James Gunn says Big Brother kept Rick Devens out of DC cameo
The DC Studios boss said Rick Devens was lined up for a Man of Tomorrow background appearance before entering CBS’ Big Brother house.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
Rick Devens apparently traded a blink-and-you-miss-it DC moment for the Big Brother house.
James Gunn said on Threads that Devens, now competing on Season 28 of CBS’ Big Brother, had been set to appear in the background of Man of Tomorrow, the coming Superman sequel. Gunn said the plan fell apart because Devens joined the CBS competition series.
The exchange started after Thursday’s live eviction episode, where Devens mentioned Gunn on air after casting his vote to evict. Gunn shared the clip on Threads, and a follower asked whether Devens would be appearing in the next Superman film.
Gunn answered that Devens would not be in it because he is on Big Brother, adding that he otherwise would have appeared.
A second Threads user asked whether Devens and Gunn actually knew one another. Gunn replied that they do, and said Devens had been going to appear in the background of Man of Tomorrow before canceling. Gunn added that Devens’ wife and children still came, and that Devens could not say why he had to back out but told Gunn he would be excited.
Gunn’s reaction made clear the mystery had a tidy explanation: Devens was heading into a televised game where secrecy is part of the deal.
Devens is back in reality TV mode
Devens is already familiar to reality competition fans from Survivor, and he is now part of Big Brother Season 28. According to Deadline, the season’s houseguests are competing for a $750,000 prize.
The CBS cast also includes Angela Murray, Ashley Trail, Barrett Pfeiffer, Chuck Anyanwu, Drew Campbell, Haley Thogmartin, Jason de Puy, Kamuela “Kamu” Kirk, LaTrice Verrett, Lyric Medeiros, Mallory Aurichio, Melody Morris, Rome Seymour and Taylor Brown.
Big Brother’s format keeps contestants inside the house while votes, alliances and evictions play out on television, which helps explain why Devens could not openly tell Gunn why he was suddenly unavailable.
What is Man of Tomorrow?
Man of Tomorrow is the follow-up to Gunn’s Superman. Deadline reported that Superman opened to $125 million at the domestic box office and became the first DC movie to pass $300 million since 2022’s The Batman.
David Corenswet is set to return as Superman in the sequel. Man of Tomorrow is scheduled to reach theaters on July 9, 2027.
For now, Devens’ DC universe cameo is off the table, while his Big Brother run is playing out in full view of CBS viewers.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.