The next team-up movie in James Gunn’s DCU already sounds very similar to Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice from the old DCEU. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a controversial DCEU movie when it was released in 2016. Critics and audiences were split about the film on Rotten Tomatoes, moments from the movie were ridiculed online, and many viewers were upset that it ended with Superman’s death.
It was largely because of the DCEU’s divisiveness and inconsistency that James Gunn took over and started a new continuity in the DCU. Gunn’s efforts to revamp the DC universe got off to a very strong start with shows like Peacemaker season 2 and Creature Commandos as well as the 2025 Superman film. There are also several upcoming DCU movies that look very promising, like Clayface and Supergirl.
The start of the DCU has largely been able to avoid some of the problems that held the DCEU back. Superman 2025 had a much lighter and more hopeful tone than the Snyderverse did, the movies and shows are much more comic accurate, and the entire franchise seems to be doing well. Now, however, it seems the upcoming Superman film Man of Tomorrow may replicate some elements of Batman v Superman, which could end up replicating some of the problems with the earlier film.
Speaking very broadly, Man of Tomorrow and Batman v Superman have a few similarities. The films obviously have very different stories; Batman v Superman centers around the titular duo fighting, while Man of Tomorrow centers around Superman and Lex Luthor teaming up to stop Brainiac. That being said, there are still quite a few areas of overlap between both the DCEU’s and the DCU’s second Superman movie.
The most glaring similarity between them is the fact that both Batman v Superman and Man of Tomorrow are team-up films. In the former, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman eventually banded together to defeat Lex Luthor and Doomsday. In the latter, Superman and Lex Luthor will have to team up to take down Brainiac. The cast of Man of Tomorrow also includes other DC heroes, like Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl and Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart, mirroring Batman v Superman’s use of Wonder Woman.
There has even been speculation that Man of Tomorrow will debut the DCU’s Wonder Woman, though the full details of the movie’s cast have been mired in rumors, refutations, and gossip. Man of Tomorrow, as well, will be the DCU’s second outing for Superman, just as Batman v Superman was. Additionally, neither of the films are really sequels to the first Superman films in their respective franchises. As team-up movies, these stories are really about the franchise at large rather than Superman himself.
Batman v Superman, for example, did more to set up Justice League and introduce Wonder Woman than it really did to further Clark’s story. If these rumors hold true, it also seems that Man of Tomorrow will be more about Lex Luthor’s place in the DCU and introducing new characters like Wonder Woman, Maxima, and the Green Lanterns. Superman will likely get some characterization of his own, but it’s a far cry from a dedicated solo Superman sequel.
That last point, that Man of Tomorrow is more of a team-up than a Superman sequel, also highlights the biggest similarity between the DCEU and DCU: neither franchise can give Superman a proper solo sequel. Despite outright launching the DCU through Man of Steel and effectively launching the DCU’s theatrical efforts with Superman 2025, Superman is only given one solo movie in both franchises.
James Gunn Teases Superman & Lex Luthor’s Man Of Tomorrow Relationship ](/man-of-tomorrow-superman-lex-luthor-relationship-story-james-gunn/)
DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn opens up more about the new storyline for Lex Luthor and Superman in the upcoming Man of Tomorrow movie in 2027.
Even Superman 2025 wasn’t really a solo Superman movie. He was the main focus of the film, but it also very notably featured several other DC characters in supporting roles. Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner, Mister Terrific, and even Metamorpho all had big roles to play in Superman, and the movie ended with a Supergirl cameo. Superman 2025 was effectively a soft launch for the Justice League (or Gang) as a whole.
Superman, as a character, is essentially a springboard to launch the rest of the franchise for both the DCEU and the DCU. After a fairly good solo movie that acts as a debut, the next Superman movie in both franchises is used to introduce the entire DC universe as a whole. Superman goes from the main focus of his first film to a narrative tool to introduce as many new superheroes and villains as possible in the sequel and pave the way for future movie efforts after Man of Tomorrow.
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Peter Safran, James Gunn