Why Superman Director James Gunn Dropped 'Legacy' From The Movie's Title

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DC Studios and its co-president James Gunn are wasting no time pushing out a "Superman" follow-up. On September 3, Gunn shared that his new movie "Man of Tomorrow" is currently due out in July 2027, featuring the return of Superman (David Corenswet) and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) to the big screen.

We'll see if the film arrives in theaters with that title, though. Remember, Gunn originally titled his Superman movie "Superman: Legacy" before he announced he had cut the subtitle in February 2024. Next year's "Supergirl" was similarly retitled from "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" (after the comic the movie is based on, written by Tom King and drawn by Bilquis Evely).

In an interview with Rolling Stone shortly before the release of "Superman," Gunn discussed the title change. Apparently, he was never all that sure about the "Legacy" subtitle himself. During the so-called "premortem" meeting, he shared his doubts and they won out"

"A premortem is, you get together with your group that's doing the project. It's usually about a couple months before shooting, and you go, hypothetically, 'If it's an epic disaster, what are the things that we're doing today that are going to cause it to be an epic disaster?' [...] One of the things I brought up was, it was called 'Superman: Legacy.' Even though I was the one that gave it that title, I just wasn't sure. First of all, I'm sick of the superhero title, colon, other-name thing. And then also it seemed to be looking back when we're looking forward, even though it does have to do with legacy in the movie itself. And everybody was like, 'Oh, yeah, no, change it.'"

Was removing "Legacy" the deciding factor in "Superman" being the (so-far) highest grossing superhero movie of 2025? It's impossible to know for sure. Gunn's point about the title being backward-looking is astute, though, because it gives the wrong impression of the movie. "Superman" is and was supposed to be a new beginning for the DC Universe on film. "Legacy" implies the movie is a sequel or building on something prior. 

Superman has a long history on film, sure, but this movie is a fresh start. Part of that fresh start, though, was making a big change to this Superman's family legacy.

Ever since at least Richard Donner's 1978 "Superman," Kal-El — sent from the heavens, raised as a human, grows up into a savior — has been recognized as a Christ allegory. Superman's father Jor-El didn't just send his son to Earth to save Kal-El's life from their doomed world Krypton, he did it to save Earth, too.

Let's review the words that the previous silver screen Jor-El (Russell Crowe) gave to his son (Henry Cavill) in Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel":

"You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you. They will stumble. They will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."

Jor-El in the Richard Donner "Superman" (played by Marlon Brando) is dressed all in white, evoking the typical Christian image of God, too. The Jor-El in Gunn's "Superman" (played by Bradley Cooper) is dressed similarly. Cooper's Jor-El didn't give his son an AI replica of his consciousness, only a recorded message from himself and his wife Lara (Angela Sarafyan), which was scrambled when baby Kal-El's ship landed on Earth.

Clark has always assumed the message was of his parents telling him to save Earth. But Lex decodes the message and reveals the truth: Jor-El and Lara wanted their beloved son to rule this planet, bring its "weak" and "confused" people under heel, and restart Krypton anew.

As Andrew Gladman previously wrote for /Film, this twist is the relevance of the word "legacy" to the film's themes. Superman's legacy, and the legacy of Krypton, is not what he thought it was (or what the audience expected from past "Superman" films). Clark is disbelieving and angsty at this revelation, but with guidance from his adopted father, Jonathan Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince), he realizes his legacy is his own choices. He wants to do good, and so that's what he'll do.

The ending of "Superman," where Clark watches home movies of himself growing up in Kansas with his adopted parents, is both forward- and backward-looking. Clark is literally remembering the past, but with renewed reassurance about the legacy he'll continue to leave. Even without "Legacy" as part of the title, these themes come through loud and clear in the film.

"Superman" is now available for physical and digital rental or purchase.