All the big “Superman” cameos and surprise guests

Warning: This article contains major spoilers from Superman.

Superman writer/director James Gunn, who's also the co-head of DC Studios, previously teased in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that, yes, there are other characters appearing in the movie who have not been announced yet.

As the press cycle commenced, Gunn disclosed some of those roles in various interviews, but most were left for audiences to discover in theaters. (If you wish to be one of those fresh-eyed viewers, turn away from this article now and come back later!) Some were obvious; others were only confirmed once the end credits started to roll.

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Superman (now playing in theaters) stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Kal-El. The planet's strongest metahuman (super-powered being) becomes the target of tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who's hellbent on taking down the Man of Steel at all costs. Rachel Brosnahan also arrives as Lois Lane, ace reporter for The Daily Planet newspaper.

The film isn't an origin story. Instead, the story picks up three years into Clark's tenure as Superman and presents a fully realized world teeming with superheroes and other DC comics characters. That's where a lot of these cameos and guest appearances come in.

Here's a list of ones you caught and ones you might not have.

Bradley Cooper as Jor-El

Michael Kovac/Getty; DC Comics

Bradley Cooper plays Jor-El in 'Superman'

Gunn confirmed Bradley Cooper's role in Superman prior to the film's opening in theaters. The director cast the Oscar nominee, who previously voiced Rocket Raccoon in his Guardians of the Galaxy films, as Jor-El, the Man of Steel's biological father from Krypton.

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Cooper's Jor-El appears as a hologram, speaking to his son in the native Kryptonian. Superman's parents left him a message when he was sent to Earth as an infant before their home planet, Krypton, was destroyed. However, the crash landing damaged pieces of that message.

"Really, Bradley's just doing me a favor," Gunn told Jake Hamilton of Jake's Takes. "He's a friend. We've stayed in close contact since the Guardians movies, and I admire him greatly as an actor and as a director. I just said, 'Hey, will you do me a favor? Come down, go to England, we're going to shoot you in a 3D environment, make a hologram of you, and you can play Jor-El.'"

Angela Sarafyan as Lara

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; DC Comics

Angela Sarafyan plays Kal-El's mother in 'Superman'

Angela Sarafyan, known more prominently for playing the android Clementine in HBO's Westworld, appears opposite Cooper's Jor-El in the hologram message as Lara, Superman's biological mother. Sarafyan was seen more recently in Amazon's action-thriller G20.

Tinashe Kajese as Florence "Flo" Crawley

MAX

Tinashe Kajese as Florence "Flo" Crawley in 'Peacemaker' season 1

Tinashe Kajese reprises her role from previous DC projects as Florence "Flo" Crawley. During the events of 2021's The Suicide Squad, also written/directed by Gunn, Flo worked for A.R.G.U.S. as a mission coordinator for Task Force X and personal aid to Amanda Waller (Viola Davis).

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She ultimately betrayed Waller to help the Suicide Squad take down the gargantuan Starro monster during the events of the film, hence why she didn't return to the A.R.G.U.S. camp in Peacemaker season 1.

She now reemerges as "Secretary Crawley" in Superman. Lex Luthor attempts to persuade the U.S. government to allow his own personal army of Raptors (a squadron of soldiers in mechanized flight suits) and his two cohorts, the Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) and Ultraman, to take Superman in for interrogation. Secretary Crawley is one of the three officials he speaks with.

John Cena as Peacemaker

Jessica Miglio/Max

John Cena in 'Peacemaker' season 2

The more obvious Peacemaker connection is Peacemaker himself.

John Cena reprises his role from the HBO series, which is another project created by Gunn. He pops in as a guest on a news talk-show program for The Sphere, a fictionalized news network that airs in Metropolis.

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When Peacemaker season 2 premieres this August, characters from Superman will similarly pop over: Isabela Merced's Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders, Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner, and one other individual (listed below).

Will Reeve as GBS News reporter

Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Will Reeve, son of the late Christopher Reeve, has a cameo in 'Superman'

Will Reeve, son of the late Christopher Reeve, one of the more famous Hollywood Men of Steel, makes a brief appearance in Superman.

In an art-imitating-life moment, Reeve appears as a TV reporter for the fictional news network GBS News. Lois Lane watches one of his segments on a screen in the Daily Planet offices.

In real life, Reeve works as a contributing reporter for ABC News and Good Morning America. "Will is great," Corenswet previously told Entertainment Weekly. "He is the Superman type for obvious reasons. He's tall, he's handsome, and he's got a great smile. Having him show up and give his support in that moment was very heartwarming."

Michael Ian Black as 'The Sphere' news host

Jason Mendez/Getty

Michael Ian Black attends the 2025 Tribeca Festival

Comedian Michael Ian Black plays a host of a news talk-show program on The Sphere. One of his guests is Cena's Peacemaker. Giving off Fox News and Bill Maher vibes, Black's character is one of the more prominently critical voices in the media skewering Superman's good name.

Zlatko Burić as Vasil Glarkos

VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty

Zlatko Burić plays President of Boravia, Vasil Glarkos, in 'Superman'

In a role not disclosed prominently ahead of the movie's release, Croatian-Danish actor Zlatko Burić, who appeared in Triangle of Sadness and the George Clooney-, Brad Pitt-led Wolfs, plays Boravian dictator Vasil Glarkos.

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Glarkos is in cahoots with Luthor to do away with Superman so that he can invade and conquer the neighboring nation of Jarhanpur. If successful, he'd give Luthor dominion over half of the newly acquired land to start the tech billionaire's own nation.

Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord

Vivien Killilea/Getty; DC Comics

Sean Gunn plays Maxwell Lord in 'Superman'

Sean Gunn, the brother of the Superman director, appears briefly towards the end of the movie as Maxwell Lord, the head of LordTech. He's also the billionaire backer of the Justice Gang, a corporate-sponsored super-trio comprised of Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner, and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Lord is interviewed on the news for comment on Luthor's treasonous acts.

Sean previously served as the physical performance-capture actor behind Rocket Raccoon in Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy movies. He then took on a more physical role as Kraglin, a former Ravager.

Sean's Lord will appear next in Peacemaker season 2 alongside Merced's Hawkgirl, Fillion's Guy Gardner, and Cena's titular antihero.

Milly Alcock as Supergirl

Dominik Bindl/Getty; DC Comics

Milly Alcock plays Kara Zor-El/Supergirl

Early reports (including from EW) signaled the arrival of Milly Alcock's Kara Zor-El in Superman before headlining 2026's Supergirl, a film inspired by the Woman of Tomorrow comic book storyline.

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She appears for one scene at the end of the movie, barreling into the Fortress of Solitude after partying on other planets that orbit Red Suns. As opposed to Earth's Yellow Sun, which strengthens Superman, a Red Sun weakens Kryptonians enough so that they can feel the effects of alcohol and other adult substances.

Alcock's Supergirl movie will premiere in theaters next year on June 26.

Michael Rosenbaum as one of Lex Luthor's Raptors

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

Michael Rosenbaum at the LA premiere of 'Becoming Led Zeppelin'

In one of the more obscure cameos, Michael Rosenbaum, who previously starred as Lex Luthor on the Smallville TV series, has a minor voice role. He can be heard as one of the Raptors of Luthor's private army.

As revealed during a panel at Fan Expo Dallas in June that was moderated byScreenRant, Rosenbaum said, "James asked me to do something fun, so I have a couple of lines that I voice."

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