James Gunn's Superman: Release Date, Plot, Cast & Everything We Know

A new Superman will be released this summer. The film by director James Gunn, who previously directed Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, is set to revive the DC Cinematic Universe.

Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming premiere, from the plot and cast to trivia about the filming.

Superman Release Date

The movie will be released on July 11, 2025. In that sense, Superman has an unenviable fate.

The movie will be released in the same month as Jurassic World Rebirth and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The competition for audiences promises to be fierce.

Superman Plot & Comic Book Origins

Superman will tell a new story of Clark Kent. The hero searches for a balance between his Kryptonian origin and human life. The movie will not be another reboot of the character's origin – viewers will see an established Superman living among humans.

This time, the threat comes from the evil genius Lex Luthor. But the list of characters does not end there: Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, Metamorpho and others will appear in the movie.

Gunn said he was inspired to create the films by the DC Comics All-Star Superman series. In it, Superman was on the brink of death and performed several incredible feats, known as the Twelve Labors of Superman, in an attempt to save the world before his possible death.

Superman Main Cast

Superman is played by David Corenswet. He is known for the series Hollywood and The Politician. Before his candidacy was approved, James Gunn held an unusual casting for the actor.

He had to audition for both the role of Clark Kent and the role of Superman – Gunn wanted to understand that Corenswet would be able to play two different personalities. Nicholas Hoult was also considered for the same role: as a result, he got the part of the main villain, Lex Luthor.

Lois Lane is played by Rachel Brosnahan, known from the series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. To prepare for the filming, Brosnahan not only read a lot of comics, but also talked to real journalists – Gunn wanted to cover Lois' romantic relationship with Clark as well as her work.

Superman Is a Turning Point in the Development of the New DC Universe

Superman is not just another comic book movie. After a series of failures, DC decided to reboot the universe and entrusted the task to James Gunn.

The director immediately put several risky projects into production, including the horror film Swamp Thing, and the action movie about antiheroes The Authority. Previously, the characters rarely appeared on the big screen, and when they did, the movies failed at the box office.

With these decisions, James Gunn marks the experimental era of DC. So, if Superman is a success, maybe we will see more unusual comic book movies in theaters.