James Gunn has hinted the next Superman movie may involve a team-up few would have expected!
Superman has more than lived up to the expectations of fans and Warner Bros. The kickoff to the new James Gunn-helmed DC Universe raked in over $600 million at the box office and hailed by both critics and fans as a return to form for the Man of Steel.
To no surprise, a sequel is underway already, with Gunn revealing the title as Man of Tomorrow. This is interesting given next year has Supergirl with Milly Alcock reprising her role from Superman as his super-powered cousin.
There’s little known about the sequel, with rumors of anything from Brainiac as the villain to Jason Moama playing intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo. However, Gunn has just dropped some hints that indicate this movie will have a very intriguing team-up!
Superman sequel could provide us with an unlikely team-up
Speaking to Howard Stern, James Gunn expanded as much as he could on what fans can expect from the Superman sequel, reiterating that it currently has a planned July 9, 2027 release date. He also hinted the plotline will be Superman (David Corenswet) and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) actually becoming unlikely allies.
“We released the fact that we’re coming out with Man of Tomorrow last week; it’s going to be out in two years in theaters, on July 9th of 2027, which is relatively a short time between sequels because we knew immediately where we were going. And it is a story about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together to a certain degree against a much, much bigger threat. And it’s more complicated than that, but that’s a big part of it."
As for what we can expect from Lex Luthor in the potential team-up movie, Gunn says that Man of Tomorrow will be as much of a Lex movie as it will be a Superman one. And considering that Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor was one of the main characters in Superman, the prospect of him having an even greater role in this upcoming sequel is very exciting. Gunn spoke fondly of Hoult's Lex when teasing the film, saying:
"It’s as much a Lex movie as it is a Superman movie. I loved working with Nick Hoult, who played Lex; I relate to the character of Lex Luthor, sadly, so I really wanted to create something extraordinary with the two of them. Oh man, I just love the script so much; I’m excited for people to see the movie.”
The idea of Superman and Luthor teaming up has been played with before in the comics. Indeed, at one point, Lex was even briefly a member of the Justice League, albeit on rough terms. As much as he hates Superman, Luthor doesn’t want to see Earth destroyed, so he is, on occasion, willing to swallow his ego and work with the Man of Steel against a larger threat.
Just what that threat is remains secret. The obvious idea is Brainiac, the longtime alien conqueror enemy of Superman invading Earth. There are also threats like warlord Mongul or perhaps even Darkseid that could serve as fitting antagonists for a movie like this one. Either way, seeing Gunn’s versions of Superman and Luthor as reluctant allies promises the sequel will be even bigger and better.
With that planned release date, it looks like production is going to start as soon as possible. That makes sense with how huge the first film was and it's clear that Gunn, DC Studios and Warner Bros are striking while the iron is hot. Whatever threat this is, seeing Superman and his arch-nemesis as allies makes Man of Tomorrow an even bigger deal for fans.
Superman is now in theaters. It can also be purchased to watch at home via PVOD services.