DC’s Metamorpho will make his big screen debut in just a few weeks in James Gunn‘s Superman reboot movie. But the character, played by Anthony Carrigan, will be just a bit different from the hero fans know from comics, as he’s actually technically one of the film’s villains, using his elemental powers in service of Lex Luthor. Still, according to Carrigan, the character’s heroic heart will remain intact.
“You’re in a situation where it’s having to hurt someone, having to be an agent of the bad guy. And at the same time, there’s this struggle to want to be good,” Carrigan explains to Entertainment Weekly, referring to scenes shown in trailers where Metamorpho uses his abilities to generate Kryptonite to weaken Superman. “What the film does brilliantly is it puts you in this situation of, ‘Oh! He has no choice.’ He has to be doing this, and you see how painful it is.”
In the comics, Metamorpho is an ally of Superman and the Justice League who gained his powers from an artifact known as the Orb of Ra. According to Carrigan, Superman will hint at Metamorpho’s origins, but he’ll be “in full swing of who he is” when we meet him in the film.
Carrigan’s transformation into Metamorpho actually involves a full physical transformation with an elaborately applied and painted costume, rather than simply using motion capture or CGI to portray him.
“It’s things that were glued on me, but then they painted on detail, and then more things were glued onto that,” Carrigan says. “I’m not kidding when I say that I was glued in, I was sewn in, I was completely enveloped. I was tied in… roped in, basically. But all in service of this incredible costume… It’s worth it because you can actually feel the texture of something. Your brain notices the difference.”
Superman will hit theaters on July 11. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows for everything else the DCU has in store.
