Superman‘s lead hero and one of the other DC Universe players in its cast reveal just how intense training for their superhero roles was. While the focus of the movie will be on the Man of Steel, there are other superheroes in the cast of DC’s Superman movie. Those include Mister Terrific, Guy Gardner’s Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and possibly more.

As past Marvel and DC movies have shown, actors often need to go through grueling training regimes and diets to get the “superhero look.” That was no different for the cast of the DCU’s upcoming movie. Now, some of the details behind what it took for the new DC stars to get there have been shared.

During a Superman movie set visit attended by ScreenRant and other outlets, David Corenswet and Mister Terrific actor Edi Gathegi explained how much they had to bulk up for their respective roles. With the 2023 Hollywood strikes, Corenswet had to start his training before getting into how the hero would look with the studio. Check out the full quote below:

Edi Gathegi: 20 pounds. Yeah. It was something that I kind of went, honestly, back and forth with. “Do I want to do the superhero regimen and prepare for it in this way, or do I want to be lazy because I love my burgers and my pie?”

And I said, “You know what? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m playing a superhero. In fact, the guys at the gym who are not actors–their dream is to be a superhero. So, it’s clear to me that this is, like, everybody’s dream and I get to live it, so why not push myself as far as I can? So I dedicated myself. We’re like eight months in now of no carbs.

I haven’t started my cheat weekends yet, but when this movie’s done, I’m going to start my cheat weekends. I’m going to try to maintain this, because I don’t know what the future is for Mr. Terrific. I want to stay close. If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.

David Corenswet: Oh my God, how many muscles? I don’t know. I never did a body fat scan. I gained 40 pounds from July to November. We were on strike, and so actually, we didn’t get to have a conversation about the look of the character before the actors went on strike. So it was basically like, I got the part, (got) all excited, the actors go on strike…radio silence. No communication. And I’m like, ‘Well, I’m going to start going to the gym.’ I mean, I was already going to the gym. But I want to get started, because if this lasts a week or two, I don’t want to have lost that week or two, I hooked up with a trainer and basically said, ‘I want to get as big as possible within reason, without performing enhancing drugs, and without killing myself.’

And we did. We got to the edge of what I think are my physical capabilities as far as… I was going to the gym for 2.5 hours, getting home and pᴀssing out, sleeping for 2 hours, and then sleeping 9 hours a night and eating so much. Mostly drinking shakes to just get the extra calories. I tend to be on the skinnier side, so it’s hard to put on all that weight. It was definitely not 40 pounds of muscle. I would appreciate anybody who wants to clarify in their writing that nobody is suggesting that I gained 40 pounds of muscle. I gained 40 pounds of flesh and water, and then in the end, over the course of shooting, I have been somewhere between about 25 and 30 pounds up from where I was initially.

What David Corenswet And Edi Gathegi’s Superman Workout Comments Mean

The DCU Movie’s Superheroes Will Look Like They Should

Corenswet and Gathegi’s Superman movie workout comments fall in line with what other superhero stars have said. Recently, Chris Hemsworth’s trainer said he did not bulk up as much for Avengers: Doomsday. According to him, the Thor actor is now older and not looking forward to the intense training it takes to achieve his God of Thunder physique.

Since Superman is the first movie in the new DC Universe, Corenswet and Gathegi are on the opposite path to the MCU veteran. As such, it makes sense that the actors jumped at the task of building as much muscle as possible for their DCU roles. Gathegi’s comment about how he wants to keep the weight after the movie is interesting.

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While there are no set projects for Mister Terrific to appear in after Superman, the character is expected to be part of the DCU’s future. As the actor states, he is staying ready for when that opportunity to return comes. Corenswet’s Superman will be the face of the franchise, so the fact the actor trained before studio talks is exciting.

Our Take On David Corenswet And Edi Gathegi’s Superman Workout Comments

I like the actors’ dedication to their DCU roles. Superman is held as the pinnacle of what a superhero should be, so Corenswet’s physique in the role needed to match that. As for Gathegi’s Mister Terrific, the character has the potential to be in the DCU for a long time, perhaps with The Terrifics team ᴀssembling.

It is exciting to see the actor not only claim this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a superhero, which many only dream of, but that he is staying ready to return. The tone of the comments shows that the actors very much hope this movie is a success and that keeps them coming back.

No matter how intense the training may be to get them to look like superheroes, Corenswet and Gathegi are up for it. That will undoubtedly show up onscreen when Superman and Mister Terrific go up against threats like the Hammer of Boravia, the kaiju, Ultraman, and more. Their hard work can only make Superman better.

Superman arrives in theaters on July 11.