There are jobs that require you to psych yourself up for on a Sunday evening. Because you know, it’s going to take all the strength you have just to show up on Monday morning, coffee in hand. And of course ….. the first 20 minutes are the most crucial. You pretend to read emails while your brain slowly accepts that the weekend is over.
And then there are jobs that need an adrenaline rush. The kind of job that requires three hours of training a day, living on a crazy diet and discovering muscles you didn’t even know came standard with the human body. That’s what happens when you join the DC Universe, and Adria Arjona is the latest addition to the DC family.
The Andor and Hit Man actress has joined James Gunn’s Man of Tomorrow, and while she’s still refusing to tell us exactly who she’s playing, she has revealed what preparing for the role has done to her body.
“I have muscles that I’ve never had in my life,” Arjona recently told ScreenRant. “I’m training two to three hours a day on a crazy diet. Drinking coffee is the only thing that keeps me up. And I’m really excited!”
Honestly, the coffee is the part of this superhero origin story I find most relatable. Two to three hours of training every day is impressive. A crazy diet requires commitment. But needing caffeine simply to remain a functioning member of society? Finally, something the rest of us can work with. Of course, Arjona’s comments have made the mystery surrounding her character considerably more interesting because DC Studios still hasn’t officially revealed who she’s playing.
Reports have repeatedly connected Arjona to Maxima, the powerful alien warrior queen from Almerac. But speculation that she could actually be playing the DCU’s Wonder Woman hasn’t exactly disappeared either. For now, Arjona isn’t helping us solve the mystery. When recently asked about her character, she wouldn’t clarify who she’s playing. Which leaves us with one very important clue. Muscles. Lots of them apparently. And you have to wonder what exactly James Gunn is preparing this woman to do.
Actors transforming themselves physically for superhero movies certainly isn’t anything new. Becoming someone capable of throwing cars, fighting aliens and surviving the occasional collapsing building apparently requires slightly more preparation than putting on a cape and hoping for the best. But Arjona’s training certainly suggests that whoever she’s playing isn’t going to spend Man of Tomorrow sitting quietly in the corner drinking tea.
Then again, perhaps we’re all doing exactly what DC wants us to do. Play the guessing game.
Let’s face it. For fans every new workout photo, interview and carefully vague answer will be seen as a clue. Will she play Maxima? Wonder Woman? Or someone completely different? At this point, Arjona isn’t budging on her role. But what she is willing to talk about is why joining Man of Tomorrow means considerably more to her than simply becoming part of another superhero franchise. Her excitement stems from reuniting with Gunn and DC Studios co-head Peter Safran, whom she worked with on 2016’s The Belko Experiment, almost a decade ago. It was this project that launched her career and took her to projects including Andor.
“I’m excited to be reunited with the family that started everything for me,” she said of Gunn and Safran, adding that she doesn’t believe she would have gone on to projects like Andor without that first opportunity.
This is actually really beautiful, because beneath all the superhero secrecy, protein and whatever fresh hell happens during hour three of a workout, there’s a nice full-circle moment happening here. Ten years have passed and she’s returning to work with them as part of one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises.
Man of Tomorrow itself isn’t exactly going small either.
David Corenswet returns as Superman alongside Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, with the unlikely pair reportedly forced to put their differences aside when Brainiac, played by Lars Eidinger, threatens Earth. Rachel Brosnahan returns as Lois Lane, while the growing cast also includes Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart, Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl and Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle. Filming has now wrapped ahead of the movie’s 9 July 2027 release. Which means Arjona has somehow managed to finish making an entire superhero movie without officially telling us who she’s playing. That’s actually a superpower in itself.
We’ll eventually discover whether all those hours in the gym were for Maxima, Wonder Woman or someone James Gunn has successfully kept hidden from everyone. Until then, we know three things. Adria Arjona has muscles she didn’t have before. Coffee is keeping her alive. And somewhere in Hollywood, a personal trainer is probably preparing another set.
As for the rest of us, it’s Friday.
I think discovering the muscle responsible for opening a bottle of wine is enough exercise for one week.
