Looking back at the biggest blockbuster winners of summer 2025, James Gunn's Superman is a title toward the top of the list. After the miserable run in 2023 that saw the petering out of the DC Extended Universe, the brand new DC Universe was launched on the big screen and earned both widespread acclaim and big numbers at the box office. Given this success, it has long felt inevitable that a sequel would get officially announced... but that makes me no less giddy this morning to see the upcoming DC movie get a title, a release date, and some amazing artwork theoretically teasing what we can expect.
James Gunn made the news of the Superman sequel official on his personal social channels, revealing that the next solo adventure for David Corenswet's Kal-El/Clark Kent will be in Man Of Tomorrow, which is now set on the release calendar for July 9, 2027. You can check out Gunn's Instagram post, featuring Lex and Supes artwork by the brilliant Jim Lee, below:
This is rather spectacular news when one considers the philosophy that DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have espoused when it comes to announcing release dates. They have repeatedly promised fans that no title on the DC Universe slate will get scheduled for release until there is total confidence in the script that has been developed. Theoretically, the July 2027 weekend that Gunn just planted a flag in isn't a rushed effort to capitalize on the success of his hit 2025 blockbuster, but instead a suggestion that the franchise has a very clear idea of what story should be told with the character.
As for the Jim Lee art that accompanies the James Gunn announcement, you might think that I'd be jumping the gun thinking that it suggests that the sequel will feature Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor hopping into his warsuit to go toe-to-toe with Earth's favorite Kryptonian. But do you still think that I'm reaching when you see the different but similar piece by Mitch Gerads that Hoult posted on his Instagram?
And David Corenswet's post with artwork by Jorge Jimenez suggests that this simply can't be a coincidence:
In Superman, Lex Luthor has skilled heavies do his fighting for him, as he has María Gabriela de Faría's Angela Spica a.k.a. The Engineer and Ultraman by his side, but this imagery all suggests that Lex will be doing his own fighting in the new film.
With its July 2027 release date, Man of Tomorrow will most likely go into production next summer at the latest... which means that we have months ahead of us that will be filled with speculation about the story, what other characters will appear, and how it will fit within the slate of the DCU. You can be sure that we're going to be staying on top of all the biggest details, so be on the look out for all varieties of news and updates here on CinemaBlend.
While hype builds for the sequel, Superman is still playing in theaters around the country (it placed eighth in the box office Top 10 this past weekend), and it is currently available for digital rental/purchase from all major online outlets ahead of its 4K UHD/Blu-ray release later this month on September 23.
