Rachel Brosnahan Breaks Down Her Approach To Superman: Legacy's Lois Lane
You know what's really got me excited for "Superman: Legacy"? Aside from director James Gunn previously delivering the best movies that Marvel Studios has had to offer, Rachel Brosnahan is playing Lois Lane. Just as her soon-to-be co-star David Corenswet looks like Superman in the flesh, Brosnahan looks so much like how Lois is drawn: a gaze that sees through you and yet attracts your own, round and slender face with a strong chin, and brunette.
It's not all looks though, Brosnahan has got the talent and attitude to back it up. Check out her leading performance in the 2020 thriller "I'm Your Woman" as Jean, a housewife caught up in a crime. Jean is more naive than Lois, but they share a proper spine and a good heart. Brosnahan is best known, though, for awards darling series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" — playing a snappy, mid-century New Yorker like Midge Maisel is the perfect energy for Lois Lane. (That's why the best Lois Lane we never had is Jennifer Jason Leigh in "The Hudsucker Proxy.")
While recently speaking to Entertainment Weekly on the Critics Choice Awards red carpet, Brosnahan was asked for three words to describe her take on Lois. She answered: "Feisty. Dare I say marvelous? And fiercely intelligent." Brosnahan attests that, "Every single person involved in this production is such a perfect nerd for Superman. We all grew up watching the movies, some of us grew up reading the comics you know, and so I feel like it's just being made with so much love."
Granted, every actor who appears in a superhero movie calls themselves a fan, but Brosnahan's choice of adjectives does demonstrate an understanding of the character she's playing.
The Lois Lane Legacy
Brosnahan enters a proud lineage of actors who've played Lois Lane, from Dana Delany (in "Superman: The Animated Series." Delany only had her voice to play Lois, but her sharp-edged, wise-ass tone was a perfect fit) to Erica Durance (in "Smallville," arguably the feistiest and sexiest Lois), to Amy Adams (in the now buried DC Extended Universe — even though those films never knew what to do with her).
Of course, the Lois Lane gold standard is still Margot Kidder from the Christopher Reeve "Superman" films. Kidder's Lois is a damsel in distress, sure, but she's also a perfect verbal sparring partner for Clark and Superman. Kidder had the feistiness that Brosnahan describes; you can't be a good investigative reporter if you always put up with the BS. That attitude is also vital to Lois' dynamic with Clark. Take note of how in 1978's "Superman," from the moment the two meet, Lois is both perplexed and charmed by Clark Kent's dorky earnestness — opposites attract, even if Lois tries to deny it.
As for "marvelous," I'm sure that was Brosnahan joking about Mrs. Maisel. Now, "fiercely intelligent" — a recurring Superman joke is how Lois can't tell the two men she's falling for are one and the same, especially since Clark disguises himself only with glasses and a veneer of being unconfident. Will Brosnahan's Lois put the pieces together herself? I hope they don't totally do away with secret identity hijinks (a failing of "Man of Steel" and its sequels is that Lois only ever knows Superman, not Clark Kent), but we'll wait and see.
"Superman: Legacy" is currently scheduled for release on July 11, 2025.