SUPERMAN Movie In The Works With James Gunn Penning The Script; Henry Cavill Is No Longer The Man Of Steel

James Gunn has just taken to Twitter to formally announced a new Superman movie, with the trades confirming that the director/writer behind Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker will indeed be penning the script. However, no word on whether he'll actually direct the feature. 

In his announcement, he also confirms that Henry Cavill, who has inhabited the role since 2013, will no longer portray the Man of Steel and that they will seek out a younger actor to bring the character to life - although he notes that they've already met with Cavill about potentially joining their revamped DC Universe in a new role. 

The script is in its earliest stages, but THR has learned that it will follow a young Clark Kent as he begins his career as a reporter at the Daily Planet. This means the movie will be set primarily in Metropolis, not Smallville, and we'll get to see him meet iconic DC characters like his future wife Lois Lane, among others. 

Gunn writes, "Peter & I have a DC slate ready to go, which we couldn’t be more over-the-moon about; we’ll be able to share some exciting information about our first projects at the beginning of the new year. 

Among those on the slate is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman's life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill.

But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future."

As for the recent confusion following his Black Adam cameo, insiders have clarified that Cavill's highly publicized announcement about his Superman return was not a rogue decision by the actor, but a plan hatched by the studio before they decided to hire Gunn & Peter Safran. With the duo having locked their own slate, it was time to bid farewell to the past and usher in a new era of DC stories.