Somehow, after years of steady press and endless speculation, DC Studios and Warner Bros. were able to keep one major casting coup a surprise for audiences right up to the movie’s premiere this week… if you haven’t seen “Superman” yet, read the headline, and still aren’t exactly sure who Bradley Cooper portrays, now would be the perfect time to stop reading.

Just minutes into the movie, Cooper appears as Jor-El — yes, Supes’ dad, who was once embodied by the legendary Marlon Brando (and his interesting pronunciation of “Krypton”). Alongside “Westworld” star Angela Sarafyan as the hero’s mother Lara, he appears in a pre-recorded message to his son that Superman discovers in the Fortress of Solitude.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Gunn said he was intent on casting an actor of Brando’s magnitude for his version of “Superman.” “I needed somebody who could play Jor-El, who had the stature of what we imagine that character to be,” Gunn told ‘ET’ (via Esquire). “Somebody that could walk in the footsteps of Marlon Brando.”

Writer/director James Gunn has a long history with Cooper, who, of course, was Rocket in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” series. So, it didn’t take much arm-twisting when Gunn made a call to the Oscar-nominated multi-hyphenate.

“Really, Bradley’s just doing me a favor,” Gunn said on Jake’s Takes (via People). “He’s a friend. We’ve stayed in close contact since the Guardians movies, and I admire him greatly as an actor and as a director.” In fact, Gunn literally called and said, “Hey, will you do me a favor? Come down, go to England, we’re going to shoot you in a 3D environment, make a hologram of you, and you can play Jor-El.”

Cooper, according to Gunn, just replied “OK,” and that was that.

The “Maestro” actor/writer/director followed in the footsteps of not just Brando — who was so identified with the character he reprised him from beyond the grave in “Superman Returns” — but also Russell Crowe and Angus Macfadyen. When asked if Cooper might return for additional DC Studios movies, Gunn coyly responded with, “You never know. It’s possible.”

If the box office receipts so far are any indication, then Cooper’s second appearance seems inevitable.