Superman (2025 film)


Superman is a 2025 American superhero film based on the eponymous character from DC Comics. Written and directed by James Gunn, it is the first film in the DC Universe and a reboot of the Superman film series. David Corenswet stars as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman, alongside Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, and Isabela Merced. In the film, Superman faces unintended consequences after he intervenes in an international conflict orchestrated by billionaire Lex Luthor. Superman must win back public support with the help of his reporter and superhero colleagues. The film was produced by Gunn and Peter Safran of DC Studios.
Development on a sequel to the DC Extended Universe film Man of Steel began by October 2014, with Henry Cavill set to return as Superman. Plans changed after the troubled production of Justice League, and the Man of Steel sequel was no longer moving forward by May 2020. Gunn began work on a new Superman film around August 2022. In October, he became co-CEO of DC Studios with Safran, and they began work on a new DC Universe. Gunn was publicly revealed to be writing the film in December. The title Superman: Legacy was announced the next month; Gunn was confirmed to direct in March 2023; and Corenswet and Brosnahan were cast that June. The subtitle was dropped by the end of February 2024, when filming began in Svalbard, Norway. Production primarily took place at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with location filming around Georgia and Ohio. Filming wrapped in July. The film's influences include the comic book All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.
Superman premiered at the TCL Chinese Theater on July 7, 2025, and was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on July 11. It is the first film in the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. The film grossed $617million worldwide, making it the tenth highest-grossing film of 2025, and received mostly positive reviews. Critics found it to be fun, colorful, and earnest, although some felt it was overstuffed, while the performances of Corenswet, Brosnahan, and Hoult were praised. A follow-up film, Man of Tomorrow, is scheduled for release in 2027, while a spin-off television series featuring supporting characters from the film, including Skyler Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen, is in development for HBO Max.

Plot

stops the nation of Boravia from invading the neighboring country of Jarhanpur and warns Boravian president Vasil Ghurkos to leave Jarhanpur alone. In Metropolis, Superman is defeated for the first time by a metahuman called the "Hammer of Boravia" and flees to his Fortress of Solitude in Antarctica with the help of the superpowered dog Krypto. They are followed by Angela Spica / The Engineer, an ally of tech billionaire Lex Luthor. Superman's robots use concentrated solar radiation to heal him and comfort Superman with a message from his birth parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, who sent him to Earth to save him from the destruction of their planet Krypton. The message was damaged during the journey, so only the first half can be played. Superman returns to Metropolis and is again beaten by the Hammer, who is secretly Luthor's metahuman Ultraman.
Superman agrees to be interviewed by Lois Lane, his girlfriend and reporter colleague at the Daily Planet, leading to an argument when Lois presses him on the legal and ethical implications of his actions in Boravia. Luthor unleashes a kaiju on Metropolis as a distraction while he infiltrates the Fortress with Ultraman and the Engineer. They overpower the robots, capture Krypto, and discover the Kryptonian message; the Engineer restores the damaged portion. Superman rescues civilians while fighting the kaiju with the "Justice Gang", a team composed of heroes Green Lantern, Mister Terrific, and Hawkgirl. Despite Superman's wanting to take the creature alive, Mister Terrific kills it. Luthor broadcasts the Kryptonian message and Superman is shocked to hear the second half, in which his parents urge him to conquer Earth and take many wives to restore the Kryptonian race.
Public opinion turns against Superman, especially when he angrily confronts Luthor, looking for Krypto. Lois reassures Superman that she believes he is good, and he confesses his love for her before surrendering himself to the U.S. government. They hand him over to Luthor for detainment and questioning inside an artificial pocket universe where Luthor secretly holds his enemies, including Krypto. Superman is imprisoned with the metahuman Metamorpho. Luthor uses Metamorpho's infant son Joey as leverage to force him to transmute one of his hands into Kryptonite, rendering Superman powerless. During questioning, Luthor murders one of Superman's supporters, Malik Ali. A horrified Metamorpho agrees to help Superman escape, and they free Joey and Krypto. Lois convinces Mister Terrific to help find Superman and they enter the pocket universe, rescuing the others. Lois takes Superman to recuperate with his adoptive human parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent. Jonathan tells the demoralized Superman that his choices and actions determine who he is, not the message from his birth parents.
Luthor's girlfriend Eve Teschmacher, who is infatuated with Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen, provides him evidence that Luthor is aiding Boravia in return for half of Jarhanpur's territory. Luthor imprisons her and lures Superman back to Metropolis by opening an unstable portal to the pocket universe, creating a rift in reality that splits the city in half. Superman sends Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Metamorpho to stop Boravia from invading Jarhanpur again. Hawkgirl kills Ghurkos and Green Lantern invites Metamorpho to join the Justice Gang. In Metropolis, Superman and Mister Terrific fight the Engineer and Ultraman. After Superman defeats the Engineer, he learns that Ultraman is a clone of himself created by Luthor. With Krypto's help, Superman defeats Ultraman and knocks him into a black hole beneath the rift. At Luthor's headquarters, Mister Terrific closes the rift. Luthor says he orchestrated the Jarhanpur conflict as an excuse to implicate Superman, driven by envy of his public admiration despite being an alien. Superman challenges his ideology, but Luthor remains defiant and is subdued by Krypto.
Lois and Jimmy expose Luthor's schemes to the public, clearing Superman's name. Luthor and his associates are arrested, and those trapped in his pocket universe, including Eve, are freed. Lois confesses that she loves Clark, too. As Superman recovers at the Fortress, his cousin Kara Zor-El drunkenly arrives to pick up Krypto. The robots comfort Superman with footage of his childhood on Earth with his human parents.

Cast

  • David Corenswet as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman:
A survivor from the destroyed planet Krypton who lives on Earth as a superhero. He maintains a separate identity at his day job, working as a journalist for the Daily Planet in Metropolis. Director James Gunn said Corenswet's Superman is around 25 years old, making him more established than Tom Welling's version from the CW series Smallville but younger than Henry Cavill's version in the DC Extended Universe. Producer Peter Safran described the film's take on the character for the DC Universe as "the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way" and "kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned". Gunn said Clark is becoming successful as both a journalist and a superhero in the film, but new elements in his life leave him unbalanced. These include being "madly in love" with his colleague Lois Lane and making friends with other superheroes who think he is naive. The film shows how these elements impact Clark's values and choices, which are flawed and put him on a personal journey. Corenswet differentiated Clark's roles in his interactions with his parents, his job at the Daily Planet, and as Superman. He described Superman as a "public facing character" who wants to present himself as calm yet authoritative. Corenswet drew inspiration for Clark from the comic book All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely and the posture of Christopher Reeve's portrayal from the 1978–87 Superman film series. He was also inspired for Clark's voice and demeanor by his brother-in-law, whom he described as the "quietest, most wonderful man" despite his tall height and weighing 270 pounds, and described Clark as a "big presence" who is "desperately trying to be as small as possible and as quiet as possible". Gunn consulted DC Comics writer Tom King in relation to other characters' "suspension of disbelief" regarding Clark's dual identity, which was attributed to the use of hypnotic glasses to subtly distort his appearance. Gunn included this in the film, noting that it had "kind of been forgotten" from the comic book canon. Corenswet also portrays Ultraman, an armored clone of Superman created by Lex Luthor who masquerades as the "Hammer of Boravia" and is controlled via drones and voice prompts. Oliver Diego Silva portrays Clark at age two.
  • Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane:
A reporter for the Daily Planet who is a colleague of Clark, and "isn't so sure about him" and needs to be convinced about being in a relationship with him. Brosnahan described Lois as "fiercely intelligent" and feisty. She consulted with several journalists to help her portray Lois as a modern reporter.
  • Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor:
The CEO of LuthorCorp and the arch-nemesis of Superman, who hates Superman for having the power to do everything but not aligning with Luthor's own beliefs. Hoult described Luthor as obsessive, determined, and relentless, and wanted the character to feel like a credible threat to Superman. He has his end goal in sight and is motivated by many emotions, including a need to be recognized for his scientific genius. Hoult was inspired by Michael Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor in Smallville and by billionaire Steve Jobs for Luthor's uniform, choosing to work out for the role based on the depiction of Luthor in All-Star Superman. Hoult's head was shaved by his son Joaquin in preparation for the role. Gunn took inspiration for the character from Brian Azzarello's limited comic book series Lex Luthor: Man of Steel as well as Jerry Siegel's "reckless scientific genius" version of Luthor in comic books from the 1950s and 1960s.
A superhero and inventor who uses a variety of high-tech gadgets to fight crime, and is a member of the Justice Gang sponsored by Maxwell Lord. Gathegi described his character as an "atheist who believes in justice", and said Mister Terrific found meaning in "knowledge" after experiencing the death of his wife.
  • Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason / Metamorpho:
An archaeologist and superhero who can "transmute elements in his body into various forms". He becomes a member of the Justice Gang. Carrigan said it was refreshing to play a superhero after previously portraying the Batman villain Victor Zsasz in the television series Gotham. He felt that he could bring some "authenticity and truth" to the role by comparing Metamorpho's concerns about his abilities to Carrigan's own alopecia.
An abrasive galactic peacekeeper in the Green Lantern Corps, and a Justice Gang member, whom Fillion described as a fearless, overconfident jerk. Fillion drew inspiration for Guy speaking his mind with no filter from Estelle Getty's Sophia Petrillo in the sitcom The Golden Girls. Fillion referred back to the character's origin story, in which Guy was hit by a bus and sent into a coma as what "flipped the switch" for his personality, making him "off a little bit". The film retains the character's "iconic bowl cut haircut" from the comics, which Fillion insisted on having despite some discussions about changing his hairstyle.
  • Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl:
A superhero with wings and various melee weapons who is a Justice Gang member. She is reincarnated from an alien, retaining her memories and past trauma with a grumpy demeanor. Merced felt the self-awareness and comedic aspects of the film helped Hawkgirl "make light of trauma". Merced's short height differentiates her from other DCU heroes. Merced felt that her role as Anya Corazón in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe film Madame Web helped prepare her to play Hawkgirl, though she did not tell the Superman filmmakers about that role in case they did not want her to play both.
Skyler Gisondo plays Jimmy Olsen, a boyish young photographer who is Clark and Lois's closest colleague, while Wendell Pierce plays Daily Planet editor-in-chief Perry White. Pierce said Perry is "always grumpy" because Luthor had an affair with Perry's wife, and Perry's second child may actually be Luthor's, so Perry's driving force is wanting to get back at Luthor. The actor asked his friends for information on the character because he did not read comic books growing up. Other staff at the Daily Planet include Beck Bennett as reporter Steve Lombard; Mikaela Hoover as columnist Cat Grant; and Christopher McDonald as reporter Ron Troupe. Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell respectively play Jonathan and Martha Kent, Clark's adoptive human parents, and studied tapes of drummer and radio personality Richard Christy's parents to develop their Kansan accents for the film. Bradley Cooper, who previously collaborated with Gunn on his Guardians of the Galaxy films, and Angela Sarafyan respectively portray Superman's Kryptonian parents Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van. Of the Superman robots who aide Superman at the Fortress of Solitude, prior Gunn collaborators Alan Tudyk, Michael Rooker, and Pom Klementieff respectively voice "Four", "One", and "Five", with Grace Chan as the voice of "Twelve". Gunn's wife Jennifer Holland is the uncredited voice of another robot at the end of the film. Dinesh Thyagarajan plays Malik "Mali" Ali, a falafel cart vendor who supports Superman. Dog actor Jolene stood-in for the superpowered dog Krypto, whom Gunn described as a "not-so-good-good-boy". The character was primarily created with visual effects, and was modeled after Gunn's dog Ozu.
Sara Sampaio portrays Eve Teschmacher, Luthor's assistant and girlfriend who is secretly involved with Jimmy. She felt comfortable performing with Hoult after working with him on a campaign for Armani. María Gabriela de Faría plays Angela Spica / The Engineer, an ally of Luthor whose abilities come from nanotechnology in her body. She appears ahead of a planned film about the Authority, the team that she is a member of in the comics. Other allies of Luthor include Zlatko Burić as Vasil Ghurkos, the President of Boravia; Terence Rosemore and Stephen Blackehart as LuthorCorp employees Otis Berg and Sydney Happersen, respectively; and Trevor Newlin as the humanoid creature Mister Handsome. Gunn said Luthor created Mister Handsome when he was 12 and has "true sentiment" for the creature. Comedian Michael Ian Black plays Cleavis Thornwaite, host of the right-wing talk show The Sphere who runs a smear campaign against Superman, while James Hiroyuki Liao portrays General Mori, the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
Additionally, Frank Grillo reprises his role as A.R.G.U.S. director Rick Flag Sr. from the animated DCU series Creature Commandos ; Tinashe Kajese-Bolden reprises her role as A.R.G.U.S. member Flo Crawley, now the FBI director, from the DCEU film The Suicide Squad ; Milly Alcock has an uncredited cameo appearance as Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El / Supergirl ahead of her own film, Supergirl ; John Cena has an uncredited cameo appearance as Chris Smith / Peacemaker on a news show, mocking Superman, ahead of his role in the second season of Peacemaker ; and Gunn's brother Sean has a cameo appearance as billionaire Maxwell Lord, the head of LordTech and the corporate backer of the Justice Gang. Sean said they ignored past depictions of Lord when creating their version, including Peter Facinelli's portrayal in the Arrowverse series Supergirl and Pedro Pascal's portrayal in the DCEU film Wonder Woman 1984. Other cameo appearances include ABC News correspondent Will Reeve, the son of Christopher Reeve, as a GBS News reporter; Michael Rosenbaum, who portrayed Luthor in Smallville, as the voice of one of Luthor's Raptor guards; and Louisa Krause in the non-speaking role of Sapphire Stagg, Metamorpho's wife.