Super cast.
Photo: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s script treatments, blue-light lenses, and lots and lots of coffee. James Gunn has confirmed he’s officially working on a sequel to Superman (in addition to a ton of other stuff for the DCU). So, what’s he cooking up for Superman’s next adventure? Below, the new title, cast additions, release dateand everything Gunn’s teased for the sequel’s plot.
On September 3, James Gunn announced the new Supes movie title and release date. It’ll be called Man of Tomorrow and perhaps feature Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) in a mecha suit. That is, if the Jim Lee art Gunn posted on Instagram is a clue to the film’s plot.
Previously, Gunn said this movie wouldn’t be a direct sequel to Superman. “Superman has a major role,” he wrote on Threads. “It’s not Superman 2.” So who is the titular Man of Tomorrow? He later explained to Howard Stern how Superman and Lex Luthor will have to “work together to a certain degree against a much, much bigger threat.” Gunn also teased that Luthor will be much more involved. “And it’s more complicated than that. It’s as much a Lex movie as it is a Superman movie,” he continued. “I relate to the character of Lex, sadly.” He also shared they’ll start filming in April 2026.
As for how the pre-production process was for Gunn? Smooth sailing. He tells a fan on Threads that writing the sequel was “much much much easier” and “so fun.” Gunn told Collider on August 16 that he’s “totally done with the treatment” for the second film. “We’re scheduling it now,” he shared. “My treatments are incredibly intense. They’re not regular treatments. They’re 60-page treatments with dialogue and everything. And so, now I’m just turning that into a script. We’re planning out when we’re going to shoot that. It’s going to be much sooner rather than later.” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav also confirmed this in an earnings call on August 7, where he teased that Gunn will write and direct the “next movie in the Super-Family.”
Aaron Pierre is officially in the cast of Man of Tomorrow, according to Variety. We’re about to meet John Stewart (not to be confused with Jon Stewart) when Lanterns comes to HBO Max. From there, he’ll take to the stars.
We also have a pretty good inkling of who the Bigger Bad is that will cause Supes and Lex to team up. James Gunn announced in December 2025 that Lars Eidinger (Babylon Berlin) will be playing Brainac. Brainiac’s backstory has morphed a lot over the years. Sometimes he’s a cyborg from Colu. Sometimes he’s a computer run amok à la Ultron. Sometimes he’s responsible for Krypton going kablooey. On My Adventures With Superman, he was Supergirl’s robo-unc. Who knows which version we’re getting in Man of Tomorrow?
WBD has set July 9, 2027, as the release date for Man of Tomorrow. Where does it fit on the new DCU timeline? Our guess is maybe somewhere in between Lanterns and The Brave and the Bold?
Krypto’s dog-mom, of course. Supergirl is here to save our summer on June 26, 2026.
