Superheroes are in danger. Marvel’s recent blockbuster Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has made less money at the box office than either of the previous two films in the series, despite costing far more and despite Disney pushing it harder. Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Adam underperformed. And the less said about Morbius, the better. Can anyone save the superheroes from their plight?
Well, why not Superman, possibly the most famous superhero of them all? We’ve known for a while that James Gunn was writing a new Superman movie. Henry Cavill will not be returning to the role; this one will be about a younger Superman. Now, he’s announced that he’ll be directing the film, too.
Yes, I’m directing Superman: Legacy to be released on July 11, 2025. My brother Matt told me when he saw the release date he started to cry. I asked him why. He said, “Dude, it’s Dad’s birthday.” I hadn’t realized. pic.twitter.com/ohQNV8nI4g
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 15, 2023
This is no surprise. Gunn and Peter Safran are the new guys in charge of DC Studios. Their aim is to create an interconnected universe of movies to rival or surpass the MCU. The first chapter of this effort is called Gods and Monsters, and it will kick off with this new Superman film.
James Gunn will write and direct a new Superman movie (without Henry Cavill)
Gunn has been playing the superhero game for a while now. On the Marvel side of things, his Guardians of the Galaxy movies have been huge hits, with a third and presumably final film due out this May. For DC, he created the show Peacemaker, which was a respectably sized hit. (He also directed The Suicide Squad, which flopped, although we can maybe give him a pass on that since it opened in the middle of the pandemic.)
Can Gunn and Safran rekindle the flames of interest that once burned so bright for the DCU? We’ll see when Superman: Legacy opens in theaters on July 11, 2025.
2025 will be a big year for the new DCU. The sequel to The Batman, which was a big chonky hit last year, opens on October 3, 2025. (That Batman won’t be part of Gunn and Safran’s new DCU, FYI.) But are people interested in DC superheroes in general or just in Batman? There’s a lot riding on Gunn and Safran’s upcoming work.
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