James Gunn's Superman Movie Costume & A New Villain, Revealed
James Gunn knows there's a lot riding on his new Superman movie, and he's doing a bang-up job building up hype for the film ahead of its theatrical release. On Threads, the filmmaker uploaded the first photo of David Corenswet in his full Man of Steel outfit while confirming the film's release date of July 11, 2025. Gunn followed it up by stating, "The above photo was taken on set by Jess Miglio and was entirely in-camera." With that in mind, before getting into what new villain might be in the background, let's take a gander at Corenswet's costume.
The costume's chest area looks burned, meaning Superman may have already battled a nefarious entity. The character's signature "S" emblem, which is on full display, clearly draws influence from the hero's "Kingdom Come" design, which was designed by iconic comic book artist Alex Ross. Isabela Merced, who plays Hawkgirl in 2025's "Superman," already teased the design in an Instagram post, leading some fans to wonder if Superman will have a similar personality to that storyline. Finally, and perhaps most importantly for some fans, Gunn's Superman will indeed sport a pair of nifty red trunks.
The "S" design and red trunks alone are enough to differentiate the costume from the one worn by Henry Cavill in the previous cinematic iteration of the character, even if some fans have already confused Corenswet with Cavill. But the new threads aren't the only piece of information to glean from the image. A pink blast seems to be coming out of a giant sphere in the sky behind the Man of Steel, which could be Solaris, a sentient artificial sun that appeared in "All-Star Superman" by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.
Does James Gunn's Superman have Solaris ... or Brainiac?
James Gunn has previously hinted that "All-Star Superman" serves as an influence on his upcoming Superman film, meaning an appearance by Solaris isn't out of the question. Even if Solaris isn't the main villain, it's possible the sun (or something akin to it) might factor into part of the movie, perhaps serving as a threat toward the beginning that's replaced with something even bigger later on. Nicholas Hoult plays Lex Luthor, who's bound to cause some serious trouble for the Man of Steel, but fans can't help but speculate what other villains may factor into this story that Gunn wants to remain hidden for the time being.
It's also possible that the sphere may not be Solaris at all. It may somehow be related to Brainiac, another powerful adversary fans have speculated might finally get a big-screen debut. For starters, the sphere in the image Gunn posted doesn't really look like a sun. It seems to be more metallic, with pink lines running through it, similar to the hue of the blast it appears to be emitting. Though he's green, Brainiac often incorporates pink into his designs, so perhaps this is a vessel of some kind that's transported Brainiac to Earth.
It's hard to tell if the sphere is blasting the ray (although the pink in its design suggests that's the case) or if something else is attacking the sphere. Regardless of what exactly is going on in the background, it's a cool image, made all the cooler by showing Superman in a moment that focuses so much on the "man" rather than the "super," putting his boots on one at a time just like the rest of us.