DC Head James Gunn Says Ta-Nehisi Coates's Superman Movie Could Still Happen

Updated on 5/2/2023 at 1:25 PM

If you're a big fan of DC Comics — and the movies and TV series inspired by them — it's a bit of a confusing time. DC Studios is still planning on releasing "The Flash," "Blue Beetle," and "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" this year, but after that, the universe is undergoing a bit of a hard reboot under the direction of new cochair and CEO of DC Studios James Gunn.

Gunn — who also helmed the Guardians of the Galaxy films for Marvel — and Peter Safran joined the company as its new leaders in November 2022, and in January, they announced a new slate of film and TV projects they're calling "chapter one" of the new DC universe. Their plans include a movie titled "Superman: Legacy," which Gunn himself will be writing and directing. But some fans have worried that means a previously announced Superman movie from Ta-Nehisi Coates and J.J. Abrams won't be happening anymore.

In a new interview with Gizmodo, Gunn explained that Coates and Abrams's movie is "unrelated" to "Legacy" and could still happen.

"That's an exciting movie," he told the outlet. "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.'" Gunn and his team are referring to DC films outside of his planned universe — such as 2019's "Joker," the upcoming sequel "Joker: Folie à Deux," and the upcoming sequel to 2022's "The Batman" — as "Elseworlds" stories.

No casting has been announced yet for "Superman: Legacy," and Coates's movie has planned to introduce a Black actor as the Man of Steel for the first time. If both movies happen, the leads would join a legacy of big-screen Superman stars that includes Christopher Reeve, Brandon Routh, and, more recently, Henry Cavill, who is no longer attached to the role.

Tyler Hoechlin has played Superman on two CW series: "Supergirl" and "Superman & Lois." Tom Welling played Superman on the long-running show "Smallville," which ended in 2011, and Dean Cain played the role in '90s series "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." The character has also appeared in a myriad of animated projects.

Who Is Writing the Script?

In February 2021, Shadow and Act revealed that Coates would be writing the script for the new feature. "To be invited into the DC Extended Universe by Warner Bros., DC Films and Bad Robot is an honor," Coates said in a statement to the online publication at the time. "I look forward to meaningfully adding to the legacy of America's most iconic mythic hero." That May, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the script was due December 2021, but there's been no major update on what stage the project is in (and Gunn says he hasn't read a script).

Coates is best-known for penning the nonfiction books "The Beautiful Struggle," "We Were Eight Years in Power," and "Between the World and Me," and the novel "The Water Dancer." In the comic-book world, he's written issues of Black Panther and Captain America comics.

Who Is Producing?

Abrams will be producing under his Bad Robot label. "There is a new, powerful and moving Superman story yet to be told. We couldn't be more thrilled to be working with the brilliant Mr. Coates to help bring that story to the big screen, and we're beyond thankful to the team at Warner Bros. for the opportunity," Abrams told Shadow and Act in 2021.