What we know about Superman: Legacy

A new Superman movie is finally on the way as part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new take on the DC Universe. Safran and Gunn, who are now coheads of Warner Bros.’ DC Studios, have announced a list of 10 projects (including two Batman movies) that will kick off the new DCU starting with Superman: Legacy in 2025.

While we don’t have too many details about Superman: Legacy just yet, here’s everything we do know about the Man of Steel’s latest foray into film.

Henry Cavill won’t play Superman

The previous Superman, who started his tenure in 2013’s Man of Steel, has hung up his cape for good and won’t be returning as Superman for Gunn’s new film. While we’ve known this since December 2022, we still don’t know who will take up the mantle next. Gunn has teased that it’ll be a younger take on Clark Kent, although he’ll already be old enough to work at the Daily Planet.

What’s Superman: Legacy about?

Beyond the youth-skewing approach to the film, Gunn says his way into the Superman story is “centering around Superman’s heritage — how both his aristocratic Kryptonian parents and his Kansas farmer parents inform who he is and the choices he makes.”

James Gunn is directing and writing the movie

Gunn will handle the scripting for Superman: Legacy, which should put him in the position to set up his new DCU in whatever way he can. His role as writer clearly makes this a different project than the movie J.J. Abrams was developing with Ta-Nehisi Coates earlier, which is reportedly still in the works as a “DC Elseworlds” film.

Gunn will also direct the movie, which he announced in March after initially being undecided on whether he’d take on that role. In a series of tweets about his decision, Gunn explained that he initially turned Superman down years ago because he didn’t feel he had a way into the story that felt unique. And even after finding his way into the script, Gunn remained unconvinced that he should write the movie. In one tweet, Gunn said, “Just because I write something doesn’t mean I feel it in my bones, visually and emotionally, enough to spend over two years directing it, especially not something of this magnitude.”

Finally, after a little more convincing, Gunn decided to direct the movie himself because he liked the script so much.

This will be Gunn’s first directorial project after 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and his first movie in the DC Universe since Suicide Squad in 2021.

When will Superman: Legacy be released?

Superman: Legacy is set to arrive in theaters on July 11, 2025. This seems to be the first of the new slate of DCU projects to get a release date and will even be released ahead of The Batman Part 2, which is set to come out in Oct. 3, 2025.