Superman Legacy: Pre-production officially starts on James Gunn’s superhero epic

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is locked and loaded, with its Los Angeles premiere set for late next week. Now that Gunn has officially wrapped his duties for the MCU, the time has come to turn his attention entirely to DC. Sure enough, today marked the first official day of pre-production for what’s being considered the start of a brand-new era at DC, Superman: Legacy.

Gunn himself marked the occasion on Twitter:

I’m honored to be a part of the legacy. And what better day than #SupermanAnniversary Day to dive fully into early pre-production on #SupermanLegacy? Costumes, production design, and more now up and running. pic.twitter.com/TJYpCRmdsf

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 18, 2023

With its July 11th, 2025 release date, Gunn still has plenty of time to cast the Man of Steel himself, and we should see who will nab the role in the coming months. While many are upset that Henry Cavill has been prematurely dismissed from the role, Gunn has maintained that they’re looking to start a new era with this movie. As for the tone, Gunn has promised that it will be different from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Co-chair of DC Studios Peter Safran has teased that the film will not be an origin story and will focus on “Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned.”

While to me that sounds similar to what Zack Snyder did in Man of Steel, I have faith that Gunn will find a way into the story that makes sense. There’s a reason why DC and Warner Bros have invested so heavily in his vision, and if they’re looking for a unified vision for the franchise, Gunn’s their man. However, Gunn won’t just be battling critics and naysayers. Indeed, many believe that a certain level of superhero fatigue has set in, which Gunn himself acknowledged previously. “I think there is such a thing as superhero fatigue. […] I get fatigued by most spectacle films, by the grind of not having an emotionally grounded story. It doesn’t have anything to do with whether they’re superhero movies or not. If you don’t have a story at the base of it, just watching things bash each other, no matter how clever those bashing moments are, no matter how clever the designs and the VFX are, it just gets fatiguing, and I think that’s very, very real.”

Superman: Legacy hits theaters on July 11th, 2025. Here’s everything we know about James Gunn’s new DC slate.