By this point, every fan of the Man of Steel knows the superhero's origin story inside and out, and that's exactly why no time will be wasted on it in Superman: Legacy. Set for a release in 2025, Superman: Legacy brings in David Corenswet as Clark Kent alongside Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Director James Gunn previously explained how he wanted a younger actor in the role for the new film when Henry Cavill announced his departure from the role.
While Corenswet is younger than Cavill, he's certainly no teenager, as he's day away from his 30th birthday. The actor's age would suggest that Gunn is looking to follow Clark Kent in his 20s, years after the superhero first came to Earth before eventually suiting up as Superman. While his origin story could still potentially be told in flashbacks of young Clark, Gunn says this won't be the case.
“I think we’ve seen his origin enough in film at this time!” Gunn told a fan on the social media platform BlueSky, per Heroic Hollywood.
The writer-director also clarified, "There is no Young Clark."
With that said, plot details haven't been shared about the film, and it remains unclear exactly what Gunn has in store with Superman: Legacy. There are rumors that with Superman and Lois Lane cast, Gunn is next looking to find an actor for the role of supervillain Lex Luthor. In any case, Corenswet and Brosnahan are the only cast members officially announced at this time.
We May Still See a New Origin Story for Superman on the Big Screen
James Gunn doesn't plan to explore Superman's origins in Superman: Legacy, but that doesn't mean that other Superman films won't be doing the same. Even before Gunn and Peter Safran were hired to steer the ship at DC Studios, there were reports that Ta-Nehisi Coates was writing a new Superman film to be produced by J.J. Abrams. In May, Gunn said that he still hasn't seen the screenplay for that project, but he's still open to having that film serve as a DC Elseworlds film separate from Superman: Legacy.
“Those two things are totally unrelated," he said, via i09. "That’s an exciting movie. I know that Chantal Nong, who is the executive on that project, is extremely excited about it. So if it comes in and it’s great, which I haven’t read the script, and if the timing is right, that could absolutely happen. That’s totally unrelated. It would be an Elseworlds tale like Joker.”
Before Corenswet's casting, Gunn also teased what he was looking to have his Superman bring to the screen in Legacy. He mentioned how hard the casting process had been as he was determined to find someone who checked all the boxes.
"It’s hard, but we’re looking, and we actually have some really great choices, which I’m excited about," he told Variety in April. "It has to be somebody who has all the humanity that Superman has, but he’s also an alien. It’s gotta be somebody who has the kindness and compassion that Superman has. And it has to be somebody that you’d want to give you a hug."