Maria Gabriela de Faria as The Engineer in Superman is already stirring up big questions 

James Gunn’s Superman movie is currently filming in Atlanta, and some of the leaks from the filming sets reveal The Engineer’s costume. Every time production houses shoot for movies in open locations instead of closed studios, paparazzi catch part of the procedure. The latest such reveal comes about the costume of actor Maria Gabriela de Faria, who plays Angela Spica, AKA, The Engineer, in the movie.

The leaked images from the X (formerly known as Twitter) page of JustJared.com show the actor clad in tight black leather overalls with her head partly shaven. The look is creating waves among netizens and Superman fans as they try to analyze the look with reference to the character from the comics. Angela Spica from the comics has a silver-hued metallic body as opposed to a black leather-covered one. This article attempts to analyze the leaked look of Superman’s The Engineer.

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What do the leaked images from Superman: Legacy filming reveal about Maria’s look?

As mentioned before, the leaked images show Maria Gabriela de Faria, cast as The Engineer in the Superman movie, in a fitting black leather costume, sporting a braided hairstyle with a partially shaven head. The costume may be the base for the special effects needed to create the nanotechnology-powered super-character.

While the leaks from JustJared.com do give a sneak peek into the enigmatic character’s look before the official first look release, it seems to follow in the footsteps of the Shazam! leaks and the consequent challenges.

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Why is Maria Gabriela de Faria's head partially shaved in the leaked photos?

The images also give away the hairstyle sported by Maria. The tight braids with the sides of the head-shaven may look different from the original character as per comics. In the comics, Angela wears a special helmet with numerous braids hanging from the back of her head.

Whether the actor will wear a helmet or have CGI effects added on to complete the look in the Superman movie is as yet not known.

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Is Maria's 'The Engineer' look comic book accurate?

Going by the leather costume Maria is wearing for her Superman: Legacy role, it is difficult to find any similarity with the original character of Angela Spica. As some netizens have pointed out on social media, the suit will need CGI enhancements to make it look comic book-accurate.

As per the comics, Angela has nanotechnology-enhanced blood that gives her skin a liquid metal-like look. The suit Maria is wearing in the photos clearly looks leathery and there is no hint of any metallic reflection on the surface. As such, Gunn may be depending on CGI for the final look.

As for the hairdo sported by the actor, Angela’s unique helmet and hanging braids may be added at the last minute or could be part of the final getup during the shooting of the scenes. However, Maria’s head is partially shaven from the sides to possibly make the helmet look more real. Moreover, she is seen wearing her hair in tight braids which will add to the final look of the character.

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Maria’s costume looks similar to the Fremen costume from Dune 2

Maria's suit looks similar to the Fremen suit from Dune (Image via WB)

The surprising part of the leaked images is the fact that Maria’s black leather costume looks similar to the suit worn by the Fremens in the Dune movies. While the Fremen’s suits have a specific purpose of survival in the desert by repurposing body fluids, Angela Spica’s costume is expected to have more metallic qualities given her ability to transform parts of her body into weapons.

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It may be wise to wait for the final result of Maria’s costume and the CGI to bring out the effect needed to make Angela’s look plausible. Watch out for Superman: Legacy, expected to arrive in theatres in July 2025.