DC Studios co-head and Superman: Legacy writer-director James Gunn has confirmed that Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen will have a place in the revamped DC Universe.
While discussing Superman: Legacy on Twitter, Gunn was asked if Jimmy Olsen would appear in the Man of Steel's upcoming reboot film, which is slated to release in 2025 to kick off Chapter 1 of the new DCU. Gunn replied, assuring that Jimmy would "of course" appear in the movie. This is sure to delight fans of the red-headed Daily Planet photographer, given the abrupt and tragic end Jimmy met in the soon-to-be-defunct DC Extended Universe.
Who Is Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen?
Jimmy Olsen made his first and only DCEU appearance as a minor character in the 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, in which he was portrayed by actor Michael Cassidy. In Batman v Superman, Jimmy was actually a CIA agent who was only pretending to be a Daily Planet photographer as part of an investigation into a group of Nairomian terrorists. He was quickly found out and subsequently executed. But with Superman: Legacy set to relaunch DC's cinematic universe, it seems that Jimmy will indeed live again. Notably, Gunn's film takes place during Clark Kent/Superman's younger years, around the time he first moved to Metropolis and started working for the Daily Planet.
Jimmy Olsen was originally created by Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster and Bob Maxwell. The character technically made his comic book debut as an unnamed office boy in 1938's Action Comics #6. However, he was actually introduced as Jimmy in the Adventures of Superman radio serial in 1940 before making his proper comic debut in 1941's Superman #13. Jimmy is a photographer for the daily planet and a close personal friend of both Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Jimmy also often finds himself in peril, only to be rescued by Clark's alter ego, Superman. In 1954, Jimmy even got his very own series, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, which originally ran for 163 issues through 1974.
Flip on the Telly, Wrestle With Jimmy
As far as live-action is concerned, Jimmy was first played by the late Jack Larson on the 1950s television show Adventures of Superman. (In fact, it was Larson's fan-favorite portrayal of the character that prompted DC to launch Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen in '54.) Jimmy was later played by Michael Landes and Justin Whalin in the 1990s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Aaron Ashmore took over the role for the 2000s-early 2010s Superman prequel series Smallville. More recently, Mortal Kombat star Mehcad Brooks played an older version of Jimmy going by James Olsen in the 2015-2021 series Supergirl.
Of course, Jimmy also appeared in plenty of live-action feature films well before Batman v Superman. Marc McClure played Jimmy in all four Christopher Reeve-led Superman films from 1978 to 1987, as well as in the Supergirl spinoff film from 1984, making him the only actor to appear in all five of those movies. Sam Huntington took over as Jimmy for the 2006 film Superman Returns, billed as a spiritual successor to the Reeve-era movies.
DC Studios' Superman: Legacy opens in theaters on July 11, 2025.
Source: Twitter
Comments