If the Man of Steel is supposed to be “faster than a speeding bullet,” then James Gunn is cocked to firing the weapon.
Gunn announced via Twitter that he plans to direct his own script for Superman: Legacy, a film that will debut DC’s “Chapter One, Gods and Monsters” project being launched by himself and Peter Safran.
The announcement came as no surprise: Gunn revealed last fall that a new Superman film would be in the works—but without Henry Cavill in the title role since Superman: Legacy would be dealing with the character’s early days as a young Clark Kent born on Krypton but raised in Smallville, Kansas.
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Though Gunn is still looking for an actor to portray the younger Superman, it’s likely other DC actors will remain in their roles, such as Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman. But Gunn said in December that he was a big fan of Cavill, and “we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.”
According to a just-released plot synopsis, Superman: Legacy is poised to “[tell] the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.
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In his Twitter release announcing the project, Gunn paid tribute to his father as a catalyst for the new film: “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. 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.”
Gunn added that “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.”
Superman: Legacy will debut on July 11, 2025, followed by the second film in the Gods and Monsters series, Matt Reeves’s The Batman Part II, which is scheduled for release on October 3.
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