Writer-director James Gunn is not only the co-head of DC Studios, but he’s also the writer for the next Superman movie, Superman Legacy. That film has now crossed a major milestone, as Gunn confirmed that Superman Legacy is now in “early” pre-production.
Gunn made the announcement today, April 18, to celebrate Superman Anniversary Day. What this means for Superman Legacy is that efforts to create costumes, design sets, and establish other aspects of the movie’s production are now “up and running,” Gunn said.
“I’m honored to be a part of the legacy,” he said.
Gunn went on to share a few more tidbits about Superman Legacy. Starting off, he confirmed that he will not announce the actor playing Superman anytime soon. He said a casting announcement will not be made in April or May, so June is the theoretical soonest that could happen. Earlier in April, Gunn confirmed that a casting search is now underway. A casting announcement at San Diego Comic-Con in July would seem to be fitting, but that’s just conjecture.
Gunn also clarified that Warner Bros. Discovery is not giving notes to Gunn and his team for Superman Legacy because WB Discovery and DC Studios are different units. Finally, Gunn reiterated that the entire script for Superman Legacy is now finished, though of course scripts can change during production.
In 2022, actor Henry Cavill–who played Superman in previous movies–announced that he would return to play Superman, and later confirmed he would leave The Witcher to presumably make room for this. However, not long after, it was confirmed that Cavill would not return to play Superman in the next project, which will focus on a younger Superman.
Gunn said he is a fan of Cavill’s and believes he is a “great guy.” But unfortunately for Cavill, Gunn said the actor is getting “dicked around by a lot of people,” including people who were formerly in charge of the DC movie universe. “But this Superman is not Henry, for a number of reasons,” Gunn said.
Superman Legacy is a prequel film that will follow a young Clark Kent during his time as a Daily Planet reporter, according to a previous story from The Hollywood Reporter.
Cavill may yet return to play Superman once again, but not yet. “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,” Gunn explained. “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.”
Superman Legacy releases on July 11, 2025. Gunn is writing the movie but there is no word yet on a director. Gunn’s next film is Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which releases in May.
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