Superman (2025 film)

• 1. Introduction

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  Superman, the 2025 film written and directed by James Gunn, has a private detail hidden in its release calendar. The date was chosen because it matches the birthday of Gunn's late father. That personal thread runs through a project that launched an entirely new DC Universe, known as the DCU. It also replaced a plan the studio had nursed for years. Why did Warner Bros. abandon a sequel it had been developing since 2014? How did a filmmaker famous for Guardians of the Galaxy talk himself into making the best-known superhero story of all? Who was handed the cape, and how did the actors make sense of their characters? And what happened when a film crowded with heroes, a clone, a giant monster and a dog with powers finally reached audiences?

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• 2. The Sequel That Never Came

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  By October 2014, Warner Bros. had announced a full slate of DC films and said a sequel to Man of Steel (2013) was in development, with Henry Cavill set to return. The first film had missed the studio's financial hopes, so Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) took priority. Director Zack Snyder later said he had considered the imprisoned Kryptonians and the villain Brainiac as antagonists. By August 2016 the sequel was a top priority, and Cavill's manager Dany Garcia confirmed it the following month. In November, Amy Adams said the studio was working on the screenplay.

  Matthew Vaughn was Warner Bros.'s top choice to direct by March 2017. He and comic writer Mark Millar had once pitched a Superman trilogy in which Krypton would not be destroyed until after the hero had grown up. Then came the troubled production of Justice League (2017). By the end of that year, the sequel was not coming "anytime soon, if at all". Producer Charles Roven said story ideas existed but no script did.

  In July 2018, before the release of Mission: Impossible - Fallout, director Christopher McQuarrie and Cavill pitched their own Superman film, partly inspired by the animated film Up (2009). Warner Bros. did not pursue it. Later that year the studio asked James Gunn to write and direct a Superman film. He had no clear vision, since Superman is far more familiar than the Guardians of the Galaxy characters he had adapted for Marvel. He chose The Suicide Squad (2021) instead, calling it "the easier path".

  In September 2018, talks for a Cavill cameo in Shazam! (2019) collapsed over contract issues and a scheduling conflict. In November 2019 Cavill said he had not given up on the character. Warner Bros. was by then unsure of its direction and was talking to high-profile names, including J. J. Abrams and Michael B. Jordan. Jordan pitched himself as a Black version of the hero. By May 2020 the Man of Steel sequel was no longer being developed. In February 2021, Ta-Nehisi Coates was revealed to be writing a new Superman film that Abrams would produce.

  In April 2022, Discovery, Inc. and WarnerMedia merged into Warner Bros. Discovery under CEO David Zaslav. Zaslav felt DC lacked a coherent creative and brand strategy and was underusing Superman. Around late August 2022, Gunn was hired to work on a Superman film that was not a sequel to Man of Steel. Cavill still appeared in the post-credits scene of Black Adam in October 2022, after Dwayne Johnson pushed for the cameo. Cavill then publicly promised a return, saying Superman would be "enormously joyful". A treatment by Steven Knight reportedly used Brainiac, but studio executives were not thrilled. Michael Bay was also eyed to direct.

  At the end of October 2022, Gunn and producer Peter Safran were named co-CEOs of DC Studios. Within a week they were sketching an eight-to-ten-year plan for the DCU, a soft reboot of the earlier shared universe. In December, Gunn announced he was writing a Superman film about a younger hero, which meant Cavill would not star. Gunn and Safran met Cavill in person to explain the decision and to raise the idea of a different role someday.

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• 3. Story And Sources

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  In January 2023, Gunn and Safran unveiled their first DCU projects, beginning with Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. Their Superman film led the chapter under the title Superman: Legacy. Safran wanted Gunn to direct. Writer Tom King said in March 2023 that Gunn would, and Gunn confirmed it later that month. The two men produced through the Safran Company and Troll Court Entertainment. Gunn hesitated until he saw how Superman's two sets of parents could shape the character: aristocratic Kryptonians on one side and adoptive farmers from Smallville, Kansas, on the other.

  The comic All-Star Superman (2005-2008), by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, was Gunn's named inspiration. He also drew on the Superman animated shorts of 1941-1943 and Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000). The comic list ran long: Superman: Birthright, the "Brainiac" story arc, Superman: Ending Battle, Superman for All Seasons, Kingdom Come, Morrison's Action Comics run and "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?". The Japanese kaiju film Godzilla Minus One (2023) shaped both the human feeling of the characters and the giant monster that attacks Metropolis. Gunn wanted to balance the classic and the completely new, mixing Silver Age imagery with sincere storytelling.

  The finished story opens with Superman stopping the nation of Boravia from invading its neighbor Jarhanpur. In Metropolis, a metahuman called the Hammer of Boravia defeats him, and he retreats to the Fortress of Solitude in Antarctica with the superpowered dog Krypto. A message from his birth parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, arrives damaged, so only its first half plays. Billionaire Lex Luthor unleashes a kaiju on Metropolis, and Superman fights it alongside the Justice Gang of Green Lantern, Mister Terrific and Hawkgirl. Mister Terrific kills the creature even though Superman wanted it alive.

  Luthor then broadcasts the message's second half, in which Superman's parents urge him to conquer Earth and take many wives to restore the Kryptonian race. Public opinion turns, and Superman surrenders to the U.S. government. He is handed to Luthor and held in an artificial pocket universe with the metahuman Metamorpho. Luthor forces Metamorpho to turn one of his hands into Kryptonite, and he murders a Superman supporter named Malik Ali. Metamorpho helps Superman escape. At the Kent farm, Jonathan Kent tells his son that his own choices define him, not a message from his birth parents.

  Luthor's girlfriend Eve Teschmacher, who is infatuated with the photographer Jimmy Olsen, supplies evidence that Luthor is helping Boravia in exchange for half of Jarhanpur's territory. Luthor lures Superman back by opening an unstable portal that splits Metropolis in half. Superman learns that the Hammer, Ultraman, is a clone of himself, and he knocks him into a black hole with Krypto's help. Luthor admits he staged the conflict out of envy of Superman's public admiration. Lois Lane and Jimmy expose the schemes, and Lois confesses that she loves Clark too. Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El arrives, drunk, to collect Krypto.

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• 4. Casting The Cape

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  By early May 2023, audition tapes for Superman, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor were arriving. Gunn started watching them that month and noticed David Corenswet in the film Pearl (2022). Corenswet had already voiced his wish to play Superman, and his audition was among the first Gunn saw. Gunn wanted "somebody who you want to give a hug". Jacob Elordi declined to read, and Tom Brittney and Andrew Richardson were considered. Patrick Schwarzenegger, Pierson Fodé and Jack Quaid, the voice of Superman in My Adventures with Superman, sent self-tapes. For Lois, Emma Mackey, Rachel Brosnahan, Samara Weaving and Phoebe Dynevor tested. Brosnahan recorded her tape with her husband Jason Ralph reading Superman's lines.

  Nicholas Hoult, runner-up for Batman in The Batman (2022), was eyed for Luthor. He chose to chase Superman instead, even though he felt he could play Luthor well. Gunn weighed A-list actors he already knew for Luthor and briefly discussed the part with Bradley Cooper. Brothers Alexander and Bill Skarsgård made the shortlist too.

  In mid-June 2023, in-person screen tests took place at the Warner Bros. Studios lot in Burbank, California. Hoult paired with Brosnahan, Brittney with Dynevor, and Corenswet with Mackey. The Superman contenders also tried on one of Cavill's old suits, which was in poor condition. Gunn said Brittney "messed it up" and that Corenswet, being too tall, left it "torn to shreds". Gunn edited the tests for a deciding committee that included Zaslav. The casting of Corenswet and Brosnahan was announced on the 27th of June 2023.

  Gunn offered Corenswet the role while he was filming Twisters (2024). His one condition was that Corenswet treat everyone on the film with kindness and respect, as Chris Pratt and John Cena had done on Gunn's projects. Hoult later accepted Luthor after realizing he was better suited to it. Corenswet and Brosnahan each earned $750,000, and Hoult, the highest paid actor, earned $2 million. Gunn himself received $15 million for the film, on top of his seven-figure DC Studios salary.

  On the 11th of July 2023, Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi and Nathan Fillion were announced as Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific and Green Lantern. Gathegi was chosen from over 200 actors. Anthony Carrigan was cast as Metamorpho the next day. The SAG-AFTRA strike began on the 14th of July, leaving little time to finish other deals. Gunn answered worries about a crowded cast by saying Superman and Lois remained the focus. At the end of January 2024, Milly Alcock was cast as Kara Zor-El, after screen tests in costume on the Atlanta set.

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• 5. Inside The Characters

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  Gunn described Corenswet's Superman as about 25 years old, more established than Tom Welling's Smallville version but younger than Cavill's. Peter Safran called the character "the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way" and "kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned". Corenswet borrowed the posture of Christopher Reeve. For Clark's quiet voice and manner he looked to his brother-in-law, a man weighing 270 pounds whom he called the "quietest, most wonderful man". Tom King helped Gunn explain why nobody spots Clark's identity. The answer was hypnotic glasses that subtly distort his appearance, an idea that had "kind of been forgotten" from the comics.

  Nicholas Hoult described his Luthor as obsessive, determined and relentless, and as a credible threat. He took the look of Luthor's uniform from Steve Jobs and the muscular build from All-Star Superman. His son Joaquin shaved his head. Gunn pointed to Brian Azzarello's limited series Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (2005) and to Jerry Siegel's "reckless scientific genius" version from the 1950s and 1960s. Rachel Brosnahan called Lois "fiercely intelligent" and spoke to several journalists to portray a modern reporter.

  Nathan Fillion modeled Green Lantern Guy Gardner on Sophia Petrillo from The Golden Girls (1985-1992), a character who says whatever she thinks. He also insisted on keeping Guy's "iconic bowl cut haircut" from the comics. Anthony Carrigan compared Metamorpho's worries about his body to his own alopecia, and noted that he had earlier played the Batman villain Victor Zsasz in Gotham. Edi Gathegi called Mister Terrific an "atheist who believes in justice". Isabela Merced did not tell the filmmakers that she had played Anya Corazón in Madame Web (2024), in case they objected. Wendell Pierce never read comics as a child, so he asked friends about Perry White, whose grumpiness comes from Luthor's affair with Perry's wife.

  Krypto was mostly built with visual effects, with the dog actor Jolene standing in on set. Gunn modeled him on his own dog Ozu, whom he called "problematic to say the least" at first. He recalled thinking "how difficult would life be if Ozu had superpowers?", and Krypto "changed the shape of the story". Luthor's creature Mister Handsome was, according to Gunn, made by Luthor when he was 12.

  Cooper voices Jor-El, and Alan Tudyk, Michael Rooker and Pom Klementieff voice Superman's robots. Sean Gunn appears as billionaire Maxwell Lord, John Cena cameos as Peacemaker, and Alcock appears as Supergirl. Will Reeve, son of Christopher Reeve, plays a news reporter. Michael Rosenbaum, who played Luthor in Smallville, voices one of Luthor's Raptor guards.

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• 6. Filming And Music

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  On the 29th of February 2024, which is Superman's birthday in the comics, principal photography began. The crew spent one week in the Adventdalen valley in Svalbard, Norway, filming the Fortress of Solitude scenes. Gunn picked it because its landscapes resemble Antarctica. The shoot ran under the working title Genesis. Henry Braham, who shot the later Guardians films and The Flash, returned as cinematographer. Every frame was captured with IMAX certified Red Digital Cinema cameras. Legacy Effects supplied practical work, including prosthetics, specialty suits and animatronics.

  Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted most of the work, which had begun by the 8th of March. Ohio was the second base. Filming in Cleveland and Cincinnati was scheduled for 37 days between the 1st of April and the 23rd of August. Ohio awarded over $11 million in tax credits, based on $37 million spent in the state. The state cited a reported gross budget of $363.8 million, which Gunn disputed. Later reports gave a net budget of $225 million after incentives and tax breaks.

  The Ohio shoot moved to Headlands Beach State Park in Mentor on the 14th of June. Cleveland filming began downtown on the 24th of June and used Public Square, the Detroit-Superior Bridge and Progressive Field. The Leader Building stood in for the Daily Planet, and Key Tower became the headquarters of Stagg Enterprises. In Cincinnati, the crew used the Cincinnati Museum Center in Union Terminal and the Lytle Tunnel. Filming wrapped on the 30th of July.

  Corenswet and Brosnahan shot a 12-minute interview scene in two days. Gunn said it amounted to ten percent of the film, and he called their chemistry "palpable". Their relationship drew on the 1940 film His Girl Friday, where the lovers are equal matches, plus the witty comedy of Preston Sturges. In post-production, Gunn announced picture lock on the 5th of June 2025. The film contains 1,766 visual effects shots from Framestore, Industrial Light & Magic and Wētā FX. Framestore built Krypto and shared him with the others. ILM built Metropolis using New York City as its reference. Wētā made the kaiju and a digital Cleveland Public Square for it to smash.

  John Murphy, who scored The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, composed the music. He used a new version of John Williams's "Superman March" from the 1978 film, which Gunn considered one of the greatest scores of all time. David Fleming later shared score credit. Unlike most Gunn films, this one has only two licensed songs: "Punkrocker" by Teddybears and Iggy Pop, and "5 Years Time" by Noah and the Whale. Gunn also wrote "The Mighty Crabjoys Theme" for the end credits with Eric Nally and Devin Williams of the band Foxy Shazam.

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• 7. Selling Superman

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  In January 2023, Gunn used the cover of All-Star Superman's first issue to announce the project. He posted the Superman logo on the first day of filming in February 2024, and commentators saw a resemblance to the Kingdom Come costume. A first-look image in early May 2024 showed Corenswet in costume, and the return of red briefs drew the most comment. In October 2024, Gunn shared the first image of Krypto in honor of "Adopt a Shelter Dog" month.

  A motion poster arrived on the 16th of December 2024, set to a slowed-down "Superman March" with an electric guitar opening. The teaser trailer followed on the 19th of December and drew over 250 million global views in 24 hours. That was the most for any DC or Warner Bros. trailer in that period. In February 2025, the film sponsored Puppy Bowl XXI and gave a "Krypto Super Play" award to one of the puppies. DC Studios hired Ricky Strauss to consult on marketing after Warner Bros. marketing chief Josh Goldstine left.

  The official trailer arrived on the 14th of May 2025, and the final trailer on the 11th of June. A tie-in comic with Milk-Bone dog biscuits, Superman: A Friendship Unleashed, paired Superman with Krypto. The first 30 minutes of the film were shown at CineEurope in Barcelona on the 17th of June, and in Manila two days later. That began the Superman World Tour across seven major international cities.

  On the 1st of July, an 11-foot Superman statue modeled on Corenswet was hung from the top of the Shard in London. It took four months to craft, and it urged passers-by to "Look Up". London also got 25 pop-up Daily Planet newsstands. Early-access screenings on the 8th of July with Fandango and Amazon Prime produced Fandango's best first-day presale of the year. The Lola Cars Formula E team ran a film-themed livery at the Berlin ePrix.

  The Hollywood Reporter put marketing at about $200 million, for a total near $400 million with production. Variety said marketing cost $125 million. Before release, Gunn said "Superman is the story of America" and "an immigrant that came from other places and populated the country", but chiefly a story about basic human kindness. Some Trump supporters and Fox News pundits attacked it as "Superwoke". Gunn replied that Superman is for "everyone" and that kindness is something everyone can relate to.

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• 8. Box Office And Verdict

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  Superman premiered at the TCL Chinese Theater on the 7th of July 2025. It opened internationally on the 9th and in the United States and China on the 11th, in formats including IMAX, Dolby Cinema and 4DX. Thursday previews took in $22.5 million, and the first day brought $56.5 million. The opening weekend reached $125 million, the biggest start for a standalone Superman film. A second-weekend drop of 54% beat Captain America: Brave New World at 68% and Thunderbolts* at 56%. Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian called that "indicative of a marketplace that's embracing the film".

  The final worldwide total was $618.7 million: $354.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $264.5 million elsewhere. That made it the tenth highest-grossing film of 2025 and the year's top superhero film. It was also the first DC film since The Dark Knight in 2008 to beat every Marvel release in a single year. Variety expected a theatrical profit of about $125 million. Abroad, the film debuted in fourth place in China. Consultant David A. Gross said Superman is "quintessentially American" and that America was not enjoying its greatest popularity in some regions.

  Critics found the film fun, colorful and earnest, with praise for Corenswet, Brosnahan and Hoult. CinemaScore audiences gave it an A-minus, and PostTrak respondents gave it an 86% positive score. IGN scored it 8/10, calling it "wonderfully entertaining and heartfelt". William Bibbiani of TheWrap wrote that Gunn "tried to make a great Superman movie" and "succeeded". Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it two stars, citing a "pointless, cluttered backstory". Empire's Sophie Butcher also gave it two stars, faulting a final act that "sinks into CGI chaos". Mark Kermode called it "messy" but "unexpectedly good fun". Some critics argued that the war between Boravia and Jarhanpur mirrors the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

  In January 2025, the estate of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster sued Warner Bros. Discovery, claiming distribution rights in some territories had reverted to it. The suit was dismissed in April for lack of jurisdiction. It was refiled in New York, and an injunction request was denied in early June. The film reached digital download on the 15th of August, HBO Max on the 19th of September and discs on the 23rd. It drew 13 million global viewers in its first ten days on HBO Max. A sequel, Man of Tomorrow, is scheduled for 2027, and HBO Max is developing a series that includes Skyler Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen.

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