Back in 2022, the Black Adam end-credits scene featured the return of Henry Cavill’s Superman, and it was announced soon after that this version of the Man of Steel would appear in more then-upcoming DC movies. However, only a few months later, those Superman plans were scrapped, as James Gunn was instead writing and directing a reboot centered on DC Comics’ Man of Steel. We now know that Gunn’s Superman movie will be the first theatrical entry in the DC Universe frahnchise, but the filmmaker has addressed a conspiracy revolving around the Superman recasting, and it’s good to see the record is being set straight.
David Corenswet is taking over as Superman for this new shared continuity, with both his casting and Rachel Brosnahan playing Lois Lane being confirmed in June 2023. Over on Threads though, someone informed James Gunn about a conspiracy theory that claims that he’d been planning to make his own Superman movie ever since he was hired to helm 2021’s The Suicide Squad. This theory surmises that he was “intending on always screwing over Cavill” and “lying to the fans” because he’d previously publicly said he had no interest in “running DC,” nor making a Superman movie. Here’s what Gunn said to all this:
I don’t quite understand how that fits. Aside from the fact I had no interest in running DC until Peter decided to do it with me so he could do the exec stuff & I could focus on creative, when I was hired to write Superman it was always intended as & pitched as a new Superman story, so why would I lie about not planning that at the Squad premiere which would have amounted to the same thing at the end of the day? How does this particular conspiracy theory make sense?
Basically, there’s no truth to this conspiracy theory whatsoever. James Gunn only became interested in running DC Studios once it became a joint effort with producer Peter Safran, which happened long after The Suicide Squad came out, and because he always intended for his Superman movie to be a reboot, it’s not like he had anything to do with the plans for Cavill’s full return being tossed aside. Yes, it is a shame that the expectation for more appearances from Cavill’s Superman was quickly tossed aside, but it’s not like this was some sinister scheme that Gunn had been plotting for years.
While you certainly won’t have trouble finding fans who are disappointed to bid farewell to Henry Cavill’s Superman and the DCEU overall, that era of the DC movies in order is now over. Aside from a few actors reprising their roles in this new continuity, like Viola Davis as Amanda Waller and John Cena as Peacemaker, the DC Universe is intended to be a clean slate. Right off the bat, the Superman cast will include folks like Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl, Eli Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific and Anthony Carrigan’s Metamorpho, so this is a world where superheroes are already plentiful. Specific plot details for the Superman movie are still being kept under wraps, but the story will involve the title protagonist clashing with Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor.
Although James Gunn and Peter Safran have said they consider Superman, which comes out on July 11, 2025, to be the DC Universe’s “true beginning,” the franchise will technically kick off later this year when the animated Creature Commandos series debuts to Max subscribers. Other DCU projects on the way include the movies The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, The Authority and Swamp Thing, and the TV shows Lanterns, Booster Gold, Paradise Lost and Waller.
