The world was in for a surprise on November 9, as it was officially announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran, after getting DC Studios up and running as co-CEOs since 2022, will be exiting their positions, while remaining in creative roles. This has sparked a lot of uncertainty about what will happen with the universe that they have been fleshing out over the last two years.
Since the announcement on Monday, there have been numerous reports and rumors about what will happen to the DCU franchise, including the next Superman film. James Gunn has debunked rumors that Skydance has seen his upcoming Man of Tomorrow and is making sweeping changes, stating that only a small, trusted group has viewed it, as he shared the following statement on Threads:
There are a lot of untrue rumors going around, but one of them is that Skydance has seen Man of Tomorrow and that all sorts of sweeping changes are being made. No one from Skydance has even seen the movie - the only people that have are Peter Safran and a very small trusted group of friends and family. So any stories around this narrative are false. ❤️🧜♂️
The summer blockbuster, which will see David Corenswet reprise his role as Krypton's last son, while Nicholas Hoult is returning as the villainous Lex Luthor, finished principal photography earlier this fall. But outside of the 2027 sequel, it is currently the only big-screen project from the DCU's Chapter 1: "Gods and Monsters" that is progressing the continuity forward.
Outside of Gunn's Man of Tomorrow, other feature films that have been announced in the slate are unknown whether they will come to fruition. With the Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount merger, which has formed the new Skydance regime, it will be up to Jeremy Latcham, who will take over as DC Studios' new CEO starting on December 1, to decide if the DCU gets to continue, or if it will be rebooted.
Some of the rumors that have emerged over the last few days since the announcement have suggested that Skydance higher-ups were not pleased with Man of Tomorrow and were potentially looking at doing reshoots, possibly without Gunn. Other rumblings also led to a narrative that the filmmaker would not even have a say in the final cut, as well as potential cameos or appearances of returning DCU players being removed.
While he and Safran will continue to work at DC Studios in a creative capacity, Gunn has confirmed that he is writing a mystery project, which has sparked a lot of speculation that it is either Superman 3 or possibly some type of Justice League film. The duo is also serving as executive producers on HBO Max's The People V. Gorilla Grodd, with Skyler Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen headlining the Superman spinoff, bringing the iconic Flash villain into the DCU.
Given that Latcham has not even begun his tenure, it's too early to tell what is going to happen to the franchise as a whole. A full reboot this early feels highly unlikely, as it wouldn't be shocking if DC Studios continues the DCU, but with several changes to the Chapter 1 plans, by prioritizing other big players like Batman and Wonder Woman, with less focus on smaller characters.
Man of Tomorrow is flying into theaters on July 9, 2027.
Release Date
July 9, 2027
Cast
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Nicholas Hoult
Lex Luthor
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Rachel Brosnahan
Lois Lane
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English (US) ·