James Gunn has muddied the waters of what constitutes a sequel while hyping up Man of Tomorrow. Regardless, the Superman follow-up will put the spotlight on Clark Kent and Lex Luthor as they team up to face a "bigger" threat.
When we last saw Lex, he was being taken to Belle Reve for his role in the destruction that befell Metropolis when he attempted to kill Kal-El.
However, when he dons his green and purple War Suit from the comics to combat this mysterious new threat, will Lex also become a hero? While his comic book counterpart has often fought on the side of the angels, that "heroic" side of the character is one the Man of Tomorrow writer and director is eager to explore.
"I think I'm just more interested in getting into the heart of Lex and seeing how he fits into all of this," Gunn explained in a recent interview with The Ringer-Verse. "I think getting to know more of Lex as a human being. We saw a lot about the evil part of Lex. He's pretty evil. He, as a character, is really interesting. There's something, despite everything, that is incredibly heroic about Lex."
"Take aside morality, which is hard to do, but here is this guy who is saying, 'You can hold up a building. You can shoot down planes with your eyes. F*** you, I'm going to kick your ass because I'm better than you. I can't help but admire his tenacity and his ego. His ambition is beyond compare. He's the underdog."
"Yeah, sure, he's got a lot of corporate power that he can use to manipulate things, but he can't fly into outer space, lift up a building, or punch something across three states," the DC Studios co-CEO added. "He's a guy, and I f***ing love that."
Gunn went on to shed more light on what fans can expect from Man of Tomorrow by saying that Superman "is more comic booky in some ways," reiterating that this sequel "has to do with the dual characters of Lex and Superman at the centre."
The Daily Planet staff and the Justice Gang are expected to appear in the movie, as is Peacemaker. Gunn has described the HBO Max series as a Man of Tomorrow prequel, and pointed to the finale playing a key role in setting up what we'll see in theaters less than two years from now.
"I want to make sure people can pick up and watch something without having to see something before it," he said of Peacemaker season 2. "That said, episode 8 is as important to Man of Tomorrow as anything."
While the final few episodes of Peacemaker haven't been provided to critics in advance to protect spoilers, the prevailing theory is that A.R.G.U.S. will be forced to turn to Lex for his help in figuring out the Quantum Unfolding Chamber (if that leads to him being freed from Belle Reve, it could set up Man of Tomorrow, just as Gunn is promising).
Man of Tomorrow arrives in theaters on July 9, 2027.