Look Up – Here’s What You Need to Know About ‘Superman,’ James Gunn’s First DCU Movie Find help us

Chances are, when you hear the word superhero, the first name that pops into your head is Superman. Easily the face of DC Comics (sorry Batman), the story of Metropolis’s red-capped protector from the planet Krypton is universally known by fans both hardcore and casual, and a big reason for his popularity can easily be attributed to his history in cinema. Starting all the way back with Richard Donner‘s Superman (1978). The iconic interpretation of the character may be a bit dated and corny, but its lighthearted attitude that was accentuated by the infectiously charming Christopher Reeve, has made it stand the test of time as a true classic, even spawning a total of three sequels and a Supergirl (1984) spin-off.

Although technically it’s four sequels, Superman Returns (2006) functioned as a continuation of the Donner films whilst ignoring Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). While far from a horrible film, Superman Returns still performed under box office expectations and wasn’t able to capture the magic of the original films. Still, even the response to that film pales in comparison to that of Man of Steel (2013), which is easily the most polarizing and controversial Superman film to date. Fans of the film love Henry Cavill‘s more grounded take on the character and found the various action sequences to be visually stunning. However, the film’s critics felt that the film’s melodramatic tone missed the point of the Superman character and branded its wanton destruction as violence for the sake of violence. Things didn’t get much better for the DC Extended Universe’s Superman when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017) also weren’t exactly warmly received.

Since then, Superman’s film future has been in a state of limbo. Man of Steel 2 was in development hell for who knows how long and whispers of a potential reboot starring Michael B. Jordan failed to come to fruition. Now, with new DC Studios CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran mapping out a new plan for a connected DC Cinematic Universe, it’s no surprise that a new version of Superman is a part of that plan. Superman is the latest feature film to star Clark Kent, and represents the true start of DC’s new generation and the first part of what Gunn has titled the “Gods and Monsters” phase. With the film now in pre-production, it’s time to find out what Big Blue’s next adventure will be. Here’s everything we know so far about Superman.

8 Does ‘Superman’ Have a Release Date?

It was confirmed during James Gunn’s address that an all-new, all-different Superman will be flying into theaters to save the day on Friday, July 11, 2025. That’s just one week after the Fourth of July, which seems appropriate for a hero whose motto historically has been “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” (which is weird given Superman is an alien created by Canadian authors, but hey, why not be a little patriotic?). While there have been doubts about whether the movie would make its announced date, James Gunn has confirmed that Superman is on schedule.

The movie will be competing against a crowded slate of movies in July 2025, including Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four reboot, Gareth Edwards‘ Jurassic World movie, The Smurfs Movie starring Rihanna, a new comedy film from Kendrick Lamar and South Park creators Matt Stone & Trey Parker, and a I Know What You Did Last Summer legacy sequel.

7 Will Superman Be Released on Streaming or in Theaters?

In that above announcement video, James Gunn also made it explicitly clear that Superman is being planned as a theatrical release for the year 2025. While it’s obviously pretty early to predict the film’s streaming plans, we can comfortably guess that the DCU’s debut feature film will follow suit with the other major recent DC movies and arrive on Max sometime after the film’s theatrical run.

In May 2024, it was revealed that Superman will receive an IMAX release, which shouldn’t be too surprising considering most superhero movies already do, and the fact that IMAX cameras are being used to film the movie.

6 What Will ‘Superman’ Be Rated?

An official MPA rating for Superman has not been given. Although it is more than safe to assume that the movie will inevitably be rated PG-13, as all the other theatrically released Superman movies have been.

5 Does ‘Superman’ Have a Trailer Yet?

After much anticipation, DC Studios released the teaser trailer for Superman on December 19, 2024. The trailer begins with Superman lying in the snow, before cutting to a scene showing Clark Kent walking into the offices of the Daily Planet, where Lois Lane approaches him. We also see a shot of Clark and Jonathan Kent embracing while sitting on the front porch of their Smallville farm. The trailer then goes back to the initial scene where Superman begins coughing blood before being approached by a peppy Krypto, who takes his cape and drags him back to the Fortress of Solitude. What follows is a montage, teasing the movie’s big ensemble cast, as well as a weird monster destroying the streets of Metropolis. The trailer then ends with Superman and Lois looking out a window of a skyscraper, and they embrace.

4 Who Will Star in ‘Superman’?

This is the big question, and we finally have some answers. On June 27, it was announced that David Corenswet (Pearl) and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Ms. Maisel) will play Superman and Lois Lane, respectively.

Early reports had suggested that Corenswet, Jacob Elrodi (Saltburn), Tom Brittney (Grantchester), Andrew Richardson (A Call to Spy), Pierson Fodé (Bold and the Beautiful), and Nicholas Hoult (Renfield) were in the running to play the Man of Steel, with Hoult also potentially being up for the part of Lex Luthor, which later proved true with the actor now confirmed to play the sinister billionaire. We also heard that Emma Mackey (Sex Education), Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton), and Samara Weaving (Scream IV) were in the running to play Lois Lane. Several of these same actors also reportedly had screen tests at DC Studios. The fact that Superman was being recast had caused quite a bit of division among the fanbase because of how iconic Henry Cavill was in the role. Despite making a surprise appearance in Black Adam (2022), the announcement of Cavill’s return proved premature, as Gunn would go on to say that Cavill wasn’t fired. He just wasn’t hired. It was also previously reported that Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born) and siblings Alexander (The Northman) and Bill Skarsgård (It) were being eyed to play Luthor, before Nicholas Hoult was eventually cast.

As mentioned above, Superman will feature Angela Spica aka The Engineer as an antagonist. The character will be played by María Gabriela de Faría (Animal Control). A number of other exciting cast members have also been added to the project, most significantly Nathan Fillion (The Suicide Squad) as Green Lantern Guy Gardner. This casting has been a long time coming as Fillion was once considered to play the Hal Jordan version in the much-hated 2011 Green Lantern film. Fillion has also voiced Jordan in various animated projects. GL isn’t the only classic hero added to the cast, however, as Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold) and Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) have also been cast in Superman, playing Hawkgirl and Mr. Terrific, respectively. While those heroes are all widely recognized (even Mr. Terrific), Superman will also be digging into slightly more obscure characters, with Barry‘s Anthony Carrigan cast as the criminally underrated elemental hero Metamorpho.

After months of fan-casting it was revealed in November 2023 that Skyler Gisondo (The Righteous Gemstones) had been cast as Jimmy Olsen, the young Daily Planet employee, and Clark and Lois’ friend. In August, Gunn posted the first official look of Gisondo as the character.

The rest of the cast of Superman includes Sara Sampaio (At Midnight) as Lex Luthor’s right-hand woman Eve Teschmacher; Terence Rosemore (Outer Banks) as Lex’s henchman Otis; Wendell Pierce (The Wire) as Daily Planet Editor-in-Chief Perry White; Pruitt Taylor Vince (Deadwood) and Neva Howell (Novitate) as Clark’s adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent; Beck Bennett (Saturday Night Live) as the Daily Planet’s loudmouthed Sports Reporter Steve Lombard; Mikaela Hoover (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) as Daily Planet’s Gossip Columnist Cat Grant; and newcomer Christopher McDonald as the Ron Troupe, one of the most revered reporters at the Daily Planet.

Also expected to make appearances in the movie are Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Maxwell Lord and Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl. Alan Tudyk (Firefly) is also rumored to be making an appearance, but it is unknown what character he will play. Gunn has already stated that some of the actors in the DCU will carry over across live-action and animated projects, and since Tudyk will be voicing Doctor Phosphorus in Creature Commandos, there is a chance that he’ll be playing the character in live-action form in Superman.

On a recent podcast, Mark Waid, who has written Superman comics for DC, let it slip that Krypto the Superdog will be making an appearance in the movie.

“I like Gunn’s reverential approach by and large to this kind of stuff, and you know reverential without taking it too seriously. I mean, the movie has a dog in it, a superpowered dog with heat vision.”

In October 2024, Gunn confirmed Krypto’s presence in the movie and shared a first look at the character in the film, sitting next to David Corenswet. Gunn also cited that his rescue dog Ozu served as an inspiration for the character’s inclusion.

Given Gunn’s penchant for animal characters in his superhero movies, this shouldn’t come as too surprising. This will also mark the canine character’s debut in a live-action movie.

3 What Will ‘Superman’ Be About?

The official synopsis for Superman reads:

“Superman,” DC Studios’ first feature film to hit the big screen, is set to soar into theaters worldwide this summer from Warner Bros. Pictures. In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.

We’ve known for a while that Gunn would be writing the film in addition to producing, and he did share a pretty significant detail. Unlike the original Superman and Man of Steel, Gunn has confirmed that Superman will not be an origin story. That means when this Superman takes to the skies, it won’t be the first time he’s done so, as he’ll already have some experience protecting Earth’s inhabitants as the costumed superhero. Recent cast announcements (more on that below) also suggest that this is already a world of heroes, with other iconic DC heroes apart from Superman set to appear in the film. However, that doesn’t mean this is some kind of sleeper Justice League movie as James Gunn has clarified that the focus of the story will very much be on Clark and Lois.

Rumors had previously circulated that the main villain of the movie would be an evil clone of Superman, however, Gunn debunked those rumors, saying:

“The primary protagonist of
Superman
is, shockingly, Superman. The main villain of
Superman
is, shockingly, Lex Luthor. I don’t know where all the stuff is coming from that it’s something other than this. 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. So, I’ll say again, don’t believe anything unless you see it HERE (& why would you want to know everything before the movie comes out anyway?)”

We’ll also see other popular Superman characters, with his lifelong love interest Lois Lane already confirmed to appear in the film. We expect the Daily Planet’s top reporter to play a pivotal role, especially when her photographer, Jimmy Olson, is also confirmed to appear.

Gunn has stated that Clark and Lois’ relationship will play a major role in the movie’s story and that it will be much different compared to previous on-screen iterations of their romance:

“It’s a complicated relationship, and we really get into it and there’s long scenes that are about their relationship and the way they relate and what it would be like for a person who’s this incredibly intelligent, strong-headed, stubborn, skeptical journalist to have a relationship with someone who can lift a skyscraper.”

We also have confirmation that Superman‘s villain will be Angela Spica, aka The Engineer, which is quite a surprise. The Engineer is originally a Wildstorm character connected to the Authority, a group of anti-heroic superhumans who are set to get their own movie in the new DCU. Interestingly enough, the Engineer isn’t normally seen as a villainous character, so there could be more going on in this movie. Either way, it looks like Superman‘s plot could go a lot further toward setting up the new universe than previously thought.

At an event in April 2024, David Corenswet confirmed that the reboot would be “totally its own thing” and the tone would be inspired by the comics Superman For All Seasons and All-Star Superman.

Gunn confirmed those influences saying:

“To take that sort of Silver Age feel, that sort of science fiction approach to it with gadgets, Lex [Luthor] is really a sort of sorcerer in a way. He’s a scientist, but he’s so good at science and I think of him as like a sorcerer. So everything [influenced me], and then it’s just something that’s completely us.”

Gunn also said that we shouldn’t expect another origin story and that the movie will begin with Superman already being a hero in his universe.

“We just start in the middle of the action. Superman’s already existing. Lois and Clark already know each other. Lex hates Superman’s guts from the beginning, although they don’t know each other personally. So we start right in the middle of the action. It takes place over a short amount of time.”

2 Who Is Making ‘Superman’?

James Gunn has confirmed that he will be penning the script and directing Superman. Gunn’s journey with DC films began with him writing and directing The Suicide Squad (2021), which successfully rebooted the team of anti-heroes after a poorly received first installment. Composer John Murphy (The Suicide Squad), Costume Designer Judianna Makovsky (The Suicide Squad) and Cinematographer Henry Braham (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) have also joined the film. In a series of tweets, Gunn explained his love of the script and how he eventually landed on directing the film himself, saying:

Just because I write something doesn’t mean I feel it in my bones, visually and emotionally, enough to spend over two years directing it, especially not something of this magnitude. But, the long and the short of it is, I love this script, and I’m incredibly excited as we begin this journey. #UpUpAndAway

Gunn’s history in comic book movies also began long before being the co-CEO of DC Studios. He also wrote and directed all three Guardians of the Galaxy films. Formerly titled Superman: Legacy, Gunn celebrated Superman’s birthday by taking to social media here he revealed our first look at Kal-El’s new suit.

The logo is reminiscent to what Superman wears in the DC event comic book, Kingdom Come—one of the most beloved stories in DC history.

On May 6, the first look at David Corenswet in costume as Superman, was unveiled by James Gunn on his Instagram.

Gunn has assured fans that the movie will have a much different tone than what he brought to his Guardians of the Galaxy films as well as The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, saying:

“So for me, this is…about coming at something from the inside. So how can [Nicholas Hoult] tell you what Lex is like? It’s like he’s coming from an interior place. It’s not so different with the tone of the film, I know what it feels like to me. I know the texture, I know that it’s something different than I’ve ever done before, but how can I then translate that to you guys on the outside? Because I start with a place that’s very hopeful, fun…but incredibly serious all at the same time.”

1 When and Where Did ‘Superman’ Film?

In November 2023, it was revealed that filming for Superman would start in March 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. On March 6, 2024, Gunn revealed that the first scenes for Superman had been filmed in Norway. Gunn explained the location choice in an interview, saying:

”We have filmed the first scenes [in Svalbard], which show Superman fleeing to the Fortress of Solitude. We wanted a place that was beautiful and felt like being in the middle of the Arctic, so we looked at several places in the world. But there were many things that sold Svalbard for us over the other places. First, there is the natural beauty. But there’s also the fact that you’ll find a varied landscape here that you won’t find anywhere else. Nature gives a special feeling.”

On March 15, images of Maria Gabriela de Faria, on set and in costume as The Engineer made their way online.

Gunn has also revealed that Superman is being shot in its entirety using IMAX cameras.

On May 23, Gunn wrote on Instagram that the movie is “a little over halfway through shooting.” A few days later, Gunn took to Instagram to share a recent photo from the set of the movie.

In June 2024, Gunn shared a photo from the set which seemed to be of the Kent family farm.

In the same week that Gunn shared a set photo from the Kent’s Farm, fan-run account Everything_DCU shared a video on X revealing the first look at the Daily Planet set being used for the movie.

On June 24, photos began to emerge online showing off David Corenswet and Edi Gathegi in costume on set as Superman and Mister Terrific. The set photos gave fans a better look (and better received) at Superman’s costume, which looks to be the classic baby blue, red, and yellow look that has become synonymous with the character. The set photos also confirm that the titular hero will once again be wearing his iconic red trunks with a yellow belt. After Henry Cavill’s cape was digitally added to Zack Snyder’s movies, the set photos confirm that David Corenswet’s cape will be practical. We also got confirmation that the yellow “S” will also be present on the back of Superman’s cape. The set photos also reveal the first look at Mr. Terrific’s comic-accurate costume, consisting of a mask covering a portion of his eyes, nose, and mouth; and a red, white, and black leather jacket with “Terrific” written on the back.

On July 30, 2024, James Gunn took to social media to announce that filming on Superman had officially wrapped, sharing a photo from the first week of shooting in Norway.

While many superhero movies (and many big movies in general) often have reshoots after principal photography, to help improve the movie, Gunn revealed that he is not expecting to do any reshoots for the highly-anticipated reboot.