Will the Writers' Strike Affect James Gunn's Superman: Legacy?

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the first writers' strike in 15 years! The Writers Guild of America on Tuesday voted to strike, meaning Hollywood writers have walked out on the studios after failing to reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Disruptions to the industry are already happening: late-night shows have gone dark, writers' rooms have shut down, and work has halted on any script penned by unionized writers. The strike doesn't affect completed films or scripts, so its impact on the film industry might not be felt until next year or 2025, should the ongoing strike delay work on upcoming productions.

Productions like the James Gunn written and directed Superman: Legacy, which is slated to open in theaters on July 11th, 2025, officially launching the new DC Universe. Or not. Gunn, who heads DC Studios with co-chair and CEO Peter Safran, submitted his Superman script last week, TheWrap reports. This means pre-production can continue, but Gunn, as a member of the WGA, cannot rewrite, rework, or otherwise alter his finished script for the duration of the strike. (The 2007-2008 WGA Strike lasted 100 days.)

On April 18th, Gunn confirmed that he was "diving fully into early pre-production" on his Man of Steel reboot, revealing that "costumes, production design, and more" are "now up and running." With the search for the new Superman underway, Legacy will reportedly begin shooting in early 2024. The strike is not expected to impact the first film of what Gunn and Safran are calling the DCU's Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters.

According to the official logline, Superman: Legacy "tells the story of Superman's journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned." 

"It's hard, but we're looking," Gunn recently told Variety about finding the DCU Superman/Clark Kent. "And we actually have some really great choices, which I'm excited about. But it has to be somebody who has all of the humanity that Superman has, but he's also an alien. It's gotta be somebody who has the kindness and the compassion that Superman has. And it has to be somebody that you want to give a hug."

DC's Superman: Legacy is scheduled to open in theaters on July 11th, 2025.