5 Things We Know About Superman: Legacy And How They Could Change The DCU

Looking at the calendar so far, 2024 might as well be The Phantom Zone for comic book movies. Not only is Marvel Studios limiting itself to releasing only "Deadpool 3" this year, but DC is also slowing things down, making a single slot in the schedule for Joaquin Phoenix's return in "Joker: Folie à Deux." After that, 2025 will see Warner Bros. Discovery revive the world of DC heroes and villains at their disposal, with "Superman: Legacy" leading the way. 

James Gunn will direct the first chapter of the new DC Universe he'll be overseeing, and fans might be understandably nervous to see a brand new take on the Man of Steel following Henry Cavill's much-loved but massively underused iteration of the character in the DCEU. But thanks to some recent revelations, all signs suggest that this new story will give us The Last Son of Krypton we've been waiting for, with implications for the entire franchise.

Top-class casting names and promises of world-building are all well and good, but in a project like this, the little things could mean the most to the world's most famous superhero. There's plenty of evidence to assure us that Gunn's take on Kal-El will be a good one, but one thing that should put fans initially at ease more than anything is that the new Clark Kent sounds like he understands Superman just as much as the previous one did.

Twitter lost it after the first sighting of a broader, bigger David Corenswet, with fans theorizing that he was trying to reach Henry Cavill-like levels of bulk. However, it only takes flicking through a few pages of just about any Superman comic to know it takes more than muscles to fill the role. That's something Corenswet demonstrated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2019, long before he got the call: "I would love to see somebody do a really upbeat throwback," he said. "I love the Henry Cavill dark and gritty take. I would love to see the next one be very bright and optimistic."

Even then, he displayed an understanding of what he deemed "a classic American character." Dissecting DC's legendary hero, he said, "The cool thing about Superman is the thing that everybody says is the problem with the character, which is that he's invincible. That's the most interesting thing about him. What a difficult position for a person to be in." 

This is the kind of perspective fans should be satisfied with, and is reminiscent of Cavill's own view of the character. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2021, the then-Man of Steel said, "Superman is an ideal. Superman's an extraordinary thing that lives within our hearts." With that in mind, it sounds like Corenswet won't miss a beat.

David Corenswet might have the right look and mentality for Superman, but does he have the capability to laugh in the face of danger or at least crack a joke when the need arises? Thankfully, according to the new Lois Lane, Rachel Brosnahan, a sense of humor will accompany Kal-El's laser vision and super speed. "Every single person involved in this production is such a perfect nerd for Superman," Brosnahan told Variety. "So I feel like it's being made with so much love. And I think this Superman will have a sense of humor."

Admittedly, some fans still in Camp Cavill might say that isn't what Superman is about and that the kind of humor prevalent in every James Gunn film has no place in a "Superman" movie. However, that's what made Christopher Reeve's combination of bumbling reporter meshed with his charming champion of justice in Richard Donner's "Superman: The Movie" so enjoyable. It also proved that we don't always need a brooding Big Blue Boy Scout, especially in the fantastic world he's a part of.

Like it or not, the cinematic Justice League as we know it is over, and as far as we're aware, "Superman: Legacy" won't be introducing a new version, regardless of how many other heroes it's going to unveil. That's not a bad thing either, particularly given director James Gunn's view that "cameo porn" ruins superhero movies. But that begs the question of just how much screen time the other super-powered players confirmed for "Superman: Legacy" will get. 

The guest list is currently pretty jam-packed, with the film promising appearances from Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan). All of these crimefighters have, at some point or another, been inducted into the Justice League, with Metamorpho also being part of Mister Terrific's team, The Terrifics, who were introduced in 2018.

Going for lesser-known heroes and teams isn't out of the ordinary for Gunn. He's always looked beyond A-list characters and, in doing so, delivered some of his best work with likes of the "Peacemaker" show and his "Guardians of the Galaxy" films. Seeing an ensemble unknown to casual audiences, working in the same airspace as Superman, might be an interesting way to prove that all roads don't need to rush to the Hall of Justice, as much as we'd love them to. Let's see the Man of Steel work solo before he becomes a team player.

When it comes to James Gunn's Marvel Studios run with the Guardians of the Galaxy, the villains only got better. By "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," he'd perfected the nature of the bad guy with The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), dropping what might be one of the best comic book movie lines in history: "There is no God, that's why I stepped in." This feels like solid reassurance that the one thing possibly even more exciting than a new Superman is a new Lex Luthor facing off against him. 

It's unconfirmed how much Kal-El's longtime rival will be in "Superman: Legacy," but given the star bringing him to life, we hope to see a lot of him. Nicholas Hoult, who didn't quite make the cut for Superman himself, not to mention Batman, will instead become the iconic thorn in Clark Kent's side. Of course, comic book movie history shows that some of the most beloved entries have worked because the bad guy was so good, and Hoult, in collaboration with Gunn, could follow that trend. Having delivered loathsome characters in "The Great," "The Menu," and "The Favourite," and now working with the same writer that molded Ego (Kurt Russell) and The High Evolutionary, Hoult's new Mr. Luthor could be the best yet.

Before the Snyderverse/DCEU got lost in the different cuts and the Steppenwolfs that came with them, Zack Snyder was setting up a Superman that would give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. As far as we and Henry Cavill were aware, he was a good guy who had so much more potential. Sadly, that never truly came to fruition, but the new iteration could provide a closer representation of the great hero — with a bit of help from a top-tier comic book writer.

James Gunn has already assured fans that Tom King, the writer of "Superman: Up in the Sky" and "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" (on which the film of the same name will be based), is "integral" to the making of "Superman: Legacy." Breaking down King's involvement in the future of the DCU, Gunn said, "He's one of the first people I showed the Superman script to, asking for notes. He's included in various ways in numerous other projects, including WoT." 

King's inclusion is a great pick for Gunn and how he'll map out the DCU. We already know from massive emotional moments in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy that he can hit the heartstrings with all the force of a locomotive, but matched up with King's award-winning talent, they could bring one of the world's greatest superheroes back to his former filmic glory.