Superman Director James Gunn Reveals the Iconic Storylines That Influenced His Movie

Asked to pin down some of the inspirations behind his forthcoming film Superman, filmmaker James Gunn took to social media today to share a handful of images from comics and animation that will serve as touchstones for the story. Among them are obvious suspects like Kingdom Come and A Superman For All Seasons, as well as some less obvious influences like the Fleischer Superman cartoons, Grant Morrison’s Action Comics run, and the Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons story Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?.

It seems likely, given what little we know about the movie and Gunn’s own history as a filmmaker, that Superman will not be based on any one comic book or even era, but rather will incorporate influences from various stories in an original plot and style that Gunn will develop himself. For instance, his Guardians of the Galaxy movies are, on their face, heavily inspired by the Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning era of the comics, but never directly adapted a tale from that time.

You can see the images below.

Superman stars David Corenswet as the title character, with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. The movie has just started production in earnest, giving it about a year and a half from the first day of filming until its theatrical release. That’s roughly in line with Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, which started production in November of 2021 and was released in April of last year.

Little is known about the story of Superman, other than that it will involve a version of Superman who is settled into his role as the world’s protector, but who also has a network of allies to fall back on. Gotham‘s Anthony Carrigan is set to appear in the movie as Metamorpho, and other superheroes in the film include Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Superman’s origin story, already shown in a number of prior film adaptations, won’t take up a significant amount of real estate in Legacy, according to prior statements from Gunn.

Gunn is lining up some familiar talent on the project, with cinematographer Henry Braham (The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3); production designer Beth Mickle (The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3); costume designer Judianna Makovsky (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Avengers: Endgame); and art director David Scott (Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Spider-Man: No Way Home). Casting is by Yellowstone and Oppenheimer‘s John Papsidera.

Superman is expected in theaters on July 11, 2025.