This summer I visited the set of James Gunn's Superman while it was nearing the end of principal photography in Cleveland, and today we can share what the writer and director told us.
While the animated series Creature Commandos is currently airing on Max and is technically the first in-canon story of the new DC Universe, Superman represents the effective beginning of the remixed franchise under the leadership of Gunn and producing partner Peter Safran who together serve as co-CEOs of the DC Studios division under Warner Bros. Discovery. That means a lot is riding on Superman to establish the new framework for the franchise going forward.
"It Felt Too Looking Back": James Gunn Explains Superman's Title Change And Why Legacy Was Dropped
The DCU's first movie was initially called Superman: Legacy, and director James Gunn has now explained the major reason behind the title change.
Does that mean Superman must also serve as a launchpad for what's coming next? No. That's not how James Gunn is planning or thinking ahead despite there being over a dozen projects announced since their pair stepped into the roles leading DC Studios.
In our group chat on set, I asked James Gunn if there are story beats or much screentime devoted to setting up what comes after Superman.
James Gunn: Zero. Zero. I mean, maybe two little things, two moments, but basically, if something's there just to set up something else, fuck it. I even say that. And for all I know, those things can be cut by the time we get to the editing room because something has to exist for this movie. And if that works in tandem with setting up characters that exist in other media, then that's great. If this sets up stuff in “Peacemaker,” which it does, then that's great. But that is never, ever, ever, with me, going to be something that's, I'm going to sacrifice even a moment or a beat in a story for, especially a movie. With TV, you've got a little bit more leniency to be able to do that. But in a movie, every beat has to be in there for the movie itself.
Would that apply to video games as well? Will those will be standalone stories as well?
James Gunn: Everything needs to stand by itself. I don't want somebody to have to go see this movie and be relying on anything else. Now listen, once we get down the line, that may change a little bit. In [Guardians of the Galaxy], what did you have to see in Guardians 3 to really understand it? You'd be better off seeing the first two Guardians, but even Infinity War, I explained it in an elevator, the whole plot. It's like trying to keep things as simple as possible so you don't have to have homework, especially TV shows that some people aren't into.
What James Gunn's Superman And DC Universe Setup Comments Mean
For DC Studios going forward, the overall canon and continuity is secondary to the quality and completeness of the individual stories. That's why James Gunn isn't so precious about interconnectivity or forcing in teasers for what's coming up next. He can't be anyway, since he and Peter Safran took over DC Studios in an era where there were leftover films still coming from the old guard (The Flash, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) and films that stood outside the older shared universe (The Batman Part II, Joker: Folie à Deux).
Some bits from Gunn's own Suicide Sequel and Peacemaker are carried forward as they creatively cherry pick which actors, characters, and stories to keep, while others are being dropped like the Justice League cameos in Peacemaker season 1.
Characters will bounce around, and story threads or shared plot and lore elements will, of course, be seen throughout the DC Universe stories coming up. The goal, at least in what Gunn and Safran told us when showing us their initial ideas for the DC Universe in January 2023 when we visited Warner Bros..
Our Take On James Gunn's Superman And DC Universe Setup Comments
James Gunn is a fan and always has been of the comic book characters, for decades before getting involved with Marvel Studios, and he understands inherently how the stories work in the complex source material. More importantly, he knows what works and doesn't in the cinematic adaptations from working and succeeding within the system at Marvel and then again through his DC work (The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker) leading to his current role.
Marvel found itself spread thin after an unprecedented era of interconnected theatrical storytelling where viewers were trained to see every chapter in their stories to understand what's next. Then it rapidly launched character-based shows on Disney+ at a time when the reception (and box office) for Marvel's theatrical releases were taking a hit, struggling to balance being new but being beholden to the past stories. It became homework to keep up. It doesn't help that Sony's Marvel-branded Spider-Man spinoff films have all failed critically as well, further painting the "Marvel" brand in a negative light.
From what Gunn tells us, and from what he and Peter Safran have been saying since the beginning, every story must be worthwhile to move forward. And they're going to explore different genres with different ratings and target audiences, each intended to be their own thing, as opposed to required viewing to see what's next. There will be characters from Creature Commandos in Superman and Peacemaker season 2, but you won't need to see them all. And you don't need to see Superman to enjoy Supergirl, which is next in line for theatrical release.
Superman will be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.
Superman
- Release Date
- July 11, 2025
- Director
- James Gunn
- Writers
- James Gunn, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster
- Producers
- Lars P. Winther, Peter Safran
- Franchise(s)
- DCU
Cast
Clark Kent / Superman / Kal-El
Rachel BrosnahanLois Lane
Nicholas HoultLex Luthor
Edi GathegiMichael Holt / Mister Terrific
Superman: This film follows Clark Kent, a cub reporter in Metropolis, as he navigates the complexities of his dual identity, struggling to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing while embracing his role as Superman.
