With the official announcement from James Gunn, co-CEO of DC Studios, that a new Superman movie titled “Superman: Legacy” will be released in 2025, let’s take a look at what we know about this project to date.
What is “Superman: Legacy”?
“Superman: Legacy” is the title of the new Superman movie which, according to James Gunn, will act as “the launch of the new DCU”.
The first of a new slate of films and television shows focusing on the DC Universe of characters, the script for “Superman: Legacy” is being written by James Gunn himself.
What the movie will be about remains unknown, but we do know that it won’t be an origin story, it will however tell the story of a younger Superman.
Co-CEO of DC Studios Peter Safran said, “It’s not an origin story. It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned.”
While DC promoted the “Superman: Legacy” announcement using an image from Grant Morrison’s “All-Star Superman,” it’s doubtful that the new movie will be an adaptation of that 2005 comic book series. There’s no doubt however that Gunn is drawing some inspiration from Morrison’s take on the character in some form or fashion.
It should be noted that Grant Morrison’s involvement with Superman extends well beyond “All-Star Superman,” with the writer penning 18 issues of “Action Comics” when the title was relaunched in 2011 for the “New 52” era.
Morrison’s most recent Superman story (from 2021) was a four-issue miniseries in which the Man of Steel joined forces with Manchester Black and his cohorts in “Superman and The Authority.” With “The Authority” scheduled as the second movie to be released after “Superman: Legacy” in DC’s new slate of films, it’s possible that there could be a connection between the two.
What Does “Legacy” Mean?
The Oxford Dictionary describes the word “Legacy” as meaning “the long-lasting impact of particular events, actions, etc. that took place in the past, or of a person’s life.”
It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine Superman learning about his Kryptonian heritage and, as Safran said, needing to work out a balance between that knowledge while also adhering to the values instilled in him by Jonathan and Martha Kent.
The word “Legacy” could also be DC acknowledging Superman’s importance as the company’s flagship character and his 85 year history as one of the world’s most iconic fictional characters.
Who Will Be Cast in the Role of Superman?
With James Gunn still writing the script, no casting has been done. In mid-January Gunn responded to rumors on Twitter saying, “No one has been cast as Superman yet. Casting, as is almost always the case with me, will happen after the script is finished or close to finished, and it isn’t. We’ll announce a few things in not too long, but the casting of Superman won’t be one of them.”
One thing we do know, Henry Cavill will not be playing Superman. Gunn and Safran met with Cavill to inform him of their plans to go in a different direction with the character. “In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill. But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.”
Gunn also went to great lengths to explain to fans that they never fired Cavill. He said, “He was never cast. He was in a cameo and that was the end of his story. I like Henry. He’s gotten dicked around by a lot of people including former regimes of this company. But [our] Superman isn’t Henry for a number of reasons.”
Will Superman’s Costume Include the Red Trunks?
Just as there has been no casting decisions made at this point, it’s also way too early to be talking about costume design. While Gunn did post a Twitter poll asking fans if Superman should have the red trunks or not, he did point out that the poll wasn’t an indication of anything to do with the upcoming film. It was just for fun.
When Will “Superman: Legacy” Be Released?
“Superman: Legacy” is scheduled to released July 11, 2025.
Why oh why is it so hard to get Superman right as far as feature films are concerned?
The comics, live action and animated TV shows always seem to manage it more or less, but the movies somehow find a way to screw it up.
From Superman III and IV to Superman Returns to the recent “Snyderverse” fiasco (not to mention all the aborted reboots from Tim Burton, Kevin Smith, JJ Abrams, etc.) nothing seems to work.
Why?
In my humble opinion, I find that the creatives and execs have no faith in the character nor the actors portraying him… it’s always someone apologizing for who superman is and then there is this over correction of trying to make him ‘cool and edgy’ or relatable. My issue with the last two live action franchises was that they made superman a wordless wonder and that’s just not who superman is. Superman is full of charm and charisma. The funny thing is that both Brandon Routh and Henry Cavill have plenty of likability and said charisma but both franchises chose… Read more »
This all sounds interesting. I’d prefer “The Elite” rather than “The Authority.” However, if their story is going for a similar theme to Action Comics #775, then I’ll be happy with it as long as it good with characters and story. Now I have 2 things to look forward to.
“Godzilla and Kong: Origins” in 2024
“Superman: Legacy” in 2025.
Love it! I can’t wait!
I too would love to see action comics #775 in live action! I can take or leave the elite, they’re pretty much what the authority is anyway…. I think that’s part of Gunns plan bringing them in. Superman vs the elite was one of my favorite stories in both comic and animation form. If done correctly, it’s just the story superman needs right now. Personally, I still want to see villains we haven’t seen before from his rogues… brainiac is long overdue, Metallo, Mongul, parasite darkseid, heck, i’d even love to see conduit. Death of Clark Kent was very 90’s… Read more »
I wholeheartedly agree with you. I’d prefer to see classic villains from Superman’s rogues gallery. Like you said, Brainiac is LONG OVERDUE. But if we can’t get Brainiac, then I’d prefer lower-scale villains like Parasite and Silver Banshee. Also, agreed that there needs to be a great modern-day Lex Luthor who has charm and charisma yet chillingly sinister. And to answer your question about Godzilla: Yes, I love both the old and new Godzilla films. The MonsterVerse films have been a great treat for me. And I own all Godzilla films (except the 1998-abomination-of-a-movie which I call GINO – Godzilla… Read more »