Superman (2025 film)

Superman is a 2025 American superhero film based on the eponymous character from DC Comics. Written and directed by James Gunn, it is the first film in the DC Universe (DCU) and a reboot of the Superman film series. David Corenswet stars as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman, alongside Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, and Isabela Merced. In the film, Superman faces unintended consequences after he intervenes in an international conflict orchestrated by billionaire Lex Luthor (Hoult). Superman must win back public support with the help of his reporter and superhero colleagues. The film was produced by Gunn and Peter Safran of DC Studios.

Development on a sequel to the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Man of Steel (2013) began by October 2014, with Henry Cavill set to return as Superman. Plans changed after the troubled production of Justice League (2017), and the Man of Steel sequel was no longer moving forward by May 2020. Gunn began work on a new Superman film around August 2022. In October, he became co-CEO of DC Studios with Safran, and they began work on a new DC Universe. Gunn was publicly revealed to be writing the film in December. The title Superman: Legacy was announced the next month; Gunn was confirmed to direct in March 2023; and Corenswet and Brosnahan (Lois Lane) were cast that June. The subtitle was dropped by the end of February 2024, when filming began in Svalbard, Norway. Production primarily took place at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with location filming around Georgia and Ohio. Filming wrapped in July. The film's influences include the comic book All-Star Superman (2005–2008) by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.

Superman premiered at the TCL Chinese Theater on July 7, 2025, and was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on July 11. It is the first film in the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. The film grossed $618.7 million worldwide, making it the tenth highest-grossing film of 2025, and received mostly positive reviews. Critics found it to be fun, colorful, and earnest, although some felt it was overstuffed, while the performances of Corenswet, Brosnahan, and Hoult were praised. A follow-up film, Man of Tomorrow, is scheduled for release in 2027, while a spin-off television series featuring supporting characters from the film, including Skyler Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen, is in development for HBO Max.

Plot

Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman stops the nation of Boravia from invading the neighboring country of Jarhanpur and warns Boravian president Vasil Ghurkos to leave Jarhanpur alone. In Metropolis, Superman is defeated for the first time by a metahuman called the "Hammer of Boravia" and flees to his Fortress of Solitude in Antarctica with the help of the superpowered dog Krypto. They are followed by Angela Spica / The Engineer, an ally of tech billionaire Lex Luthor. Superman's robots use concentrated solar radiation to heal him and comfort Superman with a message from his birth parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, who sent him to Earth to save him from the destruction of their planet Krypton. The message was damaged during the journey, so only the first half can be played. Superman returns to Metropolis and is again beaten by the Hammer, who is secretly Luthor's metahuman Ultraman.

Superman agrees to be interviewed by Lois Lane, his girlfriend and reporter colleague at the Daily Planet, leading to an argument when Lois presses him on the legal and ethical implications of his actions in Boravia. Luthor unleashes a kaiju on Metropolis as a distraction while he infiltrates the Fortress with Ultraman and the Engineer. They overpower the robots, capture Krypto, and discover the Kryptonian message; the Engineer restores the damaged portion. Superman rescues civilians while fighting the kaiju with the "Justice Gang", a team composed of heroes Green Lantern, Mister Terrific, and Hawkgirl. Despite Superman's wanting to take the creature alive, Mister Terrific kills it. Luthor broadcasts the Kryptonian message and Superman is shocked to hear the second half, in which his parents urge him to conquer Earth and take many wives to restore the Kryptonian race.

Public opinion turns against Superman, especially when he angrily confronts Luthor, looking for Krypto. Lois reassures Superman that she believes he is good, and he confesses his love for her before surrendering himself to the U.S. government. They hand him over to Luthor for detainment and questioning inside an artificial pocket universe where Luthor secretly holds his enemies, including Krypto. Superman is imprisoned with the metahuman Metamorpho. Luthor uses Metamorpho's infant son Joey as leverage to force him to transmute one of his hands into Kryptonite, rendering Superman powerless. During questioning, Luthor murders one of Superman's supporters, Malik Ali. A horrified Metamorpho agrees to help Superman escape, and they free Joey and Krypto. Lois convinces Mister Terrific to help find Superman and they enter the pocket universe, rescuing the others. Lois takes Superman to recuperate with his adoptive human parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent. Jonathan tells the demoralized Superman that his choices and actions determine who he is, not the message from his birth parents.

Luthor's girlfriend Eve Teschmacher, who is infatuated with Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen, provides him evidence that Luthor is aiding Boravia in return for half of Jarhanpur's territory. Luthor imprisons her and lures Superman back to Metropolis by opening an unstable portal to the pocket universe, creating a rift in reality that splits the city in half. Superman sends Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Metamorpho to stop Boravia from invading Jarhanpur again. Hawkgirl kills Ghurkos and Green Lantern invites Metamorpho to join the Justice Gang. In Metropolis, Superman and Mister Terrific fight the Engineer and Ultraman. After Superman defeats the Engineer, he learns that Ultraman is a clone of himself created by Luthor. With Krypto's help, Superman defeats Ultraman and knocks him into a black hole beneath the rift. At Luthor's headquarters, Mister Terrific closes the rift. Luthor says he orchestrated the Jarhanpur conflict as an excuse to implicate Superman, driven by envy of his public admiration despite being an alien. Superman challenges his ideology, but Luthor remains defiant and is subdued by Krypto.

Lois and Jimmy expose Luthor's schemes to the public, clearing Superman's name. Luthor and his associates are arrested, and those trapped in his pocket universe, including Eve, are freed. Lois confesses that she loves Clark, too. As Superman recovers at the Fortress, his cousin Kara Zor-El drunkenly arrives to pick up Krypto. The robots comfort Superman with footage of his childhood on Earth with his human parents.