When Warner Bros. unveiled plans for a new Superman movie, skepticism came faster than a speeding bullet. The DC Universe had seen its share of ups and downs, with ambitious reboots, scattered timelines, and uneven box office returns. But with Superman (2025), the studio wasn’t just bringing back an icon—it was making a declaration. This was no longer just about saving the world. This was about saving DC’s cinematic future.
Helmed by James Gunn—now a co-CEO of DC Studios and the creative force behind Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and DC’s own The Suicide Squad—Superman 2025 was pitched as a soft reboot of the franchise.
Gone is Henry Cavill’s square-jawed Superman of yesteryear, and in his place stands David Corenswet, a rising star whose resemblance to the classic Christopher Reeve-era Superman was impossible to ignore. Corenswet brings a fresh but familiar take to Clark Kent: earnest, wide-eyed, and conflicted. Opposite him is The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel breakout Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.
Gunn’s Superman isn’t an origin story. Clark is already Superman, already balancing his Earth upbringing with his Kryptonian heritage. But the world is still learning how to receive him. Metropolis is split between awe and anxiety, and even within the halls of the Daily Planet, there’s tension about whether Superman is a savior or a symbol of something more troubling.
Set against a backdrop of political unease and technological disruption, the film introduces a grounded, morally gray Lex Luthor, played by Succession’s Nicholas Hoult.
Supporting characters offer promise for the DC Universe’s expansion. Edi Gathegi plays Mister Terrific, a genius inventor whose presence hints at the Justice League’s return. Isabela Merced appears as Hawkgirl, bringing both grace and fury. Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner—a cocky, mustachioed Green Lantern—injects moments of levity without ever feeling shoehorned in.
Warner Bros. sees Superman as the cornerstone of a revived DC Universe, with the studio having already lined up follow-up entries, including The Authority and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which will spin out of themes and characters seeded in Superman.
Now, just weeks after release, the verdict is in, with critics and fans mainly won over. See a sample of reviews for Superman below.
JUDGEMENT
“Gunn’s take couldn’t be more different than the somber religious symbolism of Snyder’s, and is more in keeping with the lighter tone we’ve seen from him before in films like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad. Where Man of Steel was ponderous and epic, Superman is lighter and more hopeful, a film less about overcoming humanity’s darkness and more about appealing to its better nature. Mileage will undoubtedly vary depending on one’s preferences and overall tolerance for this sort of thing, but it’s far more tolerable than anything Marvel has been churning out lately.” Jared Rasic, Metro Times
“But there are problems in the writing. Luthor lacks depth, portrayed simply as an abusive sociopath who’s targeting Superman out of spite, and indulging in “reckless science” at the cost of destroying the world entirely. Supes himself, meanwhile, is almost the pure-of-heart hero you want him to be, the one that Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve so masterfully achieved in their iteration — but some clunky dialogue and a cocky edge means the character never quite meets the mark.” Sophie Butcher, Empire
“I almost made the mistake many critics make: demanding that material intended for a much younger demographic also be exciting for adults. Sometimes movies can just be for kids. At the press screening, a balding, middle-aged film critic sat in the front row, reading a comic book. Not Superman related. You see how the mindset can come about. In a similar vein, the writing in Superman is a bit old-school: cheesy, goofy, and, well—cartoonish. Which it should be, if this was intended to be a throwback to the Superman of Saturday morning cartoons. Clark Kent is mildly bumpkin-ish, and Ma and Pa Kent are similarly so (as compared to, say, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane). No problem there.” Mark Jackson, The Epoch Times
“To writer/director Gunn’s credit, Superman doesn’t waste time with the origin story we all know, opting to plunge us into a world where our titular superhero is recognized as the most powerful and beloved metahuman on Earth. However, his popularity is in jeopardy after the aforementioned mission, in which he took it upon himself to prevent a war. After losing a battle for the first time, Superman is saved by Krypto the Superdog, who isn’t exactly Fortress of Solitude-trained and could really use some superhero canine behavioral classes. You know that we’re not supposed to take a Superman movie too seriously when the pup enters the equation.” Richard Roeper, rogerebert.com
“We may never know Zack Snyder’s master plan for advancing the Superman saga since his Man of Steel opus (The Godfather of superhero movies) was disrupted by studio executives at Warner Bros. who insisted on a comic book series that emulated Christopher Nolan’s nihilistic but more profitable Batman franchise. They wanted darkness, not Snyder’s seriousness. But ‘dark’ means trivial in Millennial film culture, and now, with James Gunn’s new Superman, Warner has gotten the inconsequential movie it always desired.” Armond White, National Review
“This movie is extremely fun, uplifting and filled with joy, which are things I am not used to saying about comic book movies nowadays. His reverence for the Man of Steel, in all of his various comic book iterations, is weaved into this film. You can feel his deep love for Richard Donner’s original movie, which starred Christopher Reeve in his career-defining role, and its absurdly enjoyable sequel. This Superman is wholesome and optimistic and pays homage to the past without repeating it. Gunn truly shocked me with this one and delivered an aspirational superhero movie unlike anything I’ve seen on the big screen in years.” Aaron Pruner, CNET
