James Gunn Most ‘Likely’ to Direct ‘Superman: Legacy’

James Gunn will most “likely” end up directing Superman: Legacy, according to a report from Hollywood Reporter’s Heatvision blog.

In Friday’s newsletter, Borys Kit wrote that after writing the animated Creature Commandos, Gunn is “is writing Superman: Legacy, which he’ll likely direct.“

Could Gunn currently be working out his deal to direct? Possibly, although it hasn’t been reported. Gunn is first and foremost a filmmaker and tends to end up directing most of the projects he writes. Why wouldn’t he direct the project?

The Superman movie, which is being written by DC Studios co-head James Gunn and features the subtitle “Legacy,” has been slated for July 11, 2025. The movie revolves around the Man of Steel as he balances “his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing” and his “embodiment of truth, justice and the American way and kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned.” Henry Cavill is not returning as Superman, as the role is being recast with a younger actor.

With the movie focusing on a young version of Superman, Gunn explained his decision to recast Henry Cavill during the DC Universe slate presentation in Burbank, California.

“First of all, we didn’t fire Henry,” Gunn said during the DC Studios event. “Henry was never cast. Henry was in a cameo and that was the end of his story. A lot of people made assumptions out of that that weren’t necessarily true. But for me, it’s about who I want to cast as Superman and who does the filmmaker who is making a movie want to cast. For me, for this story, it isn’t Henry. I like Henry. He’s a great guy. I think he’s gotten getting di—d around by a lot of people, including former regimes at this company. This Superman is not Henry… for a number of reasons.”

Gunn most recently conducted a fun poll of whether Superman should have trunks or not.

In the same newsletter, Kit revealed that Gunn has his own creative committee of sorts and has “assembled and led a writers room/brain trust (that consisted of Drew Goddard, Jeremy Slater, Christina Hodson, Crystal Henry and comics writer Tom King ) to map out an overall story for their universe that will play out over the next few years as we see the kinds of filmmakers and showrunners DC attracts and how they all work together.”

Lastly, Kit also revealed that Gunn’s comments during the presentation might have ticked of Warner Bros. Discovery execs.

Kit wrote: “Some of their comments were not exactly tactful (the “previous regime” is actually some of the same people who are currently in charge of Warner Bros.!) and there’s been quite a few ruffled feathers, from what we’ve been told.”

In addition to James Gunn’s Superman reboot, Warner Bros. Discovery has also tapped Ta-Nehisi Coates to write a separate project focusing on the DC Comics hero. The Coates movie, which is still in development, is expected to feature a Black Superman and will be part of the DCU: Elseworlds imprint should the project move forward.

The future of the DC Universe

James Gunn and Peter Safran told journalists that their vision for the DC Universe includes locked scripts, wiggle room and a unified storyline across film, television, animation and video game projects. The two explained that the DC Universe could bring back elements from previous DC regimes, meaning that their eight-to-year plan is not a full reboot.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom are currently in various stages of post-production at Warner Bros. Discovery, with all four DC Universe movies slated to hit theaters in 2023. Will the characters from those movies make appearances in the new DCU? Only Gunn and Safran know.