Superman (2025 movie)

Superman is a 2025 American superhero movie based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It is the first movie of the DC Universe (DCU). It is written and directed by James Gunn.^[1][2] It stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Anthony Carrigan, María Gabriela de Faría, Sara Sampaio, Skyler Gisondo, Nicholas Hoult, Terence Rosemore, and Wendell Pierce. In the movie, Superman must prove to the world that he is their protector after billionaire Lex Luthor conducts a plan to turn public opinion against him.

Superman was released on July 11, 2025.

The movie explores Clark Kent / Superman's journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his adoptive human family in Smallville, Kansas.

• David Corenswet as Clark Kent / Superman: A Kryptonian survivor and a young journalist for the Daily Planet in Metropolis. Director James Gunn said the movie's version of Superman would be around 25 years old, making him more established than Tom Welling's version from the series Smallville (2001–2011) but younger than Henry Cavill's DC Extended Universe (DCEU) version. Producer Peter Safran described the film's version of Superman as "the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way; he's kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned".
• Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane: A reporter for the Daily Planet and a close colleague of Clark. Brosnahan described Lane as "fiercely intelligent" and feisty.
• Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl: A superhero with wings and various melee weapons. Merced's short 5 feet 1 inch (1.55 m) height differentiates her from other DCU heroes. Merced felt that her role as Anya Corazon / Araña in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) movie Madame Web (2024) helped prepare her to play Hawkgirl, though she did not tell the Superman filmmakers about that role in case they did not want her to play both.
• Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt / Mister Terrific: A superhero and inventor.
• Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner / Green Lantern: An abrasive galactic peacekeeper in the Green Lantern Corps. The film retains the character's "iconic bowl cut haircut" from the comics. Fillion previously portrayed Cory Pitzner / T.D.K. (The Detachable Kid) in Gunn's DCEU movie The Suicide Squad (2021).
• Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason / Metamorpho: An archaeologist and superhero who can "transmute elements in his body into various forms". Carrigan said it was refreshing to play a superhero after previously portraying the Batman villain Victor Zsasz in the television series Gotham (2014–2019). He felt that he could bring some "authenticity and truth" to the role by comparing Metamorpho's concerns about his abilities to Carrigan's own alopecia.
• María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica / The Engineer: A member of the Authority whose abilities come from nanotechnology built in her body.
• Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher: Lex Luthor's assistant and love interest.
• Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen: A boyish young photographer for the Daily Planet and a colleague of Clark.
• Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor: A businessman and the arch-nemesis of Superman. Hoult was inspired by Michael Rosenbaum's portrayal of Lex Luthor in the series Smallville, and chose to work out for the role based on the depiction of Luthor in the comic book All-Star Superman (2005–2008).
• Terence Rosemore as Otis: Luthor's henchman.
• Wendell Pierce as Perry White: The editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet. Pierce asked his friends for information on the character because he did not read comic books growing up.
• Pruitt Taylor Vince as Jonathan Kent: Clark's adoptive human father.
• Neva Howell as Martha Kent: Clark's adoptive human mother.
• Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard: A Daily Planet reporter.
• Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant: A Daily Planet columnist.
• Christopher McDonald as Ron Troupe: A Daily Planet reporter.

Additionally, Frank Grillo reprises his role as Rick Flag Sr. from the animated DCU series Creature Commandos (2024). Gunn's brother Sean is expected to appear as the businessman Maxwell Lord, as is Milly Alcock as Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El / Supergirl. ABC News correspondent Will Reeve, the son of former Superman actor Christopher Reeve, is set to make a cameo appearance in the movie as a news reporter.

The teaser trailer was released online in December 2024, and was viewed over 10 million times on YouTube during its first 10 hours. The trailer gained over 250 million views within its first 24 hours of release, with Gunn confirming that it was the most viewed and discussed DC and Warner Bros. trailer of all time.^[3]

In June 2025, Gunn said he had begun writing a follow-up to Superman that would not be a direct sequel to the movie, but would feature Superman as a character in a major role of the plot. Corenswet and Brosnahan had options contracts to play in a potential sequel to the movie, but following Superman's release in July, a direct sequel was not expected to be announced for the movie immediately. In August, Zaslav confirmed that Gunn was writing and directing the next film in the "Super-Family", which Gunn said he had finished writing a script treatment for. He described it as the next story in the "Superman Saga" and hoped to begin production of the movie soon. Gunn announced in September that the film was titled Man of Tomorrow and was scheduled for release on July 9, 2027. Corenswet and Hoult were expected to return to playing their roles. Gunn said he had finished a draft of the script, and filming was scheduled to start around April 2026. He said Man of Tomorrow was "as much a Lex movie as it is a Superman movie" and would include the pair working together against a bigger threat.

Also in July 2025, Gunn was reported to be considering the production of a spin-off television series based on supporting side characters from the film, such as Gathegi's character, Mister Terrific and Gisondo's character, Jimmy Olsen. Journalist Jeff Sneider reported that Gisondo was expected to star in a Jimmy Olsen series for the streaming service HBO Max, which would introduce the comic book villain Gorilla Grodd to the DCU.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Couch, Aaron (2022-12-15). "James Gunn Writing Superman Movie". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
2. ↑ Donnelly, Matt (2023-03-15). "James Gunn to Direct 'Superman: Legacy'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
3. ↑ "New 'Superman' Trailer Is Most Watched for Warner Bros., DC Comics Online". GV Wire. Retrieved December 26, 2024.

• Superman at IMDb