Superman (2025) Film Details
Superman is a 2025 American superhero film based on the eponymous character from DC Comics. Written and directed by James Gunn, it is the first film in the DC Universe (DCU) produced by DC Studios and the second reboot of the Superman film series. David Corenswet stars as Clark Kent / Superman, alongside Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, and Isabela Merced. In the film, Superman must prove to the world that he is their protector after billionaire Lex Luthor conducts a plan to turn public opinion against him.
Development on a sequel to the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Man of Steel (2013) began by October 2014, with Henry Cavill set to reprise his role as Superman. Plans changed after the troubled production of Justice League (2017) and the Man of Steel sequel was no longer moving forward by May 2020. Gunn began work on a new Superman film around August 2022. In October, he became co-CEO of DC Studios with producer Peter Safran and they began work on a new DC Universe. Gunn was revealed to be writing the film in December. The title Superman: Legacy was announced the next month, Gunn was confirmed to be directing in March 2023, and Corenswet and Brosnahan were cast that June. The subtitle was dropped by the end of February 2024, when filming began in Svalbard, Norway. Production primarily took place at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with location filming around Georgia and Ohio. Filming wrapped in July. The film takes inspiration from the comic book All-Star Superman (2005–2008) by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, among others.
Superman premiered at the TCL Chinese Theater on July 7, 2025, and was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on July 11. It is the first film of the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. Superman received positive reviews from critics and has grossed $96 million against a $225 million budget.
STORY
CAST
- David Corenswet as Clark Kent / Superman:
A survivor from the destroyed planet Krypton who lives on Earth as a superhero. He hides his identity at his day job, working as a journalist for the Daily Planet in Metropolis. Director James Gunn said Corenswet’s Superman is around 25 years old, making him more established than Tom Welling’s version from the CW series Smallville (2001–2011) but younger than Henry Cavill’s version in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Producer Peter Safran described the film’s take on the character for the DC Universe (DCU) as “the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way” and “kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned”. Gunn said Clark is becoming successful as both a journalist and a superhero in the film, but new elements in his life leave him unbalanced. These include being “madly in love” with his colleague Lois Lane, and making friends with other superheroes who think he is naive. The film shows how these elements impact Clark’s values and choices, which are flawed and put him on a personal journey. Corenswet differentiated the role between Clark’s interactions with his parents, his job at the Daily Planet, and as Superman. He described Superman as a “public facing character” who wants to present himself as calm but with authority. Corenswet drew inspiration for Clark from the comic book All-Star Superman (2005–2008) by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely and the posture of Christopher Reeve’s portrayal from the 1978–87 Superman film series. He was also inspired for Clark’s voice and demeanor by his brother-in-law, whom he described as the “quietest, most wonderful man” despite his tall 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 metres) height and weighing 270 pounds, and described Clark as a “big presence” who is “desperately trying to be as small as possible and as quiet as possible”. Gunn consulted DC Comics writer Tom King regarding other characters’ “suspension of disbelief” regarding Clark’s dual identity, which was attributed to the use of hypnotic glasses to subtly distort his appearance. Gunn included this in the film, noting that it had “kind of been forgotten” from the comic book canon. Corenswet also portrays Ultraman, an armored clone of Superman created by Lex Luthor who masquerades as the “Hammer of Boravia”. - Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane:
A reporter for the Daily Planet who is a colleague of Clark, and “isn’t so sure about him” and needs to be convinced about being in a relationship with him. Brosnahan described Lois as “fiercely intelligent” and feisty. She consulted with several journalists to help her portray Lois as a modern reporter, contrasting with the character’s original comics appearances and previous screen portrayals. - Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor:
The CEO of LuthorCorp and the arch-nemesis of Superman, who hates Superman for having the power to do everything but not aligning with Luthor’s own beliefs. Hoult described Luthor as obsessive, determined, and relentless, and wanted the character to feel like a credible threat to Superman. He has his end goal in sight and is motivated by many emotions, including a need to be recognized for his scientific genius. Hoult was inspired by Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex Luthor in Smallville and by billionaire Steve Jobs for Luthor’s uniform, choosing to work out for the role based on the depiction of Luthor in All-Star Superman. His son Joaquin shaved Hoult’s head in preparation for the role. Gunn took inspiration for the character from Brian Azzarello’s limited comic book series Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (2005) as well as Jerry Siegel’s “reckless scientific genius” version of Luthor in comic books from the 1950s and 1960s. - Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt / Mister Terrific:
A superhero and inventor who uses a variety of high-tech gadgets to fight crime, and is a member of the Justice Gang sponsored by Maxwell Lord. Gathegi described his character as an “atheist who believes in justice”, and said Holt found meaning in “knowledge” after experiencing the death of his wife. - Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason / Metamorpho:
An archaeologist and superhero who can “transmute elements in his body into various forms”. He becomes a member of the Justice Gang. Carrigan said it was refreshing to play a superhero after previously portraying the Batman villain Victor Zsasz in the television series Gotham (2014–2019). He felt that he could bring some “authenticity and truth” to the role by comparing Metamorpho’s concerns about his abilities to Carrigan’s own alopecia. - Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner / Green Lantern:
An abrasive galactic peacekeeper in the Green Lantern Corps, and a Justice Gang member, whom Fillion described as a fearless, overconfident jerk. Fillion drew inspiration for Gardner speaking his mind with no filter from Estelle Getty’s Sophia Petrillo from the sitcom The Golden Girls (1985–1992). Fillion referred back to the character’s origin story, in which Gardner was hit by a bus and in a coma, as what “flipped the switch” for his personality, making him “off a little bit”. The film retains the character’s “iconic bowl cut haircut” from the comics, which Fillion insisted on having despite some discussions about changing his hairstyle. - Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl:
A superhero with wings and various melee weapons who is a Justice Gang member. She is reincarnated from an alien, retaining her memories and past trauma with a grumpy demeanor. Merced felt the self-awareness and comedic aspects of the film helped Saunders “make light of [her] trauma”. Merced’s short 5 feet 1 inch (1.55 metres) height differentiates her from other DCU heroes. Merced felt that her role as Anya Corazón in the Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film Madame Web (2024) helped prepare her to play Hawkgirl, though she did not tell the Superman filmmakers about that role in case they did not want her to play both.
PRODUCTION
Development
In April 2022, Discovery, Inc. and WarnerMedia merged to become Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), led by president and CEO David Zaslav. The new company was expected to restructure DC Entertainment and Zaslav began searching for an equivalent to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to lead the new subsidiary. Zaslav and WBD felt DC lacked a “coherent creative and brand strategy” and were underusing Superman. Over the years, Gunn considered how he would approach Superman if he were ever given another opportunity, and around late August 2022 he was hired to work on a Superman film that was not a sequel to Man of Steel and would be standalone from the DCEU. Zaslav spent time with Gunn while he was writing the script.
Cavill made a cameo appearance in the post-credits scene of the DCEU film Black Adam, released in October 2022, and Warner Bros. was reportedly pursuing a Cavill-led Man of Steel sequel once again. Roven was producing and the studio was searching for writers. They wanted McQuarrie to direct, but he was unlikely to be available due to his commitments to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023) and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025). Coates’s film was still in development. Cavill’s role in Black Adam was approved by Warner Bros. film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy when they were approached directly by Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson. Johnson began promoting the idea of a Black Adam vs. Superman film co-starring Cavill. The latter signed a one-off deal for Black Adam and only received a verbal agreement that he would continue playing the character in the DCEU. Cavill publicly announced that he would return as Superman for future projects, and said his Black Adam cameo was a “very small taste” of future plans. He said Superman would be “enormously joyful” moving forward. Steven Knight wrote a script treatment for the sequel around that time, which reportedly included Brainiac as the antagonist, but Warner Bros. executives were not thrilled with his take. Michael Bay was eyed to potentially direct the film.
RELEASE
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