The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and Deadline all state Adria Arjona has been cast in the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, with the latter two adding she will be playing the alien queen Maxima in the film. The 33-year old actress purportedly beat out Grace Van Patten (Tell Me Lies), Sydney Chandler (Alien: Earth), and Eva De Dominici (The Cleaning Lady) for the role in the picture, scheduled for release on July 9, 2027.
Maxima, who was created by Roger Stern and the late George Pérez for 1989’s Action Comics #645, is traditionally a warrior who becomes infatuated with the Man of Steel (played again by David Corenswet), believing him to be the only one worthy enough of siring an heir. She was forced to ally with the supervillain Brainiac, who’ll be played by Lars Eidinger in the sequel, after he destroyed her homeworld in the comics, though whether any of this will factor in the movie’s version of the character remains to be seen.
Arjona’s performance will mark the first appearance from Maxima in a live-action film. The character was previously portrayed in live-action on Smallville by Charlotte Sullivan, and on the Supergirl TV series by Eve Torres Gracie. Arjona, who was a fan casting favorite for the new DCU’s Wonder Woman, appeared in 2017’s horror film The Bellvue Experiment, written and produced by Superman director James Gunn. It’ll mark her third comic book role, after 2022’s Morbius, and the upcoming Prime Video series Criminal.
Man of Tomorrow, written and directed again by Gunn, will see Corenswet’s Superman team up with Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor to defeat Brainiac, and also bring in Aaron Pierre as the Green Lantern John Stewart. Additional returning cast is set to include Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Nathon Fillion as Guy Gardner, and María Gabriela de Faría as the Engineer.
In the meantime, Corenswet will appear in Supergirl, due out June 26. The movie, starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, will also feature Arjona’s partner, Jason Momoa, as Lobo.
