James Gunn's DC Reboot Just Cast Its First Villain

The first villain to appear in James Gunn’s DC reboot has been confirmed.

Gunn – who previously headed up The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker for Warner Bros. (WB) – is set to take the super-powered reins at the blue brand, setting out to create his own reimagined DC universe akin to the MCU on the Marvel side.

This renewed effort for the studio will hit the ground running (at least on the big screen) in 2025 with the Gunn written and directed Superman: Legacy.

Since its announcement in late 2022, fans have gotten a taste of what to expect in Legacy‘s superhero lineup with news of the film’s leads along with some supplementary hero castings having been made public up to this point.

The First Superman: Legacy Villain RevealedMaria Gabriela de Faria

According to new reports, actress Maria Gabriela de Faria has been cast as the first villain to be revealed for Superman: Legacy, the kick-off film of James Gunn’s upcoming DC reboot.

Deadline shared that Faria will appear in the super-powered blockbuster as Angela Spica (aka The Engineer), becoming the very first big bad from the new superhero universe to be announced.

Faria’s previous credits include Fox’s Animal Control and The Moodys, but Superman marks the actress’ major motion picture debut.

DC Comics

The Engineer is most well known for her involvement in the supervillain team The Authority, a group that has its own DC film in the works at Warner Bros.

Spica/The Engineer first appeared in The Authority #1 in 1999 and has been a part of major DC Comics events like WorldStorm and World’s End.

Who Is Superman: Legacy’s Angela Spica?

While not a DC character with the storied past of Superman or Batman, Angela Spica (aka the Engineer) has been a part of the DC canon for more than twenty years at this point.

Since the debut of the super-powered team known as The Authority, Spica has been a part of it.

After being infected by nanotechnology related to her human-machine cybernetics work, Spica takes on the moniker of the Engineer as her body takes on the properties of liquid metal.

This shape-shifting anti-hero is one of the nicer members of The Authority; however, given the team’s propensity for breaking the law to get things done, she will almost certainly be at odds with David Corenswet’s Superman in the upcoming DCU kick-off film.

James Gunn previously confirmed The Authority would be a part of Legacy‘s narrative, which makes Spica a logical inclusion to appear in the film, but it seems unlikely she (and her team) will be the primary villain of the DC epic.

Seeing as The Authority has a film of its own coming down the line, Superman: Legacy will assumedly set the team up – perhaps even including the founding of the group with Angela Spica at its center – before paving the way for The Authority film.

Superman: Legacy is set to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.