Superman: Release Date, Trailer, Plot Details & Everything We Know

Plenty of information has been revealed about Superman, the first entry in the rebooted DC Universe, including a release date, filming start date, and official casting for the two lead roles. Following director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran’s ascension to co-CEOs of DC Studios in November 2022, the pair revealed their initial plans for the upcoming DC Universe in January 2023. After The Flash resets the DC Universe, Gunn’s new plan will expand the franchise on film, TV, and video games, kicking off with Creature Commandos, and Superman in which a new actor ᴀssumes the role of Kal-El.

Following the success of Gunn’s recent Marvel Studios project, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the successful premiere of Creature Commandos, excitement has been growing for Superman. Superman has been a staple of cinema since Max Fleischer’s animated shorts in the 1940s, but Superman is set to tell a completely new story for the Man of Steel, continuing the legacy of the hero whom Gunn considers to be “a huge priority, if not the biggest priority” for DC Studios (via Twitter).

Quick Links

Superman Latest New
- The First Trailer Is Here

Superman Release Date
- The Film Has A July Release Date

Superman Cast
- There’s A New Clark Kent On The Big Screen

Superman Story Details
- They’re Not Going With An Origin Story

How Superman Fits Into The DCU
- It Will Help Launch The DCU
- Upcoming DC Movie Releases

Superman Latest News

A Brand-New TV Spot

As the release date for Superman rapidly approaches, marketing for the film has begun to pick up, including a brand-new TV spot featuring a few new moments of footage. Most everything shown was already in the teaser trailer, but there is a small scene of Lex Luthor stepping out of his ship in the Arctic with the person in the black suit, who is fighting Superman in the stadium, walking behind him, adding some intrigue about what that could mean for the story, especially if Clark’s Fortress of Solitude is close by.

The biggest reveal of the TV spot, though, is some new footage of Superman flying, hinting at what some of his flight scenes in the movie could look like. It’s a dynamic sH๏τ reminiscent of Adam Warlock in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, showing that the way Superman flies in the new movie is unlike anything seen before for the character in live-action.

Superman Release Date

The Film Has A July Release Date

Comic book art: Superman stares to the right as his cape flutters around him.

The 2025 summer blockbuster season will see the arrival of the DCU’s first movie, as Superman is scheduled for release on July 11, 2025, allowing plenty of time for Gunn and the DC team to perfect the newest Man of Steel story. This release date fits snugly between the December 2024 premiere of Creature Commandos, as well as the August 2025 premiere of Peacemaker season 2, marking the first three projects in James Gunn’s DCU.

Superman Cast

There’s A New Clark Kent On The Big Screen

Actor Name	Superman Character
David Corenswet	Clark Kent/Superman
Rachel Brosnahan	Lois Lane
Nicholas Hoult	Lex Luthor
Skyler Gisondo	Jimmy Olsen
Wendell Pierce	Perry White
Pruitt Taylor Vince	Jonathan Kent
Neva Howell	Martha Kent
Nathan Fillion	Guy Gardner/Green Lantern
Sara Sampaio	Eve Teschmacher
Edi Gathegi	Mister Terrific
Isabela Merced	Hawkgirl
María Gabriela De Faría	Angela Spica/The Engineer
Anthony Carrigan	Metamorpho
Terence Rosemore	Otis
Beck Bennett	Steve Lombard
Mikaela Hoover	Cat Grant
Christopher MacDonald	Ron Troupe
Sean Gunn	Maxwell Lord
Frank Grillo	Rick Flag Sr.
Alan Tudyk	Unknown Role

Superman will revolve around three characters specifically, with the first being David Corenswet, who steps into the role of Superman. Corenswet has often been brought up in online discourse as a fan-cast for the DCU’s Superman, primarily due to his physical appearance matching the likes of Cavill and the late Christopher Reeve, who looked near-identical to their comic book counterpart.

Alongside Corenswet is Rachel Brosnahan, who will play Lois Lane, the main love interest of Superman and an integral part of the character’s history. No Superman is complete without his Lex Luthor and Nicholas Hoult will portray the Big Blue Boy Scouts arch-nemesis during the events of the film, sporting the iconic bald look that Luthor is known for.

The Daily Planet office gets a full line-up, with Skyler Gisondo cast as Jimmy Olsen alongside Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, Christopher MacDonald as Ron Troupe, Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, and Wendell Pierce as their boss, Perry White. The Planet is one of the most important settings for Clark Kent as a character, making it an integral part of the film.

There are also a number of other characters set to be in Superman, with Anthony Carrigan to play Metamorpho, Edi Gathegi set to play Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion taking on the role of Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced cast as Hawkgirl, María Gabriela De Faría playing The Engineer, Lex Luthor’s ᴀssistant, Eve Teschmacher, played by Sara Sampaio, Terence White as Otis, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., and Alan Tudyk in a currently unknown role.

Finally, Clark Kent gets two parents in the film, at least for a while, with Pruitt Taylor Vince as Jonathan Kent and Neva Howell as Martha Kent. It’s unclear if Jonathan Kent will pᴀss away prior to the events of the film, as that is a significant moment for Clark as a character.

Superman Story Details

They’re Not Going With An Origin Story

Superman flying in the comics with the Justice League

According to Peter Safran (via The Hollywood Reporter), Superman is “not an origin story” but instead “focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing.” The тιтular hero will already be working at the Daily Planet as Clark Kent, having already met characters such as Lois Lane, rather than rehashing overused storylines of the past.

Superman will revolve around the traditional ideals that define the character but will also put a modern spin on how those ideals are perceived, as Safran mentioned that “he is the embodiment of truth, justice, and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks that kindness is old-fashioned.”

James Gunn revealed that Superman would take inspiration from DC Comics’ 2005-2008 run of All-Star Superman. This story saw Superman close to death due to overexposure to the sun’s rays, accomplishing many heroic feats – known as the Twelve Labors of Superman – in attempts to make peace before his demise. This would be an interesting choice of story for Superman’s debut in the new DC Universe and would coincide with the repeated insistence that the franchise will be approaching beloved DC heroes in fresh new ways.

The iconic Superman villain Lex Luthor is also set to appear in Superman, and the casting call for “Apex” suggests Apex Lex may have a part to play in the story – a superpowered version of the antagonist. With James Gunn confirming in April 2024 that Lex will indeed be the main villain in the story, it’s even more likely the plot may veer into a more physically powerful version of the antagonist if the intention is to let Luthor physically contend with his nemesis at some point in the narrative.

Superman Trailer

An Emotionally Resonant Look At Superman

On a visit to the set of Superman, ScreenRant got to talk to James Gunn about how the film would set up the rest of the DCU, with Gunn highlighting the importance of each project in the universe being able to stand on its own without having to sacrifice the story at hand to set something else up. His full statement is as follows, talking about what Superman will set up:

Zero. Zero. I mean, maybe two little things, two moments, but basically, if something’s there just to set up something else, ҒUCҜ it. I even say that. And for all I know, those things can be cut by the time we get to the editing room because something has to exist for this movie. And if that works in tandem with setting up characters that exist in other media, then that’s great. If this sets up stuff in “Peacemaker,” which it does, then that’s great. But that is never, ever, ever, with me, going to be something that’s, I’m going to sacrifice even a moment or a beat in a story for, especially a movie. With TV, you’ve got a little bit more leniency to be able to do that. But in a movie, every beat has to be in there for the movie itself.

When speaking to ScreenRant at the press event for the trailer release, James Gunn opened up about the look and fit of the suit, saying he “didn’t want to have it look like a wet t-shirt” and “didn’t want it to have a bunch of fake muscles in it.” Alongside Gunn, David Corenswet spoke about what it felt like for himself and others to see him in the suit on set, stating:

“It’s like when you get, I don’t know, a nice haircut, and you forget about it, but then you walk around, and everybody’s like, whoa, you look great. For once, I walked on set, and I had others who saw me in the suit for the first time. So I got to see other people see Superman, and I didn’t feel like Superman, but it was so amazing watching my cast mates and the crew members who are also getting to work on this amazing historic piece of media. The moments when they saw it for the first time or when they saw Superman fly for the first time, not getting to be that particular, but getting to witness them, witness it. And then the best thing is seeing kids see it when crew people would bring their kids to set or getting to see first person, a five, 6-year-old kid see Superman. There’s nothing like it. It’s amazing.”

How Superman Fits Into The DCU

It Will Help Launch The DCU

James Gunn talking about the DCU in front of a DC Comics background — Custom image by Ross Tanenbaum

Superman is one of the first projects of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s brand-new DCU, produced by DC Studios, and is a soft-reboot for the DCEU as events from The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker season 1 carry over. Although Creature Commandos was the first project released for the DCU, Superman has continuously been touted as the big start for the new shared universe, acting as an introduction to DC’s iconic hero and a launching off point for the DCU as a whole.

Unlike the “Task Force X” side of things carrying over multiple plotlines into the DCU, Superman is completely new from what came before in the DCEU. It will be a fresh start for the character on the big screen and Gunn has stated that Creature Commandos won’t be required viewing to understand Superman, making it a perfect starting point for those interested in seeing what the DCU is all about.

Upcoming DC Movie Releases

Superman

Release Date

July 11, 2025

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Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

Release Date

June 26, 2026

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The Batman Part II

Release Date

October 1, 2027

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