Put on your Pikachu shocked face (that’s a relevant meme still, right?): James Gunn will direct Superman: Legacy, the reboot of the Superman film series that he is currently in the midst of writing. The director announced the news himself over his social media channels.
In the announcement, Gunn made out like this wasn’t actually a foregone conclusion, although it’s hard to imagine anyone else didn’t think he would be helming what might be the most important film in his and Peter Safran’s attempt to relaunch the entire DC film universe. Gunn said that getting to this point was a long time coming, however. He was actually offered the chance to do a Superman film years ago but couldn’t figure out a way to pull it off. It wasn’t until just recently — conveniently timed with his taking over of all things DC film — that he says he cracked the code for the Superman movie he wants to make.
In the hands of James Gunn as director, Superman: Legacy will apparently be about lineage and family. He said that the film will focus on Superman’s heritage and “how both his aristocratic Kryptonian parents and his Kansas farmer parents inform who he is and the choices he makes.” He’s already confirmed that the movie isn’t an origin film, but it will feature a younger Clark Kent getting his footing in Metropolis and discovering just who he is as a hero. That, of course, means that Henry Cavill is out as Superman, just in case you didn’t know.
Superman: Legacy is said to be the linchpin of the new DC Films universe, launching the storyline that Gunn and Safran are calling “Gods and Monsters.” This “chapter” will also include a new Batman and Robin film called The Brave and the Bold, a Swamp Thing feature, a Supergirl movie called Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and a film about the Authority, along with a slew of TV shows.
Superman: Legacy will land in theaters on July 11, 2025 with James Gunn as writer and director.
