposites."
"See what's possible in terms of stretching a character in different directions. With all of my characters, I really try to find some sense of authenticity and truth in what I can relate to about the character. With Metamorpho, this is a character who was almost cursed with his powers and thought that he was freakish in terms of what he looked like, and that's something I could totally relate to because of my alopecia."
"Alopecia is an interesting experience to go through because it, more than anything, rocks your world when it comes to your identity. You go from someone who moves throughout the world in a way that everyone looks at you and you are who you are, and then all of a sudden, things start to change on your head and on your face. People stop looking at you, and they start looking at your condition, and that is a really alienating, very dehumanizing thing."
According to Carrigan, villains and heroes in this situation have very different responses.
"Villains don't really accept themselves all that much. Superheroes tend to. There's this concept of acknowledging one's journey and leading with love as opposed to bitterness and wishing that you could change."
If Carrigan's views can be taken as an indication of how Metamorpho will be depicted in Superman: Legacy, it sounds as if he's not going to be a downtrodden hero, cursing his fate, always looking for a cure (similar to how the Hulk started out in the MCU).
Instead, he'll simply be looking to make the best of his situation. Whether that's as a member of The Terrifics, Justice League International or some other superhero group, we'll have to wait for more details to be shared on the James Gunn-directed and written pic.
Superman: Legacy will feature David Corenswet as Kal-El/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord, María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica/The Engineer and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho.
Additionally, Nicholas Hoult has been confirmed by Gunn to portray Lex Luthor in the film.
Currently set for release on July 11, 2025, Superman: Legacy is the first film in Gunn's reboot the DCEU. Filming was originally expected to begin this January but has now been confirmed to start in March.