One DC movie with an 100% Rotten Tomatoes score already seems to provide a solid look at what a perfect Superman 2 story could be like. Superman‘s debut has seen the film become 2025’s highest-grossing superhero movie, but the road for the Man of Steel has only just begun.

Superman‘s ending left a lot of stories on interesting notes, with Supergirl debuting and reuniting temporarily with her cousin, Lois and Clark cementing their romantic relationship after some hardships, and Kal-El himself overcoming the threat of Lex Luthor. This setup makes a different Superman movie’s story look like a perfect proof-of-concept for the DC Universe timeline’s Superman 2.

Superman: Unbound Is A Perfect First Look At What Superman 2’s Story Could Be

Despite coming out the same year as Man of Steel, Superman: Unbound is a sublime look at what could be for Superman 2. This isn’t just because it focuses on an exciting and action-packed look at what a Brainiac vs Superman movie can be, but also because of its wider story and how this connects to the DCU’s Superman.

Interestingly, Superman: Unbound deals with a version of Kal-El well into his superhero and journalism career, his strong but complex relationship with Lois, and Supergirl adjusting to being a hero on Earth. All of these storylines ironically feel like they tie in surprisingly well to the aftermath of the 2025 Superman movie.

The DCU seems set to adapt Lois and Clark’s side plot, which follows the complexities of the couple making their relationship official in their civilian lives. Similarly, Supergirl’s Superman: Unbound story also feels like part of the arc the DCU hero is experiencing, as the animated Supergirl deals with becoming an Earth superhero after being unable to save her homeworld.

The movie takes care to show Lois and Supergirl interacting properly for the first time, and helps highlight how human Superman is despite his superhuman abilities through the differences between him and Brainiac, who’s ultimately defeated by the “chaos” of Earth life that Clark adapted to. Altogether, Superman: Unbound certainly seems to have the recipe for a solid DCU sequel.

After Superman’s Success, Superman 2 Feels Almost Inevitable

Superman acted as a revival in every sense of the word for DC’s movie empire. After a period of some lower critical and commercial results for the franchise overall, Superman‘s current $500+ box office results and positive reception are, in some ways, worth their weight in gold, since they show the DC Universe can be an all-around success.

While the franchise’s current focus is naturally on fleshing out more of the overarching DCU world going forward, Superman‘s own success means a direct sequel would seem par for the course. This is doubly true given sequels are often even more highly regarded and financially lucrative, since audiences have an established trust in and understanding of the series.

Superman director and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has already spoken about working on a sequel of sorts wherein Superman has a “major role” in the story, though the creator also confirmed this is “not ‘Superman 2’“. This makes sense, though, as there are seemingly many more projects to work on before a Superman sequel can get underway.

With, for example, three years between the first and second Guardians of the Galaxy movies – and six years between the second and third installments – there doesn’t seem to be a need to rush into Superman 2. However, the wait that we’ll probably experience for a second Superman solo film certainly makes Superman: Unbound‘s story all the more interesting.

Superman 2 Would Be Very Different To Superman: Unbound Even If It Followed The Same Story Threads

While Superman: Unbound does seem to be very similar to the DCU’s Superman story and what looks set to come after the 2025 movie in many ways, this isn’t to say it and Superman 2 would be one and the same. This is promising for both movies, since too many similarities here could make the releases comparatively less special.

Based on Superman‘s story, it seems likely Superman 2 could go for a more comedic leaning at points in its story, whereas Superman: Unbound is a little more consistently serious. Similarly, the part in Unbound wherein the Kryptonian city of Kandor is restored to full size would be trickier for the DCU to adapt after Superman‘s Kryptonian plot twist.

Ultimately, while these stories look like they could certainly end up being similar, the fact their overarching worlds are so different means even an identical Superman 2 story wouldn’t be exactly the same. In many ways, this is the DCU’s true strength, since the kind of interconnected universe it’s looking to build hasn’t been pulled off for DC in live-action.

With Superman 2 likely years away, we’ve plenty of time to consider what the best path for the DCU movie could be. That said, it’d be arguably surprising if there weren’t elements of the story put forward by Superman: Unbound in the DCU sequel, be that through Brainiac’s live-action movie debut or something else.