James Gunn’s Superman movie: release date, trailer, confirmed cast, plot synopsis, and more news on the first DCU Chapter One film

Get ready for the return of Superman, everyone. The Man of Steel’s next big-screen adventure will fly into theaters on July 11, 2025 – and, surprising no-one, it’s easily one of our most anticipated new movies of next year.

With Superman‘s first trailer debuting online recently, we suspect you’ve been searching for more details on the first movie that’ll arrive as part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted the DC Cinematic Universe (DCU). In this guide, you’ll find more news and rumors on the Gunn-directed flick, including the DCU Chapter One movie’s cast list, plot details, the aforementioned trailer, and how it may set up future DCU projects. Potentially spoilers follow for 2025’s Superman film, so proceed with caution.

Superman release date

Superman will break the sound barrier in theaters on July 11, 2025. Its official launch date was revealed in January 2023 when Gunn confirmed the DCU Chapter One’s full movie and TV show line-up.

With filming wrapping in July 2024, its post-production phase is in full swing. And, while its final cut hasn’t been sorted yet, Gunn told ComicBook.com that its current runtime is around two and a half hours.

Superman trailer

Superman‘s first trailer was released online on December 19, 2024 and, while it teased a ton despite its two-minute runtime, the teaser’s inclusion of Krypto the Superdog is the one thing we’ve obsessed over since it was unveiled.

The debuting of Superman’s official teaser wasn’t unexpected. Indeed, Gunn confirmed Superman‘s first footage would arrive on the previously mentioned date on December 16. Before its unveiling, we were treated to a 30-second teaser for Superman that made us believe that a man could really fly, too.

Superman cast: confirmed and rumored

Potential spoilers follow for 2025’s Superman film.

Here’s the confirmed cast for Superman so far:

• David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman
• Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane
• Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor
• Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern
• Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl
• Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt/Mister Terrific
• Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason/Metamorpho
• Maria Gabriela de Faria as Angela Spica/The Engineer
• Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher
• Pruitt Taylor Vince as Jonatan ‘Pa’ Kent
• Neva Howell as Martha ‘Ma’ Kent
• Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord
• Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen
• Wendell Pierce as Perry White
• Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard
• Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant
• Christopher McDonald as Ron Troupe
• Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr.
• Terence Rosemore as Otis

Corenswet (The Politician, Pearl) is the latest actor tasked with bringing Clark Kent/Krypton’s most famous son to life in a live-action project. Brosnahan (Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs Maisel) will play Kent’s perpetual love interest and fellow Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane.

Hoult (X-Men, Mad Max: Fury Road), who reportedly accepted the role of Lex Luthor in November 2023 before his casting was officially announced days later, will play Luthor, one of Superman’s most iconic adversaries. Despite Superman‘s first-look image teasing the potential appearance of another big villain, Gunn confirmed (via Threads) that Luthor will be the film’s big bad. He’ll be joined on antagonistic duties by Teschmacher (Sampaio), aka Luthor’s assistant and love interest in the comics, and a henchman named Otis (Rosemore).

Pierce (The Wire) has reportedly been cast as Perry White, the Daily Planet’s tough but fair editor-in-chief. Gisondo (Licorice Pizza) is on board as Jimmy Olsen, the Daily Planet’s photographer and friend to Kent and Lane. Bennett (Saturday Night Live), Hoover (Guardians 3), and McDonald (Happy Gilmore) round out the Daily Planet’s roster as self-serving sports reporter Lombard, gossip columnist Grant, and general journalist Troupe respectively.

Ordinarily a Wonder Woman villain, Maxwell Lord will also make a brief appearance, with Sean Gunn, James’ brother and frequent collaborator (he appeared in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and The Suicide Squad), playing him. Gunn’s Lord won’t be based on previous live-action iterations of the character (per The Wrap). Lastly on the non-superhero front, Vince (Stranger Things) and Howell (Logan Lucky) will play Clarke’s human adoptees in Jonathan and Martha Kent.

As for other superheroes who’ll appear in one of the DCU Chapter One’s most exciting movies, leaked images from one of the film’s outdoors sets showed us costumed versions of Corenswet’s Man of Steel and Gathegi’s Mister Terrific. The For All Mankind star portrays this wealthy scientist-turned-superhero who uses floating orbs – known as T-spheres – to imbue himself with superhuman abilities.

In July 2024, more leaked photographs revealed first looks at Hawkgirl and Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, who’ll be played by Merced (The Last of Us season 2) and Fillion (The Suicide Squad, Firefly). Hawkgirl is a Justice League of America member who’s a near-identical character to Black Adam‘s Hawkman. She can fly, uses various weapons, and comes equipped with the usual superhuman abilities. Meanwhile, Gardner is one of many individuals to assume the Green Lantern alias.

Elsewhere, Carrigan (Barry) is playing Metamorpho, an archaeologist who acquires superpowers that enable him to alter his body’s atoms to change shape and consistency, while De Faria (Deadly Class) is playing Spica/The Engineer, a member of The Authority. This DC Comics super team – one unafraid to resort to extreme measures to save the day – is getting a standalone movie, too, so expect Superman to set up some story strands for The Authority. Another Superman movie leak suggested Mr. Terrific would encounter Superman’s loyal canine friend in Krypto the Superdog, too. Krypto’s appearance in Superman has since been confirmed by the first trailer.

Superman film will feature other heroes/anti-heroes, too. More leaked snaps confirmed Grillo’s Flag Sr., who debuted in Creature Commandos, will feature, as could another famous Man of Steel villain, with some eagle-eyed viewers thinking either Ultraman or Bizarro is the individual escorting a handcuffed Supes in the video above.

As for other potential inclusions, Supergirl, who’ll be played by Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon), is rumored to make a brief cameo. She was one of two finalists Gunn was considering for Supergirl, aka Kara Zor-El, before her DCU casting was confirmed in late January. However, Gunn wrote (via Threads) that Supergirl isn’t in Superman, so this rumor might not be true.

One individual who is confirmed to cameo is no other than Will Reeve, the son of former Superman star Christopher Reeve, with DCU Film News claiming he’ll play a reporter. Finally, Alan Tudyk, who voiced Doctor Phosphorus and Clayface in Creature Commandos, is reportedly involved (so says Deadline, anyway). Could be play a live-action version of one of these caracters?

Superman story synopsis and rumors

Here’s the short story synopsis for Superman: “James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a SUPERMAN who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.”

Not much to go on, then, but we know it won’t be another film that tells the Man of Tomorrow’s origins story. Via Threads, Gunn said it’ll begin with Kal-El/Clark Kent already living on Earth, so we won’t be forced to sit through another take on his journey to our world, being adopted, growing up, etcetera.

When the flick’s director teased the DC superhero’s new suit in March, it all but confirmed that this film will be influenced by Mark Waid and Alex Ross’ Kingdom Come. A 1996 Elseworlds miniseries, the four-issue run showed a world-weary Kent come out of retirement (alongside other Justice League members) to put a bunch of new, morally complex, and violent superheroes in their place.

Superman won’t be a direct adaptation of these comics – indeed, in Kingdom Come, Kent is much older than Corenswet’s iteration, who’s reportedly in his mid-20s. Gunn’s movie isn’t expected to see Supes battle his fellow metahumans, either. Reddit users, though, seem to think we’ll get a reverse-engineered version of Kingdom Come‘s story, with Corenswet’s youthful and enthusiastic superpowered individual potentially helping some of Earth’s world-weary superumans to rediscover their sense of purpose.

Superman Soundtrack (2025) | Theme from Superman (Trailer Version) – John Murphy | WaterTower Music – YouTube

Watch On

Before Kent potentially embarks on a quest to re-energize his fellow heroes’ commitment to protecting Earth, he’ll need to deal with his own demons – chief among those being his sense of isolation.

To that end, Kent will spend time at his iconic Fortress of Solitude, with Norwegian outlet vg.no carried quotes from Gunn saying it’ll show Kent “fleeing” to his Arctic base at some point, which the trailer also teased. His personal arc will center on feelings of alienation, too, before he finds the courage to move past his trauma and sense of being an outcast – again, the first trailer plays this up, as there are various shots of humanity not taking too kindly to Supes’ presence.

Superman will also focus on Clark being employed as a roving Daily Planet reporter – Metropolis’ news outlet – too, which is where he works alongside Lois Lane and company. We’re unsure how much of Kent’s civilian life we’ll see, but the teaser made out that it’ll be a huge part of this film’s story.

Fans can also expect other Superman comics, themes, and imagery to be woven into the narrative. According to The Direct’s David Thompson, Corenswet said it’ll cherry pick elements from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Superman: For All Seasons miniseries, and Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, and Jamie Grant’s All-Star Superman comics. Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s Superman: The Warworld Saga, Tom King’s Superman: Up In The Sky, and the character’s Golden Age comics are all big influences, too (per Gunn on Threads). Richard Donner’s Christopher Reeve-starring Superman movies, particularly the first two, have also impacted its development, as evidenced by composer John Murphy’s retooling of those films’ instantly recognizable Man of Steel theme.

Where to watch every Superman movie to date

Want to know where to stream every live-action Superman movie (or films that he features in) to date? Read on to see where you can watch them:

• Superman (1978) – Max (US), Sky/Prime Video (UK), iView (Australia)
• Superman II (1981) – Max (US), Sky/Prime Video (UK), iView (Australia)
• Superman III (1983) – Max (US), Sky/Prime Video (UK), iView (Australia)
• Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987) – Max (US), Sky/Prime Video (UK), iView (Australia)
• Superman Returns (2006) – Max (US), Sky/Prime Video (UK), Binge/Prime Video (Australia)
• Man of Steel (2013) – Max (US), Sky/Prime Video (UK), Binge/Prime Video (Australia)
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) – Max (UK), Sky/Prime Video (UK), Binge/Prime Video (Australia)
• Justice League (2017) – Max/TNT (US), Sky/Prime Video (UK), Netflix/Binge/Prime Video (Australia)
• Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) – Max (US), Prime Video (UK), Binge/Prime Video (Australia)

How will Superman set up other DCU movies and TV shows?

We don’t know how Superman’s ending will set the stage for other DCU Chapter One projects, but it’ll act as a jumping-off point for four of them: Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, The Authority, Lanterns, and Peacemaker season 2.

The first of that quartet will be inspired by Tom King’s comic book series of the same name. In November 2023, a bunch of new Supergirl movie updates were revealed, including confirmation that Ana Nogueira is penning its script and Krypto would appear. If Kara shows up in Superman, her cameo may lay the foundations for her first standalone film since 1984’s Supergirl, which starred Helen Slater.

As for The Authority, very little is known about it. De Faria’s The Engineer should show up, so she’ll be the connective tissue between her team’s first big-screen team-up and Superman. Matthew Vaughn (Argylle, Kick-Ass) has tentatively been linked as its director.

On the TV front, one show that Superman might impact is Lanterns, an HBO series that’s been described as a superhero version of True Detective. Its chief creative team was revealed in May 2024, with King, Damon Lindelof (Watchmen, Lost), and Chris Mundy (Ozark) leading the charge. Then, in October, Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler were confirmed as its two leads in John Stewart and Hal Jordan. Gunn suggested (via Threads) that Fillion’s Gardner willalso appear, so it’s plausible Superman will act as a precursor to this show’s story.

Lastly, Peacemaker‘s sophomore season includes Grillo’s Flag Sr. as a major character. Given he’ll show up in Supes’ latest feature film, this DCU project will inform what happens in that TV show, as Gunn confirmed to ComicBook.com.

For more DC-based coverage, find out how to watch the DC movies in order. Alternatively, get the lowdown on the best Batman movies, see which DCEU films made it onto our best Max movies list, or learn more about The Batman Part II, which sits independent of the DCU.