With the Superman cape already waiting for him again in Man of Tomorrow, due in July 2027, David Corenswet is switching registers entirely with Mr. Irrelevant, a biopic about John Tuggle, an American footballer whose story — as improbable as it was tragic — richly deserved to be dragged out of the shadows. The first images from the film have just been unveiled, showing the actor looking noticeably different, complete with blond hair and a fine moustache, a world away from the blue and red suit that pushed him firmly into the spotlight. The choice of project is all the more intriguing given that Corenswet is taking on a real person here, and above all a story that rests far less on physical performance than on resilience and emotion.
He dies at 25, and that's not a spoiler
John Tuggle became famous for a rather peculiar reason: he was the very last player selected in the 1983 NFL Draft, taken by the New York Giants. That position earned him the nickname "Mr. Irrelevant", traditionally handed to the final name called at the Draft, as though he were the least likely to leave any mark on the league. Except Tuggle refused to stay in that box. Picked up by the Giants just as Bill Parcells was taking charge of the team, he made the roster and carved out a place for himself in the professional game. A genuine act of defiance from the man supposedly the least significant of his entire class. Sadly, John Tuggle's story doesn't end with that tidy sporting fairytale. In 1984, still early in his career, he was diagnosed with cancer. He died in 1986, aged just 25.
It's precisely this second chapter of his life that seems to interest Jonathan Levine, director of 50/50, for whom the film has to reach well beyond a straightforward sports story. "What happens when someone who has defined themselves by optimism and resilience comes up against a fight they can't win?", as David Corenswet sums up the character. The actor sees in Tuggle a kind of "everyday superhero", a phrase Jonathan Levine also uses to describe him. "He's the beating heart and soul of this film", says the director, who intends to make his subject far more than just an American football underdog.
An everyday superhero
After a much-noticed run in Hollywood and, above all, his arrival in the DC universe with Superman, David Corenswet finds himself in a particularly interesting position. The success of James Gunn's film, which drew more than 1.6 million cinemagoers in France, has tied him permanently to the famous superhero. Mr. Irrelevant is his chance to show he has no intention of being boxed in by that now-iconic role. Playing John Tuggle, he trades the spectacular for something far more intimate, with a character whose real strength lies in his ability to keep going whatever gets in the way.
Jonathan Levine's film also brings together Michael Shannon as Bill Parcells and Isabel May as the woman Tuggle falls in love with. Paramount and Skydance Sports are producing the biopic, which reaches US cinemas on 25 December 2026. No UK release date has been announced as yet.
