How Old Every Superman Is In Every DC Movie

It can be difficult to tell how old Superman is in the movies he’s been featured in over the years. Superman has many unique powers, including a much slower aging process. This superpower causes him to look around the same age in every film. Despite his youthful appearance, the movies have featured the Man of Steel at different points in his extended life. The James Gunn DCU movie Superman: Legacy reports making the DC hero younger than any movie to date, but this doesn’t mean much for the appearance of the already youthful hero.

Christopher Reeve took on the decisive role and made it his own. He had the perfect look as if he was straight out of the comics, starring in four Superman movies before stepping down. In 2006, Brandon Routh became Superman in Superman Returns before the DCEU live-action Superman emerged when Henry Cavill stepped into the role. In most DC movies, Superman is around his mid-20s or 30s. So far, it appears that Superman has never reached 40 on the big screen. Here are the different ages Superman has been in all of his DC films.

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Superman

In the 1978 film, Superman as played by Christopher Reeve begins his journey on the planet Earth. He lands in Smallville as a child and is named Clark Kent by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who went on to become his adoptive parents. At age 18, Clark received a psychic call to the Arctic, where he built the Fortress of Solitude. In the Fortress, he receives a message from his father about who he is and where he comes from. After this, he trains for 12 years, making Christopher Reeve’s Superman 30 when he finally becomes a hero.

Superman II

Superman II was released in 1981, making it three years after Superman. In the film, Lois Lane and Clark Kent are able to connect while working on a project together with the Daily Planet. There is no specific time jump mentioned in the film. It can be assumed that Superman II takes place shortly after the events of the first film. That would make Superman in his early 30s in this film — most likely 33.

Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

In the final two Reeve-era Superman movies, Superman’s age becomes a bit blurry. Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace are the last two Superman movies featuring Christopher Reeve in the lead role. These movies are often overlooked, considering that Superman Returns is meant to be a sequel to the first and second movies, completely ignoring these. The two films also don’t outline a specific time jump or a time period they take place in. It can be assumed that Superman is still in his early to mid-30s in both of these.

Superman Returns

Superman Returns was released in 2006 and starred Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel. In this film, Superman has been missing for approximately five years while looking for the remains of Krypton. Before he went missing, he began working at the Daily Planet as a journalist in his early 30s. By the time he comes back, Lois Lane is a mother to Jason, who is around 5 years old. It is later determined that Jason is actually Clark Kent’s son. Based on the number of years he was missing from society, this would leave Superman around his late 30s in this film. He still appears young in age though, due to his slowed-down aging.

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Man of Steel

Man of Steel was Henry Cavill’s first film as Superman. It was the first to cover Superman’s origin story since the original 1978 Christopher Reeve Superman. Since Man of Steel reestablished Superman’s origins and his background, it rebooted the story from Superman Returns. It represents the beginning of a new era for Superman in the DC Extended Universe. It’s been confirmed and generally accepted that in Man of Steel, Superman is around 33 years old, which is near the same age he was in Superman II.

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice

In the superhero mega-battle film Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, two of DC’s strongest heroes go head-to-head. The 2015 film begins directly after the events of Man of Steel. The rest of the film, however, takes place about 18 months after everything that happened in the previous film. If Superman was in his early thirties in Man of Steel, this would make him around 34 or 35.

Justice League: The Snyder Cut

Justice League was released in 2017, bringing together all of DC’s finest heroes. The director’s cut of the movie, known as the Snyder Cut, included tons of extra footage. One of the differences in the Snyder Cut of Justice League is that Superman gets more screen time. Superman is resurrected from his sacrifice at the end of Dawn of Justice, where he was dormant for several years. Due to the time gap, Superman is about 37 years in Justice League.

How Old Will Superman Be In Superman: Legacy?

With James Gunn writing and possibly directing Superman: Legacy, it will be time for audiences to meet yet another Superman actor. The big question with the DCU reset was whether Henry Cavill would return, especially after his Black Adam post-credits scene came. It’s now been established that Gunn and Safran’s DCU will have not just a new Superman, but will start the story much earlier in Clark’s journey. The first movie in the Gods and Monsters chapter of the DCU will see what Gunn refers to as a much younger Superman than people are used to.

Related: Every Superman Movie & TV Show In Development

While TV shows like Smallville showed a teenage Clark Kent, this movie will show Superman after he left Smallville and took on his role as a hero. From the announcement by Gunn, it appears that Superman will be around 25 in the new movie. This is still entirely speculative though — the only thing that’s known is that the era of Superman being in his 30s when he makes big-screen appearances is well and truly over.

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