James Gunn's Superman movie: release date, confirmed cast, plot rumors, and more

Superman's DCU movie: key information

- Releasing worldwide in July 2025
- First film to be released as part of DCU Chapter One
- Previously called Superman: Legacy
- Filming began in March 2024
- DC Studios co-head James Gunn on co-writing and directing duties
- First image of David Corenswet's Man of Steel unveiled
- Full cast confirmed
- No trailer or plot details revealed yet
- Will draw inspiration from multiple DC comic storylines
- Could set up future DCU projects

James Gunn's Superman movie is a long way off at this point. Indeed, the DC Cinematic Universe (DCU) film isn't set to fly into theaters until July 2025. But, with filming underway on the highly anticipated superhero flick, We're finally starting to see and hear more – in an official capacity, anyway – about it.

So, what do we know so far about the DCU Chapter One movie? Below, we've rounded up everything you need to know about the Man of Steel's next big-screen adventure. You'll learn more about its confirmed cast, potential plot (including its comic book inspirations), and how it might set up future DCU projects.

Potential spoilers follow for 2025's Superman film, so proceed with caution (or not at all) if you're hoping to go in blind.

Superman release date

Superman will break the supersonic sound barrier in theaters on July 11, 2025. The legendary hero's next film, plus its official launch date, was revealed in January 2023 when Gunn confirmed the full DCU Chapter One movie and TV show line-up.

Principal photography began in late February, with scenes being shot on location in Norway, as well as sound stages in Atlanta, Georgia. Filming will also take place in Macon, Georgia, plus Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio, sometime in August. It's unclear when Superman's shooting schedule will end.

Superman cast

Potential spoilers follow for 2025's Superman.

Here's the confirmed cast for Gunn's Superman movie so far:

• David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman

• Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane

• Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor

• Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern

• Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl

• Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt/Mister Terrific

• Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason/Metamorpho

• Maria Gabriela de Faria as Angela Spica/The Engineer

• Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher

• Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen

• Wendell Pierce as Perry White

• Terence Rosemore as Otis

• Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord

Corenswet (The Politician, Pearl) was confirmed to be the latest actor tasked with bringing Krypton's most famous son to life in a live-action project in June 2023. His casting was revealed alongside Rachel Brosnahan's (Prime Video's The Marvelous Mrs Maisel), with the actress set to play Clark Kent's perpetual love interest and Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane.

Hoult (X-Men, Mad Max: Fury Road) will play Superman's most iconic adversary. He reportedly accepted the role of Lex Luthor in November 2023 before his casting was officially announced days later. In April, Gunn confirmed (via Threads) that Luthor will be the film's primary villain. Superman's first-look image also teased the potential appearance of another big villain but, for now, we know that Luthor will be joined on villain duties by Teschmacher (played by Sombra's Sampaio), aka his assistant and love interest in the comics and a henchman named Otis (portrayed by Outer Banks' Rosemore).

Pierce (The Wire) has reportedly been cast as Perry White, the Daily Planet's tough but fair editor-in-chief, although he declined to confirm his involvement in a Late Night With Seth Meyer interview (per X/Twitter user JeremyJLop). Gisondo (Licorice Pizza) is definitely on board as Jimmy Olsen, the Daily Planet's photographer and friend to Kent and Lane. Maxwell Lord, who is ordinarily a Wonder Woman villain, will also make a brief appearance. Sean Gunn, James' brother and frequent collaborator (he appeared in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and The Suicide Squad), will play Lord.

Lastly on the non-superhero front, The Wrap has claimed Pruitt Taylor Vince (Stranger Things, The Walking Dead) will play Jonathan 'Pa' Kent and Neva Howell (Logan Lucky) is on board as Martha Kent (again, via The Wrap). Gunn hasn't confirmed the duo's involvement yet, though.

As for other superheroes who'll appear in one of the DCU Chapter One's most exciting movies, the most notable – if reports are to believed – inclusion is Supergirl's, who'll be played by Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon). She was one of two finalists Gunn was considering for Supergirl, aka Kara Zor-El, before her casting as Superman's cousin was confirmed in late January. However, Gunn wrote (via Threads) that Supergirl might not cameo in Superman, so this cast addition might not be true. Batman won't show up, either, as Gunn also confirmed on Threads.

Fillion (The Suicide Squad, Firefly) is playing the Guy Gardner iteration of Green Lantern. One of many individuals to assume the role of one of the Green Lantern Corps, i.e. the galaxy's intergalactic law enforcers, Gardner will be "90% flawed and [he] doesn’t care [about anything]" in 2025's Superman, Fillion told Collider.

Merced (Madame Web, The Last of Us season 2) is on board as Hawkgirl – a Justice League of America member who's a near-identical character to Black Adam's Hawkman. She can fly, uses various weapons, and comes equipped with the usual superhuman strength, stamina, reflexes, and ability to heal quickly, among others.

Gathegi (For All Mankind, The Harder They Fall) portrays Mister Terrific, a scientist-turned-superhero who uses floating orbs – known as T-spheres – to imbue himself with superhuman abilities. Meanwhile, Carrigan (Barry) is set to play Metamorpho, an archaeologist who acquires superpowers that enable him to alter his body's atoms to change shape, become more elastic/stronger, and survive attacks that few other heroes could.

De Faria (Deadly Class) is playing Spica/The Engineer, a member of another DC supergroup known as The Authority. This super team – one unafraid to resort to extreme measures to save the day – is getting a standalone DCU Chapter One movie, too, so expect Superman to set up some of The Authority's story strands before it enters full development.

Superman story speculation

There's no plot synopsis for Superman yet, but Gunn hasn't been shy about the comic book series he's taking inspiration from.

For starters, 2025's Superman isn't another origins story. Via Threads, Gunn said his movie would begin with Kal-El/Clark Kent already living on Earth, so we won't be forced to sit through another take on his Kryptonian backstory.

When the flick's director teased the DC superhero's new suit in March, it all but confirmed that this film will be influenced by Mark Waid and Alex Ross' Kingdom Come. A 1996 Elseworlds miniseries, the four-issue run showed a world-weary Kent come out of retirement (alongside other Justice League members) to put a bunch of new, morally complex, and violent superheroes in their place.

It's highly unlikely that Superman film will be a direct adaptation of these comic books – indeed, in Kingdom Come, Kent is much older than Corenswet's forthcoming iteration, who's reportedly in his mid-20s. It won't see Supes battle his fellow metahumans, either. However, Reddit users seem to think we'll see a reverse-engineered version of Kingdom Come's story unfold in this film, with Corenswet's youthful and enthusiastic Supes potentially helping some of Earth's battle-hardened superhumans to rediscover their sense of purpose.

Before Kent embarks on a quest to re-energize his fellow heroes' commitment to protecting Earth, he'll need to deal with his own demons – chief among those being his sense of isolation.

To that end, Kent will spend most of his superhero life living alone in his iconic Fortress of Solitude. A report from Norwegian outlet vg.no carried quotes from Gunn saying his flick will show Kent "fleeing" to his Arctic base of operations at some point in the story. It's unclear when or why Kent does so, but you can expect his character arc to center on feelings of alienation before he finds the courage to move past his trauma and sense of being an outcast. Speaking to Variety in April 2023, Gunn confessed to wanting a protagonist "who you want to give a hug", further underlining his penchant for wanting the DCU's Kent to be a solitary figure.

Kent will also be employed as a roving reporter for the Daily Planet – Metropolis' news outlet – where he works alongside Lois Lane, Perry White, and Jimmy Olsen. We're unsure how much of Kent's civilian life we'll see but, if he's not actively operating as his superhero alias until later in the movie (well, in the public eye, anyway) we suspect its first act will be based around his Daily Planet job, interactions with his colleagues, and finding his place in the universe.

Fans can also expect other Superman comics, themes, and imagery to be woven into his latest cinematic adventure. According to The Direct's David Thompson, Corenswet also said it'll cherry pick elements from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Superman: For All Seasons miniseries, and Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, and Jamie Grant's All-Star Superman comics. Phillip Kennedy Johnson's Superman: The Warworld Saga, Tom King's Superman: Up In The Sky, and the character's Golden Age comics are all big influences, too (per Gunn on Threads). Richard Donner's Christopher Reeve-starring Superman movies, particularly the first two, have also impacted its development.

As for other possible plot threads, we can't comment on anything else. Some things might leak out while Superman is being filmed. As of May 8 (the last time we've updated this article), though, nothing has, so we're none the wiser about story specifics.

Superman trailer: is there one?

No – and we won't get one for a while yet. We'll update this section once one is released.

Where to watch every Superman movie to date

Want to know where to stream every Superman movie (or films that he features in) to date? Read on to see where you can watch them:

• Superman (1978) – Max (US), Sky (UK), Binge (Australia)

• Superman II (1981) – Max (US), Sky (UK), rent or buy (Australia)

• Superman III (1983) – Max (US), Sky (UK), rent or buy (Australia)

• Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987) – Max (US), Sky (UK), rent or buy (Australia)

• Superman Returns (2006) – Max (US), Sky (UK), Binge/Foxtel (Australia)

• Man of Steel (2013) – Max (US), Sky (UK), Netflix/Binge/Foxtel (Australia)

• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) – Max (UK), Sky (UK), Netflix/Binge (Australia)

• Justice League (2017) – Max (US), Sky (UK), Binge/Foxtel (Australia)

• Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) – Max (US), rent or buy (UK), Binge/Foxtel (Australia)

How will Superman set up other DCU movies and TV shows?

We suspect 2025's Superman will set up two of its fellow DCU Chapter One (also known as Gods and Monsters) movies: Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and The Authority.

The first of those, which will star Alcock's Kara and be inspired by Tom King's comic book series of the same name. In November 2023, a bunch of new Supergirl movie updates were released, which included confirmation that Ana Nogueira is penning its script and that Krypto the Superdog would appear. If Kara shows up in Superman, her cameo may lay the foundations for her first standalone film since 1984's Supergirl, which starred Helen Slater.

As for The Authority, very little is known about who's involved in its development. De Faria's The Engineer will definitely show up, so she'll be the connective tissue between her superteam's first big-screen team-up and Superman. Matthew Vaughn (Argylle, Kick-Ass) has tentatively been linked as its director.

On the TV front, one show that Superman might impact is Lanterns, a Max TV series that's been described as a superhero version of True Detective. Gunn suggested (via Threads) that Fillion's Gardner will appear in it, so it's plausible Superman will be the jumping-off point for Lanterns' story, too. We wait with bated Super-Breath for more details, Messrs Gunn and Safran.

For more DC-based coverage, find out how to watch the DC movies in order. Alternatively, get the lowdown on the best Batman movies or see which DCEU films made it onto our best Max movies list.