James Gunn's Superman Coming In 2025

[Laser_Man]

Huge pressure on Gunn/Superman after the underwhelming suit reveal. Good analysis. I disagree that to be a success Superman needs to breakeven/make 600 million. I think it has to do MOS numbers, 660 - 670 million, which would give it a small profit as MOS had. Agree it has to be a critical hit with audiences.

Huge pressure on Gunn & Superman

There is absolutely zero chance it crosses 600 million.

Man of Steel did those numbers when superhero genre was just starting to blossom in movies, just one year after The Avengers. DC was a mostly untainted brand and Nolan's name being attached to MoS made people believe it will be of the same quality as the Dark Knight trilogy. Plus, the whole "Superman is boring when he is good" cliche had not set in completely.

Now DC's brand is in the gutter, superhero movie fatigue is real and Superman has been established as a character who is at his best when he is the bad guy, thanks to superhero media in last 10 years focusing on this trope.

I think the best hope is for Superman to do Aquaman 2 numbers.

[Vordan]

Did wonders for Sears, aren’t they completely under now? lol.

To quote one of the best movie promo ads ever, “you must choose, but choose wisely.”

It wouldn't be a true Superman movie without Clark destroying product placements around.

Yeah it didn’t help Sears at all lol. It will help balance the budget which increases the movie’s odds of success so as long as it isn’t too over the top, I’m not worried. I just pray they don’t do this again.



Let’s not outright use Supes as a recruiting tool again.

[Jeffrey2]

There is absolutely zero chance it crosses 600 million.

Man of Steel did those numbers when superhero genre was just starting to blossom in movies, just one year after The Avengers. DC was a mostly untainted brand and Nolan's name being attached to MoS made people believe it will be of the same quality as the Dark Knight trilogy. Plus, the whole "Superman is boring when he is good" cliche had not set in completely.

Now DC's brand is in the gutter, superhero movie fatigue is real and Superman has been established as a character who is at his best when he is the bad guy, thanks to superhero media in last 10 years focusing on this trope.

I think the best hope is for Superman to do Aquaman 2 numbers.

I see it doing 500 - 600 million if they can turn around the bad PR. The teaser trailer and next photo need to nail it, or the film could be DOA. The real test for the DCU will be the other projects like CC, Waller, S:WOT and such that are done or in production by the time Superman comes out. WBD can discount Superman if S:WOT pulls a WW and Creature Commandoes, Booter Gold are hits.

Speaking of S:WOT let's hope the backlash to Corenswet's suit causes the Supergirl suit to not have any similarities but for the shield. All the lines and padding that make Corenswet's suit look armored/military inspired - Supergirl doesn't need a suit of armor.

[DochaDocha]

We’re probably in for a repeat of the Sears/IHOP type advertising that was in MoS (I didn’t mind).

Never noticed the "Smallville, Kansas" sign.

Talk about being on the nose. I'm trying to recall back to days when Sears was relevant and if any storefront went out of its way to tell its in-person customers what city they were shopping in.

Anyway, who didn't come out of the first Superman movie wanting to eat Cheerios, drink Coke, and smoke some Marlboros?

[Vordan]

Scott Snyder shared a bit about his experience visiting the set:

So Metropolis. So DC was kind enough to invite me and some other creators, some legends like John Ostrander and Dan Jurgens, Kevin Maguire, and then some people like me and Josh Williamson and Jason Aaron, down to Georgia where they're filming Superman.

And of course, I couldn't say no. I was very excited to go. And they invited us down there to see some of the filming and to meet everybody and to hear our thoughts on it, which was was kind of unbelievable. So I flew down, met everybody at the hotel. The hotel had like, DC books all over the place. It was awesome. And it's this whole sort of soundstage set up almost in the middle of rural Georgia. It just pops up out of nowhere, these 30 big soundstages, and it's awesome. There's this whole little town built up around it and we got to go on the set. I've never been on a movie set in earnest before. And as soon as we got there, David came out dressed as Superman in the full suit to say hello and fist bumped us. And it was honestly one of those thrilling moments that you get chills where I had no idea we were actually going to get to meet them and meet them in costume. And then Nick came out in Lex dress and was like, “What are you guys, none of you wearing LexCorp shirts?” because we were all wearing Superman shirts given to us by DC. And it was very, very funny. And they were both incredibly kind and said very nice things about the comics and about DC and all of it. And James Gunn came out and was just the biggest fan of comic books from go. You could see he took time just to talk to John Ostrander, which was so nice, and to pull him aside and talk to him about the creation of Mr. Terrific, because it was the anniversary of Mr. Terrific.

A couple other legendary, amazing creators that were there, Frank Quitely, Jerry Ordway. It was just such a good time. We all got along great. We got to see a scene being filmed that involves Superman and Lex that was awesome and it had stunts. And then we got to see some of the conceptual material and it was just fantastic. And the thing I can say without giving anything away or without any spoilers is everybody involved in this is a true fan of Superman, of the legacy of the character, and of the comics in a really big way.

Over the years, my experience with DC and movies has been interesting. I think I told you, but when I started at DC, Warner Brothers wasn't really a parent company of ours. And then when that happened, there was a lot of excitement and turmoil as DC got moved out to the West Coast. And there was always this question of what the integration would be, whether or not people working in comics would get to be a part of the TV shows and film. And largely, that wasn't the case. And not blaming anybody or putting that on anyone and those things take time, but one thing that was always clear was that the actors and the creators and a lot of the people working on the films were really big comic fans.

But the thing I'm getting at is that there wasn't the same level of integration in terms of the creative process that seems to be going on now where it's not like we're giving notes or we're talking to them about what they should or shouldn't do. But they did ask our opinion and it was fun and they showed us everything they're doing while it's being made, which has never happened before. But I think the thing is, over the years, the studio and the comic book publisher have always been somewhat separated. And it's not like they're completely integrated now, but there's a transparency and a relationship and an enthusiasm above all for both sides, both entities to talk to each other and be in communication and it's a wonderful thing to see. And I honestly believe with my entire heart that Superman and the entire DCU are in fantastic hands with James and with all of his team. Again, everyone there couldn't have been nicer, couldn't have been more enthusiastic, they were all well read about comics as well, all of it And on top of that, it was really nice to see how happy everybody was on set. Just a big nod to James Gunn and the way he runs a set, because everybody there seemed happy and excited to be a part of the production.

And so, yeah, and it was great hanging out with Josh and James and getting to really talk to Frank Quitely, who I've met before, but haven't really had a chance to just connect with. And talking about what we love about Superman, but also just getting to know each other better as friends, all of us, and just hanging out in this strange place and getting to catch up. And it was a wonderful, wonderful experience.

I'm very grateful to DC and very, very grateful to James Gunn and everybody at the studio for inviting us down. It was a special thing. And the last thing I'll say, too, is you see, though, their commitment to comics just by the fact that they have great comic writers like Tom King in the think tank, in the writers rooms, in the conversation about what things to do with with characters. You see them adapting stuff like Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (fantastic read). So, again, the feeling right now is really positive. And that's not me blowing smoke. That's not me trying to be a kiss up or any of that stuff, because I have no ambitions in that realm. Like, I love being involved as much as anyone wants to involve me. And yet at the same time, I'm really happy doing comics and animation and that.

So what I'm trying to say is it was the best feeling I've ever had in terms of the way DC is operating as a whole entity, both film and comics. And I give a lot of credit, again, to James Gunn and to Jim Lee and everybody that has melded those two things in a nice way.

[Jeffrey2]

Yikes, so Superman is the proverbial sacrificial lamb in this DCU? They seem interested in everything else but Superman in the movie.

I don't want the movie to stop for 5 minutes in the middle for Superman to tell me what soda to drink.

It seems like Superman will be a plot point in Gunn's film as he was in BvS. Rumors are JLI is being done and not JL, Superman has characters that would be part of that JLI. Same for The Authority. Add in the sloppiness of the first Superman/Corenswet reveal, and it tells me Superman is not the focus of the project as in telling a good Superman tale and relaunching the franchise but rather the goal is to set up Gunn's DCU focused on DC second tier characters.

To be a contrarian, WBD and Gunn are looking to the big 3 going public in a few years and so their effort is to create "new diamonds" to replace IPs which go public. Gunn being into secondary characters and DC having a huge library of character only a small fraction of whom have been on TV or in films are a perfect match. Or so some would say. I believe the idea behind the Absolute comic event is to create new versions of key characters like Superman which WBD will have full control of as the original IPs start to go public. My guess is Gunn and WBD do not have plans for more Superman after the first film other than a cameo in S:WOT. It is looking like WW may not get a DCU film at all - certainly not in Chapter 1. And though Brave and Bold was just said to be in development my bet is it doesn't happen and Gunn instead does a Nightwing film. JL? More like JLI.

[The Frog Bros]

It wouldn't be a true Superman movie without Clark destroying product placements around.

lol, the Marlboro truck scene has got to be the best (and weirdly funniest) product placement ever.

Yeah it didn’t help Sears at all lol. It will help balance the budget which increases the movie’s odds of success so as long as it isn’t too over the top, I’m not worried. I just pray they don’t do this again.Let’s not outright use Supes as a recruiting tool again.

I had not seen that recruitment image before. Yeah let's not do that again please.

Never noticed the "Smallville, Kansas" sign.

Talk about being on the nose. I'm trying to recall back to days when Sears was relevant and if any storefront went out of its way to tell its in-person customers what city they were shopping in.

Anyway, who didn't come out of the first Superman movie wanting to eat Cheerios, drink Coke, and smoke some Marlboros?

Gotta be Marlboro reds too, lol.

Scott Snyder shared a bit about his experience visiting the set:

Cool write-up by Snyder. Sounds like it was a really fun thing for all those invited and involved. Wonder if they discussed product placement...

[Jeffrey2]

Superman being filmed in IMAX

IMAX is going big for 2025, unveiling on Thursday that it will release at least 14 titles in its “filmed for Imax” slate, features shot on Imax film or Imax-certified cameras, more than double that of any previous year.

Among the highlights going out on the wide-screen format will be Disney’s Captain America: Brave New World, The Fantastic Four, and Tron: Ares; Warner Bros.’ still-untitled Ryan Coogler/Michael B. Jordan feature and its DC release Superman; Paramount’s Mission: Impossible 8; and Universal’s How to Train Your Dragon. (See full slate with release dates below).