James Gunn confirms one specific Clark Kent detail for his new DC Studios Superman movie. Despite donning the suit again for his special appearance in Black Adam, Henry Cavill's return as Superman in the DC Universe came to a swift end this week. While Man of Steel 2 was in development at the studio, Gunn announced this week that he is working on a new Superman movie, which will not feature Cavill as the DC icon. Gunn is writing the script for the untitled Superman film, and a director has yet to be chosen.While the Superman reboot is obviously in the early stages, fans are already eager to find out what Gunn is planning to do with this take on Kal-El. Gunn has already stressed that it won't be an origin story, but one Twitter user stated that Superman "meeting people for the first time is an origin story." The individual also accused the DC Studios co-CEO of being paid by Disney to "screw over the ONE THING DC had going for it," referring to the decision not to move forward with Cavill's Superman and the Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker decided to clap back. Gunn responded that the new Superman in the DCU would actually already know other superheroes and major characters. The only new aspect about this Man of Steel is his age, with Gunn sharing the following:
How James Gunn's DCU May Take A Page Out of The Batman's Playbook
While Gunn's comment confirms a huge aspect of the DCU's new Superman, it's unclear which characters he's referring to specifically, whether it be anyone from the Justice League or the Daily Planet team. Since Gunn's new project won't be a traditional Superman reboot, there is a chance that the DCU installment may be taking inspiration from a different DC franchise. Robert Pattinson's The Batman, which will continue to exist outside the DCU, had Bruce Wayne's new iteration explore the hero's second year as a crime fighter.
Similar to Batman, Superman's backstory has been told numerous times in live-action and in animation. Smallville went as far as spending a decade focusing on Clark discovering himself before he eventually became Superman. Batman and Superman's origin stories have, at this point, been told enough times for mainstream audiences to know how they went on their respective heroic paths. With Zack Snyder's Man of Steel also being one of the most modern retellings of his journey, Gunn wanting to avoid tackling how Clark becomes Superman is a smart choice. Having a Clark that is still early in his Superman career and starting the reboot at a different point in his life is one way to allow Gunn's film to stand out.
It will be some time until more concrete details about Gunn's Superman movie begin to emerge. With Gunn and Safran finalizing their plans for their 10-year-long vision for the DCU, the script is likely far from being done. It's also probably not the best idea to jump too fast into the new Superman movie, especially as Cavill's DCU departure is still something that has the online DC community riled up. Once Warner Bros. Discovery has signed off on Gunn and Safran's DCU vision, maybe then new details about the Superman project will start rolling out.
Source: James Gunn
