SUPERMAN Director James Gunn Confirms The Engineer's Return In MAN OF TOMORROW; Teases Ultraman's DCU Future

SUPERMAN Director James Gunn Confirms The Engineer's Return In MAN OF TOMORROW; Teases Ultraman's DCU Future

Superman writer and director James Gunn has confirmed that The Engineer will return in Man of Tomorrow, and drops some interesting hints about his plans for Ultraman and Peacemaker moving forward...

By JoshWilding - Sep 24, 2025 08:09 AM EST
Filed Under: Superman

Superman's Director's Commentary is full of interesting reveals and exciting teases for the future courtesy of filmmaker James Gunn. Among them are a few that tee up his sequel-that's-not-a-sequel, Man of Tomorrow

In Superman, the hero successfully overcomes an attack from Ultraman and The Engineer by sending them crashing into the grounds of the Metropolis Meteors' baseball stadium. We don't see María Gabriela de Faría's Angela Spica after that, but she's alive and now confirmed to return in the not-too-distant future.  

"[Superman knocked] The Engineer unconscious," Gunn confirmed. "She's out of the movie. Where does she go? Well, you're going to find that out in the next movie."

The DC Studios co-CEO addressed Ultraman's status, as well. "We discover that Ultraman is a clone of Superman. [In the comics], Ultraman is from Earth-3, where he's a part of The Crime Syndicate and an evil version of Superman. There are some similarities here. Also, you might ask yourself, 'Where does Ultraman go at the end of the movie?'"

Gunn added, "He sends him up into the black hole. Is this the end of Ultraman? I don't know." Whether he's hinting at the villain perhaps winding up on Earth-3 or fans are right about the clone becoming Bizarro remains to be seen. 

Rumour has it that John Cena will return as Peacemaker in Man of Tomorrow, and Gunn seemed to hint at that when he weighed in on Chris Smith's surprise cameo in Superman

"Peacemaker is not a fan of Superman, obviously. That's going to be important in the future, actually," he teased, adding that the meeting room from Superman, where Lex Luthor, Rick Flag Sr., and more discussed world events, will be featured in the Peacemaker season 2 finale. The question is, will Lex be among them?

Are you eager to see more of Ultraman and The Engineer after Superman? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

Superman, DC Studios' first feature film to hit the big screen, is set to soar into theaters worldwide this summer from Warner Bros. Pictures.

In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.  

The movie stars David Corenswet in the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.

Also appearing are Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, and Milly Alcock.

"Superman is an indescribable joy," we said in our review"A beautiful, moving thrill, David Corenswet is the perfect Man of Steel in a movie packed full of ideas. Fortunately, under James Gunn’s expert direction, all of those work, creating a rousing experience that flies higher than DC has in a very long time."

Superman is now available on HBO Max, Digital, and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD.

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JackDeth
JackDeth - 9/24/2025, 8:43 AM
Yes, very eager to see what James Gunn has in store for us. I've been a fan since 'TROMEO & JULIET' and I've never been let down by one of his films or shows. In fact, I'm gonna take it a step further and really upset the 'associate producers' by saying, I think he should hire Joss Whedon to write 'THE TERRIFICS' series or film (doesn't matter) because there hasn't been a better voice in ensemble writing since the cult canceled him.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 9/24/2025, 8:46 AM
@JackDeth - I have been a fan of Whedon’s work but given the allegations against him , I don’t think he’ll be working in Hollywood again any time soon or at all (and deservedly so if true).
JackDeth
JackDeth - 9/24/2025, 9:04 AM
@TheVisionary25 - The allegations against him are that he was not nice on the set. It was especially bad in his early career, but a lot of people worked with him multiple times and had no problems with him. Directors being tyrants on set is nothing new and the people on the set of his later projects (Avengers, AOS, The Nevers) never had a bad thing to say about him. It wasn't until he took over JUSTICE LEAGUE and had to work with Snyder's crew of non-actors that he was not as kind with them. All the extra shit Fisher said was de-bunked and Gadot didn't like him because she's just awful. He never had any sexual allegations against him, all of that was rumor. He just wasn't nice enough. He deserved better.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 9/24/2025, 9:11 AM
@JackDeth - I don’t remember those sexual allegations being a rumor but could be wrong…

However other people like Charisma Carpenter & such (women specifically) had unpleasant or uncomfortable interactions with him as they have stated.
kseven
kseven - 9/24/2025, 9:42 AM
@JackDeth - perfectly said on Whedon
whynot
whynot - 9/24/2025, 9:53 AM
@TheVisionary25 - Charisma Carpenter was an employee that broke her contract by making body alterations like tattoos and cutting her hair without disclosing it with the show she was working on. This is a big NO NO when you are under contract. As for Whedon asking her if she’s planning on keeping her baby? I don’t know why that is such a bad thing maybe he had a legit reason for asking it. Maybe he was upset bc she didn’t disclose the news til the middle of filming and he had many people working for him and it was a very last minute rewrite because of this season 4 of Angel definitely suffered. I always found it interesting that he was such a bad boss yet she had no issue returning in season 5 of Angel
JackDeth
JackDeth - 9/24/2025, 9:53 AM
@TheVisionary25 - Nope. He cheated on his wife and she went scorched Earth on him, calling him a 'fake feminist' and stuff. No sexual allegations were proven. Michelle Trachtenberg said she wasn't allowed to be alone in a room with him and people took that to mean it was because he was a pervert. The truth is (since she was a minor), she wasn't allowed to be spoken to without her mother around. Common practice.

Also, the Charisma Carpenter shit was re-litigated in the court of public opinion AFTER the Snyder stuff. When it first came out (when it happened), the people on set were mad at her for hiding her pregnancy and they tried to work it into the show. Whedon was upset and asked if she was going to keep it (an admittedly-thoughtless comment) and she took it as the worst thing that's ever been said to her. She's notoriously difficult to work with.
JackDeth
JackDeth - 9/24/2025, 9:56 AM
@whynot - Exactly. I've spoken to people who worked on the sets of both Buffy and Angel and they've even said Carpenter was not easy to get along with.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 9/24/2025, 10:30 AM
@JackDeth
@whynot

Interesting , I did not know all that if that’s the case then perhaps he deserves another chance
epc1122
epc1122 - 9/24/2025, 8:44 AM
I thought Superman “killed” ultraman? 😂
SteviesRightFoo
SteviesRightFoo - 9/24/2025, 8:53 AM
@epc1122 - he snapped his neck and was then raped soon after his incarceration
MisterBones
MisterBones - 9/24/2025, 8:51 AM
She was super stiff in performance. Also Ultraman clearly will end up on another Earth and maybe become Ultraman in the truer sense.
PC04
PC04 - 9/24/2025, 8:57 AM
Was not a fan of the Engineer character. The over-acting was off putting and at times she seemed very stiff. The one cool scene was when she used the nanites to try and suffocate Superman. That was clever, but the performance overall was a little strange.
SpideyPuffsMJ
SpideyPuffsMJ - 9/24/2025, 9:06 AM
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thedrudo
thedrudo - 9/24/2025, 9:07 AM
She didn’t leave much of an impression after one watch.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 9/24/2025, 9:09 AM
I thought the Engineer was fine in Superman but I do hope the Authority movie happens sooner then later since I wouldn’t be surprised that Planetwatch (which seems to be Gunn’s version of Stormwatch) eventually becomes that team moving forward but now in the hands of the government themselves that want their own “heroes”.

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Also the Raptors are based on something from the comics aswel which Lex also makes for military application and had been used by a couple of people…

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Chewtoy
Chewtoy - 9/24/2025, 9:14 AM
“ Are you eager to see more of Ultraman and The Engineer after Superman?”

Not in the slightest. I mean, they weren’t actively a negative on he viewing experience, but nothing about them made me want more.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 9/24/2025, 9:41 AM
@Chewtoy - yeah

They served their purpose within the film which was for Superman to fight physically.

What did you think of the film?.
n1ghtw1ng2832
n1ghtw1ng2832 - 9/24/2025, 9:16 AM
The Engineer was one of the more stupid characters in the movie and not a very good actress. Was hoping to see some different characters in this new movie but it looks like he's just bombarding us with the same stupid ones.
CoHost
CoHost - 9/24/2025, 9:19 AM
Oh goodie
SuperCat
SuperCat - 9/24/2025, 9:31 AM
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kseven
kseven - 9/24/2025, 9:40 AM
Love Gunn and love his Superman. Gunn gets the point of the characters!
SteviesRightFoo
SteviesRightFoo - 9/24/2025, 10:03 AM
@kseven - 🤣you think?
Moriakum
Moriakum - 9/24/2025, 9:44 AM
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Forthas
Forthas - 9/24/2025, 9:52 AM
""[Superman knocked] The Engineer unconscious,"

It looked to me like Superman was trying to KILL her!!!!

Why would he think a Kamikaze dive into the ground...from space...would only knock her out?

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