Everything we know about the new Superman film

Superman last led his own solo movie in Man of Steel 11 years ago but after many false dawns, Kal-El will finally take flight again in James Gunn's Superman, with newcomer David Corenswet in the title role.

The fresh start for DC's crown jewel is coming to cinemas in 2025 and is being billed as the first entry in a planned universe of cross-platform storytelling — now known as the DCU.

Following the lead of the MCU, the new Superman film will be the start of Phase 1: Gods and Monsters.

Here's everything we know about Superman so far...

When will Superman be released?

Superman is slated to hit cinemas on 11 July, 2025 — 12 years after the release of Man of Steel.

The release date was announced in January 2023 when James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new bosses at DC Studios, revealed their ambitious plan to reboot the DC Universe. Gunn confirmed the recent Hollywood strikes would not affect the release date.

Although Superman will be preceded on the small screen by Creature Commandos and Waller, the movie is considered as the true starting point for the new DCU.

Pre-production began on the movie in April 2024, and a month later, we got our first look at Gunn's new Supes in action... or well, preparing for action.

In July, Gunn announced that the film had wrapped via a post on X that explained he had "set out to make a movie about a good man in a world that isn’t always so much."

He added: "Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. It has been an honor. The destination has been Superman, but the journey has been the toil and the laughter and the emotions and ideas and magic we’ve shared together on set - and for that I am forever grateful."

While responding to a fan question on the social media site Threads, Gunn suggested that his Superman won't need any reshoots. In fact, he says he specifically designs his movies so that they don't need any additional shooting days.

Who is in the Superman cast?

After months of searching and secret auditions, Gunn finally announced his two leads for Superman in June 2023. Newcomer David Corenswet will be our new Clark Kent, Kal-El and Superman, while The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel's Rachel Brosnahan will be his Lois Lane.

Mad Max: Fury Road star Nicholas Hoult will be going bald once again to play Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor, while Skyler Gisondo will play Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen, and Sara Sampaio will appear as Eve Teschmacher.

Alien: Romulus' Isabela Merced will play Hawkgirl, X-Men: First Class star Edi Gathegi will play Mister Fantastic and fan fave Firefly actor Nathan Fillon will play a Green Lantern. As far as the latter is concerned, it is not believed that Fillion will be the Green Lantern of Gunn's new DCEU.

Barry stand-out Anthony Carrigan will play DC hero Metamorpho, the alter-ego of Rex Mason, a comic-book adventurer and archaeologist who has his DNA super-powered after handling a cursed artefact.

Venezuelan actress María Gabriela de Faría has signed on to play the villainous Angela Spica, a character otherwise known as The Engineer. In the comics, The Engineer gains powers through nanotechnologies added to her body.

She's also featured in the comic arc The Authority, something which Gunn is reportedly eyeing to include in his upcoming film. Despite starring in a number of projects throughout her career so far, Spica is expected to be Faría's breakout role.

Former Saturday Night Live star Beck Beckett will reportedly play a big-wig reporter at Clark Kent's day-job, the Daily Planet newspaper.

When it comes to Superman's two main leads, Corenswet and Brosnahan secured their roles after impressing DC bosses Safran and Gunn during an audition in full make-up and costume, according to Deadline.

Gunn is also reportedly looking into introducing The Authority in the DC film, a supergroup that Clark is expected to join during the course of the film which will feature a number of different heroes.

In February 2024, Gunn shared a cast photo giving us our first official look at all of Superman's players all in one place. The image also featured a shaven-headed Hoult, showing us his dedication to bringing Lex Luthor to life.

Shortly afterwards, Brosnahan confirmed that the cast had sat down for a table read of the script, telling Variety: “It was pretty amazing. Some of us met for the first time. Some of us got to see each other again. It was amazing to hear the script out loud.”

She also spoke about her take on the Daily Planet's top reporter, saying: “I have always loved Lois Lane... She’s smart, ambitious and can be funny. She knows she’s the smartest person in the room more often than not.”

With filming underway, Corenswet helped make things official by sharing the first official still of his newly revamped Superman logo on his personal Instagram page. The news was swiftly followed by an update to the project's title, with the movie switching names from Superman: Legacy to simply Superman.

Shortly afterwards, Brosnahan took to her TikTok account to post another brief behind-the-scenes clip featuring our new Man of Steel and his long-time nemesis, Lex Luthor.

Why isn't Henry Cavill coming back as Superman?

Henry Cavill, the British actor who donned the Kyptonian cape in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League and Black Adam has officially left the role.

In December 2022, Gunn tweeted an update on the Superman reboot saying: "In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill. But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.”

Read more: How did Henry Cavill become an internet darling?

Cavill confirmed his exit, posting on Instagram: “It’s sad news, everyone. I will, after all, not be returning as Superman. After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life.”

As for which other characters may appear, we don't yet know. However, as the film is rumoured to cover Clark Kent's early career at the Daily Planet, we can expect to meet new versions of Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White.

What is the plot of Superman?

Where previous Superman movies have explored the Man of Steel's origins, James Gunn's script will not.

In a message shared on social media BlueSky, Gunn told a fan that he was keen not to repeat the past, writing: "I think we've seen his origin enough in film at this time!"

“It’s not an origin story,” Safran said. “It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks that kindness is old-fashioned.”

A brief movie synopsis was released in late December. It was short and to the point but offered an idea of what we can expect from Gunn's new movie. It reads: "Superman, a cub reporter in Metropolis, embarks on a journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent.”

Read more: Take our Superman quiz

Sharing an update when Gunn officially signed on to direct the film, Gunn said of the plot: "I was offered Superman years ago — I initially said no because I didn’t have a way in that felt unique and fun and emotional that gave Superman the dignity he deserved.”

The director went on to say that “a bit less than a year ago I saw a way in, in many ways centering around Superman’s heritage — how both his aristocratic Kryptonian parents and his Kansas farmer parents inform who he is and the choices he makes.”

Superman is coming to cinemas on 11 July, 2025.