Action Comics #1 in 1938 saw the debut of Superman, and with that, the modern idea of the superhero was born. The character has been an institution, an icon known the world over. Like his comic book debut, Superman: The Movie in 1978 was the first big-budget attempt at a comic book film and set the template for superhero movies going forward.
After the franchise died down in 1987 with the release of the critical and box office disaster of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, various attempts were made to restart the franchise including a failed attempt from director Tim Burton, writer Kevin Smith, and star Nicolas Cage. In 2006, Superman Returns hit the big screen but failed to live up to expectations, and another attempt to relaunch the series was released with 2013's Man of Steel, which also kicked off the DCU movies.
However, a direct Man of Steel sequel was scrapped in favor of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and after 2017's Justice League the character has not been seen in the film apart from a faceless cameo in Shazam! and animated appearances in Teen Titans Go! To The Movies.
Update February 3rd, 2023: This article has been updated following all the recent news regarding the DCU, including Henry Cavill no longer being cast as Superman and the recent news of James Gunn's plans for the franchise including the title and release date for Superman: Legacy.
Now Warner Bros. is moving forward with a new reboot of the Superman franchise. As part of James Gunn's plans for the DCU titled Chapter 1 "Gods and Monsters", the franchise will introduce a new Superman with a new actor replacing Henry Cavill. The film is titled Superman: Legacy and is tentatively set for release on July 11, 2025. While not much is known about the film it is said it will focus on Superman that is about 25 during the early days of his career, highlight his career as a journalist, and also see Superman try and balance his life alien heritage with his human upbringing. James Gunn is penning the script but it is unclear if he will also direct the movie.
Warner Bros. and DC need to approach Superman: Legacy the same way they have approached hiring Batman directors like Tim Burton, Christopher Nolan, and Matt Reeves, by going after the best directors working with strong creative visions and whose body of work can fit within the themes of the character. Superman is one of the greatest fictional characters of all time, and he deserves to be given the best treatment. These are nine directors that Warner Bros. needs to consider to direct Superman: Legacy.
James Gunn
DC
Given that he's writing the screenplay for Superman: Legacy and the project is being pitched as the true start to the DCU, it makes sense for James Gunn to direct the film. He certainly has the experience as seen with his work on the Guardians of the Galaxy films and The Suicide Squad. Peter Safran has hopes that Gunn will direct the new Superman movie.
The real question is if Gunn will have the time. As co-president of DC Studios, he will have many other responsibilities, and one has to wonder if he will have time to undertake a massive film like Superman: Legacy alongside his other responsibilities. Even with Peter Safran as co-head to help run the studio, directing would take up a lot of Gunn's time. There is a chance he may direct the film, but there is also a strong chance he will only write the script and pass it on to another director. With that in mind here are some other potential filmmakers who could direct Gunn's script.
Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater's filmography is vast and it reads like a resume for an ideal Superman director. School of Rock and his remake of Bad News Bears shows a filmmaker who can make a mass appeal populist entertainment. His rotoscope animated films like A Scanner Darkly and Apollo 10+1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood could be used as a blueprint for an animated Superman film in the vein of the iconic Fleischer Studios Superman shorts.
Yet while many would imagine a Superman movie being big, Linklater could possibly bring in an angle to go smaller with the character, observing the details of more human moments with the character. As seen in his Before Trilogy and Boyhood, Linklater has a special eye for looking at the micro and making it feel large, fitting the idea that this massive larger-than-life hero is still just a man from Kansas trying to do the right thing. Dazed and Confused and Everybody Wants Some (which features Superman & Lois star Tyler Hoechlin) have a laid-back vibe to them, a hangout easy-breezy energy that feels like the perfect tone for a Superman movie, similar to how Grant Morrison saw the character when writing All-Star Superman. Morrison said
"He looked totally relaxed... and I suddenly realized this was how Superman would sit. He wouldn't puff out his chest or posture heroically, he would be totally chilled. If nothing can hurt you, you can afford to be cool. A man like Superman would never have to tense against the cold; never have to flinch in the face of a blow. He would be completely laid back, un-tense."
This quote is the perfect one to match Linklater's filmmaking style. James Gunn has already hinted that Morrison's All-Star Superman will serve as a creative basis for the upcoming Superman: Legacy. Linklater could provide a much more human portrait of the hero, showing a Superman movie that in contrast with Man of Steel, highlights the character's human nature over his alien origin.
Rian Johnson
Rian Johnson's work in Star Wars might be controversial in the corpus of every Star Wars movie, but it was bold and what the franchises needed in terms of breaking away from the established mold it had gotten itself into. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a Star Wars film unlike any before or after it, and the Superman franchise is in need of something similar. The character is over 80 years old and countless stories have been told, and the film side tends to stick with some similar conventions.
Yet it isn't just Johnson's trick of subverting expectations that makes him an exciting pick, but how empathic his projects are. Notably, in his mystery projects like Knives Out, Glass Onion, and the recent Peacock series Poker Face, Johnsons' work features moral characters operating against a cynical world and maintaining their own sense of goodness. That is a classic Superman story and the director would be a great pick to relaunch the franchise. However, the director might be too busy given he is already working on a third Knives Out movie and the status of his Star Wars trilogy is still up in the air.
Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Vaughn is no stranger to the superhero genre, having directed both Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class, and one element commonly associated with the director is his vibrant color pallet which is an element of the Superman comics that has been missing from the films as of late. His history with the Kingsman franchise and kinetic over-the-top action would deliver on the action depart. The director has expressed interest in directing a Superman movie before, and the director successfully relaunched the X-Men franchise, so he could always do the same for Superman.
Dee Rees
Dee Rees' film Mudbound was one of the best films of 2017, and it is a film that should have warranted every studio ringing her agent up to secure a big new film. The director has two other films under her belt, 2011's Pariah and 2020's The Last Thing He Wanted, and has directed a number of episodes for series like Empire, When We Rise, and Space Force. This is a director who is waiting for the next big film, and any studio would be lucky to secure talent, and Rees being attached to Superman: Legacy could provide a much-needed change of pace for the character who has only been seen through the eyes of white male directors.
Through Rees' eyes, Superman could return to his Golden Age Comic roots where he was a social crusader, a champion of the people fighting for the rights of those who had less. Rees' films are deeply personal and what she could bring to the Superman property is something unlike anything seen in a Superman film or really any superhero film.
David Lowery
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David Lowery's films often examine some elements of myth and folklore, from using the image of a simple white sheet in Ghost Story, the folk legends of bank robbers in The Old Man & The Gun, to the Arthurian legends in The Green Knight. Comic book superheroes are very much the quintessential modern myths, and Superman's story has always drawn parallels from Moses to Hercules to Jesus Christ.
The director has already played in the big-budget studio sandbox, having directed 2016's Pete's Dragon for Disney, and is currently directing the remake of Peter Pan titled Peter Pan & Wendy for Disney+ so the director would be at home working on a big project like Superman. Those two Disney films also could hint at a Superman movie Lowery would make, one seeing the character through the hopeful optimistic eyes of a child, which might be the best way to view Superman as an aspirational figure who inspires hope.
Paul King
Paul King directed both Paddington and Paddington 2, and those movies feel very much like proto-Superman setups. Both Paddington and Superman are sweet figures who inspire the people in their life to be better.
Gunn already hinted that Superman: Legacy will be a four-quadrant film meant to appeal to everyone, and given the warm reaction the Paddington films have generated from audiences both young and old he would be right at home directing Superman. It's worth noting that Paul King is already working with Warner Bros. on the Willy Wonka prequel film Wonka, establishing a working relationship between the director and the studio.
Marielle Heller
Originally a performer, Marielle Heller's two films as a director, Can You Ever Forgive Me? and A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood are two sweet and empathic movies. While films like Superman Returns examined Superman in the metatextual nature of what he means in a modern world, with Man of Steel favoring big spectacle action to make the character relevant, one side that has been sadly ignored is Superman as a kind loving figure. Superman is often referred to as the Big Blue Boy Scout, and while some people would think that is hookey, with the state of the world being what it is, the idea of a Superman who is nice and does it because it is the right thing might be just what audiences are looking for.
Mr. Rogers is very much a Superman-like figure, a paragon of hopeful optimism even in dark times that shines a light and makes people feel better about themselves and inspires them. Seeing what Heller brought to A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood and how she handled Mr. Rogers, that is more than enough to prove that the director gets Superman as a character and a concept and would make for an exciting choice to helm Superman: Legacy.
Paul Thomas Anderson
One of the most acclaimed directors working today, Paul Thomas Anderson has directed such films as There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, Boogie Nights, and most recently Licorice Pizza, which was nominated for Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards. Anderson's name is not one many would associate with a superhero film, but the director has spoken openly about his love of the superhero genre and his interest in populist films and even left film school when a professor talked badly about Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
Many themes in Anderson's films fit in with the larger Superman franchise. There Will Be Blood and Magnolia are both epic films, while films like Boogie Nights, Punch Drunk Love, and The Master feature very lonely people looking for a sense of found family. With Superman being the last of his kind, that is an element Anderson could key in on, but also highlights how he has found purpose on Earth by being with people like Lois Lane.
The other big aspect that Anderson would bring to a Superman movie is what the film would look like visually. Since Phantom Thread, the director has acted as his own cinematographer and his films have had a slightly blown-out look to them, evoking a nostalgic glow that gives off a sense of warmth, one that would fit the nature of Superman. A strong visual style would help a Superman movie stand apart not just from past Superman films, but other superhero movies in general. A great sense of style helped make The Batman stand out from the pack, and Superman deserves similar treatment. Superman is the first mainstream superhero to remain today and is arguably one of the best, so he deserves one of the best and most critically acclaimed filmmakers working on his film.