As the cast continues to grow and take shape in surprising ways, the story at the heart of Superman: Legacy is getting more time to become clear. We know little about James Gunn’s script for his reboot aside from what he has recently told us, and although it’s said the script won’t tell an origin story, in a sense, it still does.
Variety reports that Legacy will be “a workplace origin story” — according to Gunn’s layout in January, that is. Moreover, he will establish Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) as a co-lead — perhaps in a nod to Superman & Lois and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Maybe he also wants to let Brosnahan shine like her forebears did.
Despite this report from Variety that the film will be a “workplace origin story,” Gunn has previously stated he is not creating an origin story. When specifically asked about that face back in December, he responded, “No way.”
DC Studios co-head Peter Safran explained that Superman: Legacy “focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned.”
Gunn previously shared his vision for the film on Twitter, “Then a bit less than a year ago I saw a way in, in many ways centering around Superman’s heritage – how both his aristocratic Kryptonian parents and his Kansas farmer parents inform who he is and the choices he makes.”
More recently he shared on Threads that the “primary story most definitely revolves around Superman and Lois.”
He also noted, “We’re entering a world where superheroes exist and have existed for quite a while. They’re a part of one side of [Superman’s] world just like Lois and Jimmy are a part of another.”
Gunn had also previously told Gizmodo that he wants to tell a “moving story” which “treats the characters with dignity and compassion.” This could be his subtle way of indicating how he will differentiate his DCU from the Snyderverse. “I want to tell a story that treats the characters with dignity and compassion and is the best, most surprising, most moving story I can possibly tell,” he explained.
Leaving himself and his film open to all outcomes of audience reception, Gunn continued, “And if that ends up being just moving, because it’s a fun blast of a film, or if it ends up being moving because you’re sobbing, or it makes you feel that rage, or whatever it makes you feel, I’m good with all of those things as long as it works.”
Superman: Legacy doesn’t come out until the summer of 2025.
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