Plenty of information has been revealed about Superman, the first entry in the rebooted DC Universe, including a release date, filming start date, and official casting for the two lead roles. Following director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran’s ascension to co-CEOs of DC Studios in November 2022, the pair revealed their initial plans for the upcoming DC Universe in January 2023. After The Flash resets the DC Universe, Gunn’s new plan will expand the franchise on film, TV, and video games, kicking off with Creature Commandos, Waller, and Superman in which a new actor assumes the role of Kal-El.
Following the success of Gunn’s recent Marvel Studios project, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, excitement has been growing for Superman. This comes in the wake of the controversial news that Henry Cavill wouldn’t be returning as Superman as Gunn wished to focus on a younger version of the character. Superman has been a staple of cinema since Max Fleischer’s animated shorts in the 1940s, but Superman is set to tell a completely new story for the Man of Steel, continuing the legacy of the hero whom Gunn considers to be “a huge priority, if not the biggest priority” for DC Studios (via Twitter).
April 2024 saw James Gunn confirm that Lex Luthor will be the main villain of Superman, in response to a slew of theories and rumors regarding who the antagonist of the first DCU movie would be. Gunn also addressed the complexities of dealing with the sheer number of rumors that have surfaced regarding the film, stating, “There are so many stories coming out every day it’s difficult to deal with and everytime I strike something down I’m giving it attention.”
Other than this, the latest major news for the DCU Superman movie involves the confirmation that filming began in late February 2024, and the news of its title, as the installment is now officially called Superman instead of its previous title of Superman: Legacy, as per James Gunn’s announcement in February 2024. Within the social media post discussing the matter, Gunn stated that “By the time I locked the final draft, it was clear the title was SUPERMAN“, which suggests this move is a reflection of the content of the DCU debut itself, and not indicative of any changes in approach in terms of how the DC Universe will be dealt with going forward.
… also saw the DCU co-CEO repeat that the movie is set to release July 11, which reinforces earlier James Gunn posts which confirmed that Superman would still be making its release date of July 11, 2025. This is especially noteworthy given this November saw a slew of Marvel movie delays, which reconfigured the impending Phase 5 and 6 slate considerably. As such, reaffirming that the first DCU movie is still on track is reassuring to know, even if Superman is a ways from being released just yet.
James Gunn and Peter Safran announced the first phase of the new DCU in January 2023, titling this collection of projects “Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters.” Although Superman will be predated by Creature Commandos and Waller, Gunn and Safran consider Superman’s debut to be the true beginning of the franchise. Gunn confirmed that he is the writer and director for Superman, though he is scouting for other visionaries to take on the DCU’s subsequent films, including The Authority, The Brave and the Bold – confirmed to be directed by The Flash‘s Andy Muschietti – and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, while James Mangold has been confirmed to be creating Swamp Thing.
While streaming series’ Creature Commandos and Waller have both been given a rough 2024 release window, Superman is currently the only upcoming DCU project with an announced release date. Superman is scheduled for release on July 11, 2025, allowing plenty of time for Gunn and the DC team to perfect the newest Man of Steel story. 2025 will be a big year for superhero cinema, as Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four is slated for release in 2025, and the DC Elseworlds project The Batman – Part II also has an October 2025 release date attached.
Although Henry Cavill won’t be returning as Clark Kent in the DCU Superman movie cast, James Gunn has found an apt replacement. Announced in June 2023, David Corenswet will be taking over from Henry Cavill as the last son of Krypton. Corenswet has often been brought up in online discourse as a fan-cast for the DCU’s Superman, primarily due to his physical appearance matching the likes of Cavill and the late Christopher Reeve, who looked near-identical to their comic book counterpart. Fittingly, Gunn saw that Corenswet’s acting ability could bring the character to life, with the actor confirmed for the titular role in Superman.
Similarly, Lois Lane will be portrayed by Rachel Brosnahan. Brosnahan is best known for the titular role in Amazon Prime’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and beat out competitors like Emma Mackey and Phoebe Dynevor for the other pillar of Superman’s main cast. Gunn understands that Lois Lane’s casting is just as important, if not more so than Superman’s given the character’s integral nature in many Superman stories. As such, securing an actor with the immense talent of the Emmy-winning Rachel Brosnahan is sure to enable Superman’s Lois Lane to shine come the film’s 2025 release date.
Several other exciting actor selections have been revealed in the past months for Superman as well as these two, with Anthony Carrigan to play Metamorpho, Edi Gathegi set to play Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion taking on the role of Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced cast as Hawkgirl, and María Gabriela De Faría playing The Engineer. This last role is especially noteworthy due to the character being a part of The Authority, suggesting other members of the team could appear in the build up to the team’s own impending DCU movie.
More recently, The Hollywood Reporter has stated that Skyler Gisondo is cast as Jimmy Olsen, and Sara Sampaio has been reportedly cast as Eve Teschmacher, Lex Luthor’s assistant. To further flesh out the roster of characters integral to Clark Kent’s civilian life, Wendell Pierce is announced to be playing the role of Perry White, Clark’s boss at the Daily Planet.
In terms of another character that will be vital to Superman‘s story, that of the villainous Lex Luthor, a November 2023 report from Deadline initially revealed that frontrunner Nicolas Hoult had been bestowed with the role, which would later be confirmed by a James Gunn Threads post welcoming the actor to the fold. Since Gunn has also revealed Lex Luthor will be the main villain of Superman, it’s clear the movie will provide a welcome chance for Hoult to flex his villainous acting prowess once again, following roles that established his capacity for this kind of performance in the likes of The Great, and The Menu.
According to Peter Safran (via The Hollywood Reporter), Superman is “not an origin story” but instead “focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing.” The titular hero will already be working at the Daily Planet as Clark Kent, having already met characters such as Lois Lane, rather than rehashing overused storylines of the past. Superman will revolve around the traditional ideals that define the character but will also put a modern spin on how those ideals are perceived, as Safran mentioned that “he is the embodiment of truth, justice, and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks that kindness is old-fashioned.”
James Gunn revealed that Superman would take inspiration from DC Comics’ 2005-2008 run of All-Star Superman. This story saw Superman close to death due to overexposure to the sun’s rays, accomplishing many heroic feats – known as the Twelve Labors of Superman – in attempts to make peace before his demise. This would be an interesting choice of story for Superman’s debut in the new DC Universe, and would coincide with the repeated insistence that the franchise will be approaching beloved DC heroes in fresh new ways.
The iconic Superman villain Lex Luthor is also set to appear in Superman, and the casting call for “Apex” suggests Apex Lex may have a part to play in the story – a superpowered version of the villain. With James Gunn confirming in April 2024 that Lex will indeed be the main villain in the story, it’s even more likely the plot may veer into a more physically powerful version of the antagonist, if the intention is to let Luthor physically contend with his nemesis at some point in the narrative.