When the big DC reboot was announced last year under the direction of director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran, one question was above all in the room: Does it still exist at all Interest in a superhero universe, which is built up over years? DC has tried this for the past decade and failed, as evidenced by the patchwork of recent DC movies.
Despite all the warning signs, the Warner Bros. studio is sticking to its plan. The new DC Universe, officially DC Universe (DCU) baptized, definitely coming. Written and directed by Gunn, Superman: Legacy kicks things off, introducing us to David Corenswet as the new Superman in cinemas in Summer 2025. As exciting as the project sounds so far, the choice of villain is a huge squeeze in my anticipation.
Superman meets Lex Luthor – again!
Lex Luthor as a villain in a Superman movie is just as boring as the Joker in Batman
Lex Luthor is like the Joker. We’ve seen a lot of both characters over the last few decades. They are the most obvious choice, when it comes to opponents for new Superman or Batman films. The fixation is not unfounded. As nemesis, Luthor and Joker are perfectly matched to the heroes’ strengths and weaknesses and can put them in really awkward situations.
Warner Bros.
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
If you want to push Bruce Wayne to his limits, confront him with the nasty clown and the rest takes care of itself. The same thing happens when Lex Luthor discovers he can get dangerously close to Superman with a piece of kryptonite. Suddenly, the larger-than-life hero is vulnerable. The trick is good, but has since been told several times. Superman: Legacy is supposed to start something new.
The Batman did it. It would have been very easy to do a secret remake of The Dark Knight, the most popular DC movie starring the Joker. Luckily, Matt Reeves and his team chose one decided to take a different approach and let Robert Pattinson investigate as a detective in Gotham’s underworld. Curiosity was aroused: Despite the familiar brand, this Batman immediately had its own identity.
James Gunn threatens to fall into the biggest trap in blockbuster cinema with DC villain Lex Luthor
That’s exactly what the new Superman movie needs if it’s going to establish an entire universe that won’t be shut down right after the first adventure due to lack of interest. The DC brand alone is no longer a selling point. Superman: Legacy comes in a world where the superhero audience become very picky is – and not because of a general fatigue with the genre.
Warner Bros.
Failed to arouse audience interest: Black Adam
Christopher Miller, one of the creative minds behind Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, has the misconception surrounding the supposed superhero fatigue aptly summed up to Rolling Stone:
I don’t think it’s superhero fatigue. I rather believe that there is a ‘I’ve seen movies like this dozens of times‘-fatigue is. Taking the same story structure, style, tone and vibe as the previous films and series, it doesn’t matter what genre it is.
Miller’s conclusion is clear: “It will bore people.” DC itself had to experience this several times recently, for example with Black Adam, which was in development for over a decade. In the end, one of the most interchangeable superhero films ever came out. Lead actor Dwayne Johnson could promise a change in the hierarchy in the DC universe so often. The public didn’t believe it anymore.
Sadly, Lex Luthor as the villain in the DCU’s first Superman film feels more like Black Adam than The Batman. Of course, it’s possible that James Gunn will find a new approach to integrate the DC character into the story in an exciting way. The thing is: I expect a lot more from Gunn. Like few other filmmakers, he knows his way around the world of film, comics and pop culture.
I expect something from James Gunn that I don’t know – especially with the big DC reboot
There are so many deadlocked ideas of superhero cinema associated with Superman that I’m afraid Gunn is forgetting his greatest strength: the offbeat into something cool and tangible. There are many people in Hollywood who have good ideas for Batman and Superman, but few who can make a talking tree and (!) a talking raccoon the emotional center of their film.
Disney
Rocket and Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
No one digs into the far reaches of the DC Universe unless James Gunn does. Just as he populated his Guardians of the Galaxy films with utterly bizarre Marvel characters who otherwise would probably never have made it into an Avengers crossover, he unabashedly opened up to The Suicide Squad DC poison closet and found one weird character after another there.
Though half of them have already died, there’s one character that Gunn almost single-handedly upended the old DC order with: Peacemaker. A super soldier who murderous as a moral authority and capitalizes on John Cena’s comedic talent: this impossible DC hero left you wanting to see more. Nobody asks about Lex Luthor anymore.
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