Metahumans may have existed for 300 years by the time Superman starts, but the Man of Steel is relatively new when we meet him in the James Gunn-directed movie. In the newly rebooted DC Universe, Superman (David Corenswet) has been active for three years — placing his costumed debut around June 2022, according to promotional Daily Planet newspapers dated June 2025. (Superman’s first appearance in Action Comics #1 is cover-dated June 1938).
“We’re introducing a whole new world, which is a lot of fun,” Gunn told Fandango. “We’re in an alternate reality where superheroes have existed for 300 years, and now we’re just picking up on the story of one particular superhero three years after he comes on the scene who happens to be the most powerful metahuman of all time.”
And not only is Superman not the world’s first superhero, he’s not the only metahuman based in Metropolis.
The prequel novel Superman: Welcome to Metropolis revealed that the City of Tomorrow is also home to the Justice Gang, a team of corporate superheroes backed by LordTech mogul Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn) that includes the hyper-intelligent Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), ring-slinging Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), and the winged warrior Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced).
While some of the Justice Gang will reappear in post-Superman projects like Peacemaker season 2 and HBO’s Lanterns, Gunn insists that the movie stands alone.
“I think the most important thing is that [Superman] works as a movie by itself,” Gunn said. “It’s a complete story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. It’s an important part of the life of all three of the characters.”
Those three characters are Clark Kent/Superman, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who previously masterminded a plot involving the cyborg Metallo, according to the prequel novel.
The previously-titled Superman: Legacy is not an origin story, and instead “tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas.”
Gunn has cited the Silver Age-inspired All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely as one of the three biggest influences on his Superman movie. The episodic, 12-issue series took place years into Superman’s career when he was well established as a superhero.
DC Studios’ Superman — starring David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman alongside Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, and Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, with Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica/the Engineer, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Alan Tudyk as Superman Robot #4, Neva Howell as Ma Kent, Pruitt Taylor Vince as Pa Kent, Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord and Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr. — is only in theaters July 11. Tickets are now on sale.
Metahumans may have existed for 300 years by the time Superman starts, but the Man of Steel is relatively new when we meet him in the James Gunn-directed movie. In the newly rebooted DC Universe, Superman (David Corenswet) has been active for three years — placing his costumed debut around June 2022, according to promotional Read More