Skyler Gisondo Thought He Was Auditioning for Superman Before Landing Jimmy Olsen Role

Skyler Gisondo may be the new Jimmy Olsen in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman, but at first, he thought he was going for a very different cape.

At the Los Angeles premiere, the actor revealed that when he first heard about the project, he believed he was auditioning for the Man of Steel himself. It wasn’t until after sending in a tape that he found out he was actually up for Superman’s best pal and Daily Planet photographer, Jimmy.

In true Skyler style, he turned the mix-up into a joke. “Looking back now, David [Corenswet] was the right guy for the job,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “And I’m happy to let him get this win, man. He needed it.”

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Did Skyler ever see himself as Superman?

Apparently not. Skyler admitted even while taping the audition, he wasn’t fully convinced. “I thought it would have been a bad casting choice,” he laughed. “I sent in the tape thinking, ‘Man, James Gunn is always really thinking outside the box. I wouldn’t be my first pick.’”

He also shared that he was briefly considering bulking up for the role — just in case. “I was planning on getting really jacked,” he joked. “But then I saw David and he’d only made so much progress and I thought, I don’t want to upstage him… so I really scaled back and let him shine.”

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Skyler’s playful self-awareness and humility were clear. He’s not trying to compete. In fact, he’s genuinely excited for fans to see David Corenswet step into the iconic red and blue suit.

What can fans expect from James Gunn’s Superman?

David Corenswet is joined by Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, and a supporting cast that includes Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Beck Bennett, and Wendell Pierce. The film is the first major entry in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe.

Gunn, who both wrote and directed the film, said he wanted to show Superman in an intimate and human way. “I wanted to believe Superman,” he explained. “I wanted to show him in this gigantic DC universe… but at the same time, really get to know him — who he is, what his relationship with Lois is like, what his strengths are, what his flaws are.”

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With humor, heart, and a fresh take, this version of Superman is already shaping up to be something special — even if Skyler Gisondo didn’t end up wearing the cape.