James Gunn Nixes Pierce Brosnan's Doctor Fate Return For DCU's Superman Sequel

Pierce Brosnan says he has heard whispers about bringing his Dr. Fate into James Gunn's shiny new DCU, maybe even sliding into the next Superman. Gunn, however, just slammed the brakes on that idea.

'My opinion is I've never heard a Dr Fate rumor!'

That came from Gunn on Threads. Short, sharp, and pretty definitive. Which makes things awkward, because earlier this week Brosnan told British GQ he had heard that Dr. Fate might get his own show or movie, and that he had also heard the character could pop up in the Superman sequel Brosnan name-dropped as Man of Tomorrow. He also said he dug the character and would happily do it again. So yeah, two very different signals here.

Quick refresher: Brosnan played Dr. Fate in 2022's Black Adam. The character is a Justice Society staple who wields serious sorcery via the Helmet of Fate. He also died in that movie, sacrificing himself to save Dwayne Johnson's antihero. In comic book worlds, death is more of a suggestion than a rule, and the DCU reboot means timelines and carryovers get fuzzy. But if the guy running DC Studios hasn't even heard a Dr. Fate rumor, that return feels like a long shot right now.

What is actually moving in the DCU at the moment?

• Peacemaker is currently the only confirmed survivor making the jump from the old DCEU into the new DCU.
• Blue Beetle isn't officially done either - the character is supposedly still in play.
• Next up for DCU Chapter One is Lanterns, headed to HBO in early 2026.

So where does that leave Brosnan? File it under: fun idea, not happening yet. If a real Dr. Fate project or cameo were brewing, you'd expect Gunn to at least hint at it. Instead, he said he's never even heard the rumor. Either the grapevine is playing telephone, or someone got ahead of themselves.