Superman received positive reviews and will soar beyond $600 million at the worldwide box office later this week. However, DC Studios co-CEO and filmmaker James Gunn isn't making Superman 2 next, and continues to play coy about his second big screen DCU project.
Warner Bros. Discovery has confirmed that it's a movie in the "Super-Family," with the prevailing theory being that we're getting a Superman/Supergirl team-up. If so, Gunn must be confident in the odds of next summer's Supergirl being a crowd-pleasing hit.
During a new interview with Chris Hardwick, Gunn said, "I can say that probably the next movie we’re gonna be making is the follow-up to 'Superman,' which I don’t want to get in too much detail on, but like that’s what’s probably the next film we’re making, I think."
"Well, hopefully we’re making ['The Batman Part 2'] before that, and then I think it’s [the 'Superman' follow-up]," he continued, all but confirming a 2027 release for the movie. "And then we have another TV show, which nobody knows about, which is going next."
The series he mentions is a bit of a mystery to us, as Booster Gold, Waller, and Paradise Lost don't appear anywhere close to starting production. Has another mystery project been added to the DCU slate that wasn't announced at the start of 2023? It seems likely.
Back to his Superman follow-up, and Gunn previously said, "It’s within the group of characters we’ve already met, and Superman’s an important element of it. So, that’s what I’ll say, but like that movie, that treatment is done."
It's not outside the realm of possibility that the filmmaker surprises us with a "Justice Gang"/Justice League International movie, though that would be an extremely ballsy move on his part. He's dismissed the idea of a World's Finest feature (which would team Superman up with Batman), no great surprise if this "Super-Family" title is heading our way the same year as The Batman Part II.
The Brave and the Bold and Wonder Woman remain somewhere on the horizon. However, with Supergirl facing stiff competition at the box office next summer and Clayface a more obscure horror project, DC Studios may be relying on this Superman follow-up to be its next big hit.
Superman's legs at the U.S. box office have been impressive, but it's struggled to resonate with moviegoers overseas. What that means for Supergirl and another "Super-Family" movie remains to be seen.
You can listen to the full interview with Gunn below (via The Playlist).