James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy, DC’s Superman reboot, has to compete with three other Superman iterations, not just Zack Snyder’s version. The first DC Studios project to be announced, Superman: Legacy will be written and directed by James Gunn, serving as the first movie entry in the new DC Universe. Who will play Superman in Superman: Legacy has yet to be revealed, and the film is set to arrive on July 11, 2025.
The upcoming DC Universe movies and shows reveal a bold, ambitious slate that could shape up an MCU-level franchise if successful. Still, as the virtual beginning of this new franchise, the pressure is all on Superman: Legacy. James Gunn’s Superman reboot will set the tone for the rest of DC’s Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters, and the film’s box office results will show whether a new interconnected DC Universe can work in the same way as the MCU, for example. Superman: Legacy has to be a solid starting point for the DC Universe, but it must also be a good Superman adaptation in its own right.
No Superman Movie Can Escape The Richard Donner Comparisons
Richard Donner’s Superman (1978) will be 47 years old by the time Superman: Legacy premiers. Still, no matter how much time has passed since the first Superman movie, every live-action Superman adaptation is bound to be compared to the Donner films. Christopher Reeve brought Superman and Clark Kent to the big screen in a way that changed comic book adaptations forever, setting the stage for multiple other superhero films from Marvel and DC. More than ten years before Tim Burton and Michael Keaton made Batman into a movie star, Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve made audiences believe a person could fly.
Superman and Superman II nailed key aspects of the character, but most important, they manage to translate Superman’s mythos to the movie media. Donner’s Superman was not necessarily a copy of any particular comic book Superman run, and Christopher Reeve’s Superman is now often referred to as the ideal Superman version from which every other iteration should borrow at least something. Superman Returns tried to recreate what had worked for Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and IV, but the result was an uninspired film. Man of Steel, Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot, went for a vastly different approach.
By distancing itself so much from the great Richard Donner Superman movies and diving into the sci-fi aspect of the character inspired by John Byrne’s Superman run, Man of Steel set itself a difficult challenge. Unlike Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, which sort of went back to the dark, gritty take of the Burton Batman films and added in more realism, Man of Steel had very little to do with Donner's Superman or Superman II. Henry Cavill’s Superman was compared to Christopher Reeve’s Superman from the start, even though they were supposed to be very different versions. Like Man of Steel, Superman: Legacy cannot escape the Donner Superman comparisons.
Zack Snyder’s Superman Is Still Fresh In Audiences’ Minds
In addition to being compared to the classic Superman movies, James Gunn’s Superman reboot will have to compete with Zack Snyder’s Superman – even if indirectly. Henry Cavill is no longer Superman, and the DCEU that began with Snyder’s Man of Steel essentially ends in 2023. Still, only two years will separate the end of the DCEU and Superman: Legacy’s release date, meaning that Cavill’s Superman will still be fresh in mind by the time the reboot hits the screen. Though Cavill’s Superman status remained up in the air for quite a while after Justice League, the DCEU’s Superman has been the only cinematic version of the character since 2016.
Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice were highly divisive DC movies, especially the latter, yet they also made Cavill’s Kal-El into the Superman of a generation. The fact that Zack Snyder’s Justice League story, which would have revolved around Superman’s conflict with the forces of Apokolips as Darkseid searched for the Anti-Life equation, was never concluded also makes Gunn’s Superman reboot trickier. Unlike Christian Bale’s Batman, for example, Henry Cavill’s Superman did not have a proper ending. In fact, Cavill’s Superman exit was one of the most surprising – and complicated – pieces of superhero movie news in years.
Henry Cavill returned as Superman for Black Adam’s post-credits scene, followed by an Instagram post in which Cavill confirmed he was back in the role. Less than two months later, a Superman reboot was announced as part of DC Studios’ new slate for the franchise. Perhaps the closest example to the Henry Cavill Superman situation was Andre Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man 3, which never happened and was eventually replaced by a Spider-Man reboot within the MCU. From Snyderverse comparisons to the possible general confusion regarding Cavill’s recast, Superman: Legacy is a complex reboot.
Superman & Lois Is Currently Nailing Superman On TV
The Donner Superman movies and the Snyderverse films will not be the only Superman iterations Legacy will compete with. Superman & Lois is currently on air, and it brings a more classic take on Superman combined with DC Rebirth’s “parents Clark Kent and Lois Lane.” Though Superman & Lois was not created to compete with the DC movies, the seemly Arrowverse Superman series was successful enough to draw comparisons between Tyler Hoechlin’s Clark and the one Henry Cavill played. Originally, Tyler Hoechlin played Superman in Supergirl as well as in Arrowverse crossover episodes, but Superman & Lois gave this version of the character time to shine.
Instead of the usual “Christopher Reeve or Henry Cavill?” or “Henry Cavill or Brandon Routh?” Superman debates, Superman & Lois brought a new version of the Man of Steel into the question of who is the best live-action Superman actor. By focusing on Clark Kent in a way that the DCEU’s Superman had not done, Superman & Lois made itself into a unique live-action Superman show that worked both for long-time Arrowverse audiences and new viewers alike. Superman & Lois is currently on season 3, and even if the show ends before 2025, Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman is another one Gunn’s Superman reboot will be compared to.
James Gunn’s Superman Movie Is DC’s Trickiest Reboot In Years
DC and Marvel are no strangers to superhero movie reboots, but James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy is DC’s trickiest franchise resets in years. Though The Brave and the Bold will lead into a complicated, never-before-seen situation in which DC will have two Batman franchises happening concurrently – The Batman and the DC Universe’s Batman, the latter of which will replace Ben Affleck’s DCEU Dark Knight – Batman has already experienced multiple reboots. For example, Ben Affleck was cast as Batman only two years after The Dark Knight Rises, and The Batman was announced as soon as Affleck exited the role for the first time.
Superman, however, has never experienced such a quick reboot – six years had passed between Returns and Man of Steel. The short window between the DCEU’s Superman and Gunn’s Superman: Legacy by itself is not the problem, but rather how sudden all of it was. Henry Cavill was Superman at least until Black Adam, and now a new version of the Man of Steel will be brought to the screen. Superman: Legacy could see itself in a The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) situation – a surprising reboot that replaced Spider-Man 4. That said, Superman: Legacy could be a Spider-Man: Homecoming scenario, moving on from the previous version and kicking off a new, successful franchise.
