James Gunn Says Superman Is His ‘Biggest Priority’

Superman is the original superhero. (Where do you think the name superhero came from?) And in addition to being the most famous and recognizable DC Comics character, he’s often been their biggest crossover movie star. The Christopher Reeve Superman franchise was a massive moneymaker all through the 1970s and ’80s.

But in the last couple decades, the Superman franchise has had a series of fits and starts, from the disappointing Superman Returns to the strange trajectory of the Man of Steel franchise. It’s not clear at this moment when there will be another Superman movie, who will star as the title character.

But James Gunn, the new co-CEO of DC Studios, wants fans to know that Superman is definitely coming back to theaters in the future. After tweeting about the anniversary of the original Christopher Reeve Superman, Gunn responded to a fan question about if we are going to see another movie Superman with “Yes of course. Superman is a huge priority, if not the biggest priority.”

Of course, the question has never been if we’ll see a new Superman movie, though, it’s when and who? The most recent movie Man of Steel, Henry Cavill, was seemingly given his walking papers after Justice League, but recently made a surprise return in a post-credits cameo in Black Adam. That appeared to set up Cavill for a new Superman film, and Cavill himself publicly announced he was “officially” back as the character. Then last week reports surfaced that any such movie may have already been called off by Gunn and the new team in charge of DC Studios.

That’s led to some fans speculating that Gunn doesn’t like Cavill, or his version of Superman. To which Gunn also tweeted that any such rumor is “false.”

Prior to Gunn’s arrival at DC Studios, there was supposedly another Superman movie in the works from J.J. Abrams and Ta-Nehisi Coates that would have focused on a Black Superman. We’ll have to wait and see whether the next Superman we see is that one, or Cavill’s, or both, or neither.

The next DC movie, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, is scheduled to open in theaters on March 17, 2023.