Superman (2025 film)
Superman is an upcoming American superhero film based on DC Comics featuring the eponymous character. Produced by DC Studios and to be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it will be the first film in the DC Universe (DCU) and a reboot of the Superman film series. The film is written and directed by James Gunn and stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent / Superman, alongside Rachel Brosnahan, Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Anthony Carrigan, María Gabriela de Faría, Sara Sampaio, Skyler Gisondo, Nicholas Hoult, Terence Rosemore, Wendell Pierce, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, Beck Bennett, Mikaela Hoover, and Christopher McDonald. In the film, Superman's journey to reconcile his alien heritage with his human family is explored.
Superman
James Gunn
Characters
from DC
- David Corenswet
- Rachel Brosnahan
- Isabela Merced
- Edi Gathegi
- Nathan Fillion
- Anthony Carrigan
- María Gabriela de Faría
- Sara Sampaio
- Skyler Gisondo
- Nicholas Hoult
- Terence Rosemore
- Wendell Pierce
- Pruitt Taylor Vince
- Neva Howell
- Beck Bennett
- Mikaela Hoover
- Christopher McDonald
- July 11, 2025
United States
English
Development on a sequel to the first DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film, Man of Steel (2013), began by October 2014, with Henry Cavill expected to reprise his role as Superman. Plans changed after the troubled production of Justice League (2017) and the Man of Steel sequel was no longer moving forward by May 2020. Gunn began work on a potential new Superman film around August 2022. In October, he became co-CEO of DC Studios with producer Peter Safran and they began work on a new DC Universe. Gunn was publicly revealed to be writing the new Superman film in December. The title Superman: Legacy was announced in January 2023, Gunn was confirmed to be directing in March, and Corenswet and Brosnahan were cast in June. The subtitle was dropped by the end of February 2024, when filming began in Norway; it is set to last until August at Trilith Studios in Atlanta and Macon, Georgia, as well as in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio. The film takes specific inspiration from the comic book All-Star Superman (2005–2008) by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, among others.
Superman is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on July 11, 2025. It is set to be the first film of the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.
Premise
The film explores Clark Kent / Superman's journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his adoptive human family in Smallville, Kansas.[1]
Additionally, Frank Grillo reprises his role from the animated DCU series Creature Commandos (2024) as Rick Flag Sr.[25] Gunn's brother Sean is expected to appear as the businessman Maxwell Lord,[26][27] as is Milly Alcock as Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El / Supergirl.[28][29]
Production
Background
Warner Bros. Pictures was planning in 2012 for the film Man of Steel (2013), based on the DC Comics character Superman, to start a shared universe,[30] which became known as the "DC Extended Universe" (DCEU).[31][32] They announced a full slate of DC films in October 2014,[33] prioritizing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) as the second DCEU film after Man of Steel failed to meet the studio's financial expectations.[34] Despite this, they said an undated sequel to Man of Steel was in development with Henry Cavill set to reprise his role as Clark Kent / Superman.[33] Man of Steel director Zack Snyder said they had been considering the imprisoned Kryptonians from the first film and the character Brainiac as antagonists for the sequel before work began on Batman v Superman.[34] A Man of Steel sequel was in active development as a top priority for the studio in August 2016,[35] which Cavill's manager Dany Garcia confirmed the following month.[36] Amy Adams, who portrayed Lois Lane in Man of Steel, said in November that the studio was working on the screenplay.[37] Matthew Vaughn was Warner Bros.' top choice to direct the film and had preliminary conversations about it by March 2017.[38] Vaughn and comic book writer Mark Millar had previously pitched a new Superman trilogy prior to the development of Man of Steel, in which the destruction of the planet Krypton would not occur until after Superman had already grown-up on the planet.[39] After the troubled production of the DCEU film Justice League (2017), Warner Bros. re-thought its approach to DC projects.[40] By the end of 2017, a Man of Steel sequel was not coming "anytime soon, if at all". Justice League producer Charles Roven said story ideas had been discussed but there was no script.[41]
Before the release of Mission: Impossible – Fallout in July 2018, director Christopher McQuarrie and co-star Cavill pitched their take on a new Superman film, but Warner Bros. did not pursue the idea.[42] Later in 2018, the studio asked James Gunn to write and direct a Superman film, but he was uncertain if he wanted to take on the character.[43][44] He did not have a clear vision for such a film, especially since Superman was a well-known character unlike the Guardians of the Galaxy who he had adapted for Marvel Studios in the film Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).[45] Gunn chose to make The Suicide Squad (2021) instead.[43][44] In September, negotiations for Cavill to reprise his role for a cameo appearance in Shazam! (2019) ended due to contract issues,[46] as well as a scheduling conflict with Cavill's Fallout commitments.[46][47] The actor was reported to be parting ways with the studio, with no plans for him to reprise his role in future projects,[46] but Cavill said in November 2019 that he had not given up on the character and still wanted to do the role justice.[47] At that time, Warner Bros. was unsure which direction to take the character and was talking to "high-profile talent" about the property, including J. J. Abrams—whose company Bad Robot signed an overall deal with Warner Bros.' parent company WarnerMedia—and Michael B. Jordan, who pitched himself as a Black version of the character.[48] By May 2020, Warner Bros. was no longer developing a Man of Steel sequel, but Cavill was in talks to appear in a different future DC film.[49][50] In February 2021, Ta-Nehisi Coates was revealed to be writing a new Superman film that Abrams was producing.[51] The film was expected to feature a Black actor portraying Superman, with the potential for Jordan to take on the role.[52]
Development
In April 2022, Discovery, Inc. and WarnerMedia merged to become Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), led by president and CEO David Zaslav. The new company was expected to restructure DC Entertainment and Zaslav began searching for an equivalent to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to lead the new subsidiary. Zaslav and WBD felt DC lacked a "coherent creative and brand strategy" and were underusing Superman.[53] James Gunn was hired around late August to work on a Superman film that was not a sequel to Man of Steel and would be standalone from the DCEU.[54][55] Zaslav spent time with Gunn while he was writing the script.[56] In October, Cavill made a cameo appearance in the post-credits scene of the DCEU film Black Adam (2022) and Warner Bros. was reportedly pursuing a Cavill-led Man of Steel sequel once again. Roven was producing and the studio was searching for writers. They wanted McQuarrie to direct, but he was unlikely to be available due to his commitments to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) and an untitled eighth Mission: Impossible film (2025). Abrams's and Coates's film was still in development. Cavill's role in Black Adam was approved by Warner Bros. film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy when they were approached directly by Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson. Johnson began promoting the idea of a Black Adam vs. Superman film co-starring Cavill.[57] The latter had signed a one-off deal for Black Adam and only received a verbal agreement that he would continue playing the character in the DCEU.[58][59] Cavill publicly announced that he would return as Superman for future projects,[59][60] and said his Black Adam cameo was a "very small taste" of future plans.[60] He said Superman would be "enormously joyful" moving forward.[61] Steven Knight wrote a script treatment for the sequel around that time,[62] which reportedly included Brainiac as the antagonist,[59] but Warner Bros. executives were not thrilled with his take.[62]
Music
In December 2023, Gunn said most of the film's score and major themes had been written, but the composer had not been announced because their deal for the film had not yet been finalized.[150] In February 2024, he announced that John Murphy was composing the film's score, after previously doing so for The Suicide Squad, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.[151]
Release
Superman is scheduled to be released theatrically by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on July 11, 2025,[134] in IMAX.[160] It will be the first film in the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.[74]