James Gunn was recently asked how many Superman movies he had planned to make as part of the DC Universe (DCU). His upcoming directorial feature, Superman, will be the first cinematic entry in the franchise. It’s safe to assume that its performance at the box office and with the critics will have a significant impact on the future of the DCU.
How James Gunn dodges Superman sequels question
Gunn was asked by Variety how many Superman movies he had in mind at the red-carpet premiere of Superman on Monday. The filmmaker either didn’t hear the question correctly or evaded it by saying, “I have them all.”
Either way, he spoke instead about how Superman is the “most comic book movie” he has ever made. He said that he was inspired by the comics, adding, “So, for me, this is the most comic book movie I’ve ever made by far. Maybe the first real comic book movie I’ve made. Because I really am influenced by the comics. And I wanted to have people experience the joy I felt when I was reading comic books as a kid in this movie.”
As indicated above, a lot is riding on the performance of Superman, including prospective sequels of the movie. In a recent interview with GQ, Gunn rejected the speculations that the movie needed to make $700 million to be successful, calling them “just complete and utter nonsense.” He elaborated, “It doesn’t need to be as big of a situation as people are saying.”
In June 2025, Gunn hinted in a separate interview that his next project might not be a “straight-up” Superman sequel. “What I’m working on is in some way…I mean, yes, yes, yes, yes,” said the filmmaker. “But is it a straight-up Superman sequel? I would not say necessarily,” he added. However, he did state that we will see David Corenswet’s Superman again in less than two years.
Superman comes out in U.S. theaters on July 11, 2025.
