DC Studios co-head James Gunn is clarifying some more Superman: Legacy rumors. Back in October, it was announced that Gunn and Peter Safran would be steering the ship at DC Studios. That followed Henry Cavill returning to the role of Superman with a cameo in Black Adam, followed by an announcement from the actor that he'd be back as the Man of Steel in more upcoming movies. Controversy then ensued when Cavill revealed that his return as Superman wouldn't be moving forward after all, as Gunn and Safran had other plans in mind for that character in their new DCU.According to Gunn, rebooting Superman wasn't an idea that had popped into his head upon getting the DC Studios job in October. The filmmaker has confirmed that Superman: Legacy was a project that was already in the works, intended from the start to be totally separate from Zack Snyder's movies and the Cavill version of the character. Gunn cleared this up on Twitter in response to a fan asking about when Superman: Legacy had gotten started."I was hired to write Superman Legacy over six months ago," Gunn states.
James Gunn Says Henry Cavill Was Not Fired
This goes back to comments Gunn previously made in a THR interview. He claps back at critics who say that he and Safran had "fired" Cavill from his Superman role, arguing that the actor was never hired by them to begin with. If Superman: Legacy was already in the works long before Gunn knew about the Black Adam cameo, he's already gotten a vision formulated in his mind for what he wants his movie to be.
"We didn’t fire Henry. Henry was never cast," Gunn said. "For me, it’s about who do I want to cast as Superman and who do the filmmakers we have want to cast. And for me, for this story, it isn’t Henry.”
Gunn continued, “I like Henry, I think he’s a great guy. I think he’s getting d---ed around by a lot of people, including the former regime at this company. But this Superman is not Henry, for a number of reasons.”
No casting has yet been done for Superman: Legacy, but the film has been given a release date. It's scheduled to premiere in theaters on July 11, 2025.