If 2023 proved anything, it's that the DCEU desperately needed to be rebooted. Movies like Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom were disasters, and those all-important box office numbers confirmed fans had reached the end of their tether with the franchise.
Warner Bros. Discovery formed DC Studios at the end of 2022, tapping filmmaker James Gunn and veteran producer Peter Safran to oversee a new slate of projects set in the DCU.
Not everyone has been happy about that, of course, particularly as it's meant saying goodbye to some fan-favourite actors. Man of Steel star Henry Cavill is near the top of the list and his stint as Superman ended in less-than-perfect circumstances.
After his Black Adam cameo, Warner Bros. gave the actor a green light to announce his return as Superman. A couple of months later, Cavill was fired from the role because Gunn, now heading up DC Studios, wanted to cast a new Kal-El for his reboot.
We've since learned the SUPERMAN helmer had plans to tell a story about the Man of Tomorrow as far back as 2021. This has somehow led to a conspiracy theory surfacing that claims Gunn always planned to oust Cavill and take over the DCEU..
"I don’t quite understand how that fits," the DC Studios co-CEO said, responding to a fan on Threads. "Aside from the fact I had no interest in running DC until Peter decided to do it with me so he could do the exec stuff [and] I could focus on creative, when I was hired to write Superman it was always intended as & pitched as a new Superman story."
"So why would I lie about not planning that at the Squad premiere which would have amounted to the same thing at the end of the day? How does this particular conspiracy theory make sense?"
Gunn continued fending off some wild accusations which stemmed from Nathan Fillion accidentally saying he'd been cast as Guy Gardner at The Suicide Squad premiere when, in reality, it happened at the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 one.
The whole thing is pretty bizarre and there's clearly no truth to Gunn having a secret masterplan to make this franchise his own. However, not helping matters is the fact he's bringing back many of the actors he worked with in the DCEU, all while moving on from the likes of Cavill and Ben Affleck (who, like Zack Snyder, have a rabid fanbase).
SUPERMAN 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.
David Corenswet is playing the Man of Steel, while Rachel Brosnahan has been tapped to star as Lois Lane.
SUPERMAN is currently set to be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.