DC Studios' James Gunn Debunks Controversial Superman Movie Plot Rumor

Just as a handful of big names have started tumbling out of "Superman: Legacy," so too have rumors and rumblings of plot details that are absolutely not happening. One supposed scoop that was doing the rounds recently involved Superman (David Corenswet) taking on a terrorist threat in the Middle East, with the Man of Steel supposedly hoping to apply a specific tactic that doesn't sit right with other heroes of the brand-spanking-new DC universe. Well, thankfully, because James Gunn is James Gunn, he wasted no time quashing this dinky plot detail when a fan asked him directly on social media.

After Gunn posted a photo of his production office with a wall covered in red, blue, and that signature S symbol, a fan asked him to provide some clarification. Instagram user @Owenjgordon asked the director of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy, "Please tell us the 'terrorist threat in the Middle East' storyline rumour isn't true." 

Never one to beat around the bush, Gunn replied, saying, "It isn't true." Well, that's the end of that, then. But with one story detail swept from the board, what other information could be left out there that might actually hold some truth? While some regular big-screen adversaries might appear opposite Kal-El (including Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor), one interesting movie news morsel suggests that one of Superman's longest-running foes might finally be debuting for a big-screen standoff.

Gunn may have killed the rumor regarding Superman heading to the Middle East, but one detail that hasn't been shut down yet involves Brainiac, Superman's longtime foe. Debuting in Action Comics #242 in 1958, this super-intelligent baddie who's all for bottling cities is one whom fans have been itching to see arrive in theatres, but for some reason, he's never made the cut. Fans have even made their dream picks for the role, with Giancarlo Esposito being a firm favorite. That might be about to change thanks to some careful surveillance of DC's social accounts that might have involved a slip-up.

On the official Superman X account, a trifecta of reading material was listed as inspiration for the upcoming film, one of which was the Geoff Johns and Gary Frank story "Superman: Brainiac," which saw Clark go up against the super-smart cyborg only to suffer a significant loss in the process. We can see what kind of threat the all-new Superman will face when he takes to the sky in "Superman: Legacy" on July 11, 2025.