James Gunn will direct the next Superman movie
DC Studios film boss James Gunn didn’t have to look very far to find a filmmaker for the new Superman movie the Warner Bros. Discovery production company is set to release in 2025. Gunn revealed on Wednesday that he’ll make the film, currently titled “Superman: Legacy,” his next project as a director. Gunn was already writing the “Superman: Legacy” screenplay.
“Yes, I’m directing ‘Superman: Legacy’ to be released on July 11, 2025. My brother Matt told me when he saw the release date he started to cry. I asked him why. He said, ‘Dude, it’s Dad’s birthday.’ I hadn’t realized,” Gunn wrote on Twitter. “I lost my Dad almost three years ago. He was my best friend. He didn’t understand me as a kid, but he supported my love of comics and my love of film and I wouldn’t be making this movie now without him.”
Gunn added, “It has been a long road to this point. I was offered Superman years ago – I initially said no because I didn’t have a way in that felt unique and fun and emotional that gave Superman the dignity he deserved. Then a bit less than a year ago I saw a way in, in many ways 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.”
Previously, Gunn’s co-boss within DC Studios, Peter Safran, told reporters the new Superman film “focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth, justice, and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks that kindness is old-fashioned.”
Gunn and Safran took over as DC Studios leaders last year and have quickly made their impact felt. The current DC universe of films has slowly wound down, with plans for a third Wonder Woman film starring Gal Gadot scuttled and former Superman actor Henry Cavill relieved of his duties as the Man of Steel. The only remnants of the previous era of films, which was spearheaded by director Zack Snyder, are the projects “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” “The Flash,” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.” (“Shazam,” in fact, does include Gadot in a small cameo, and former Batman star Ben Affleck factors into “The Flash,” which stars Ezra Miller.)
Gunn has already made his own DC Comics film, a reboot of “The Suicide Squad,” which debuted in 2021. The filmmaker will next find himself on the publicity circuit for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” his final film for rival studio Marvel. “Guardians” is out on May 5.
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