James Gunn's Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, just wrapped production with a first-ever DCU twist. The next chapter of the acclaimed director's Superman saga arrives on July 9, 2027. It will focus on David Corenswet's Superman as he teams up with Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor to take down Brainiac, the super-intelligent alien android from Colu, played by German actor Lars Eidinger.
James Gunn confirmed that the sequel had finished principal photography on August 26, celebrating by sharing photos of the crew, one of which featured Nicholas Hoult jumping into a lake after the final shot. Surprisingly, none of the photos included lead actor David Corenswet. Throughout production, DC never released a single official behind-the-scenes image of Corenswet's Superman, an unprecedented occurrence, since no other DCU film has gone through its entire shoot without unveiling at least one official look at its title hero. Clayface, for instance, shared multiple photos of its lead, Tom Rhys Harries, when it began principal photography in 2025.
Cameras started rolling for Man of Tomorrow at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 20 under the working title Exodus. The production also shot in Macon, Georgia, Cincinnati, Ohio, and the United Kingdom over the course of four months. During that period, DC Studios released only a handful of official looks at the film. One was the day-one chessboard photo featuring Lex Luthor's prison ID badge and an image of Nicholas Hoult's Lex suited up in the character's iconic green and purple warsuit. Fans were instantly impressed by how comic-accurate the costume was, but unfortunately, they never got an official sneak peek of Big Blue.
Keeping Superman hidden is odd, given James Gunn's track record since taking over DC. During the first Superman, Gunn unveiled an official in-costume first look at Corenswet in May 2024, about three months into filming. The same was done during Supergirl, which received an official day-one set photo of Milly Alcock to mark the start of its shoot.
Despite DC withholding photos of the hero, fans still saw Corenswet in action, just not through official channels. Bystanders captured unofficial set photos during night shoots in downtown Atlanta in early June, showing Superman hovering above the street and brawling with the warsuit-clad Luthor. Those images revealed battle damage across the suit's torso, a sharper collar, and a tighter fit than the original costume (read The Direct's full breakdown here).
Matthew Lillard also reunited with James Gunn on Man of Tomorrow, and the director even shared a photo with the actor on his Instagram page.
To date, little is known about the role Lillard is playing, but some fans suspect he could be portraying Ted Kord, a theory with some credence to it, since Xolo Maridueña is confirmed to appear as Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle who inherited the mantle from Kord in the comics.
Man of Tomorrow's Set is Packed With Many Hidden Plot Details
Although Superman never received an official still from the set, images and footage from the production have hinted at many plot details. Even the photo Gunn shared after wrapping looks very similar to the eerie prison planet Salvation, revealed in Peacemaker Season 2's finale. The remote forest and lake setting resembles the planet quite a bit. Salvation factoring into Man of Tomorrow wouldn't be surprising, since Gunn has noted its importance to the broader DCU in the past.
The chessboard set photo also further ties Peacemaker into Man of Tomorrow. The image featured a Van Kull prison badge issued to inmate Alexander Luthor, confirming that the deal Lex and Rick Flag Sr. struck in Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 6 went through off-screen.
In that episode, "Ignorance Is Chris," Flag visited Lex in Belle Reve, and Lex agreed to help him find John Cena's Christopher Smith in exchange for a transfer to Van Kull, a facility without metahumans. Lex appearing in his warsuit indicates he made it out of prison somehow, whether he was broken out or Flag lobbied for his release to help deal with Brainiac.
The set videos and photos also indicate that although Superman and Lex will team up in the movie, their partnership won't be all rosy. One brutal set video showed Superman diving at Lex and taking him to the ground.
It'll be interesting to see how they eventually put their differences aside, since Gunn described Man of Tomorrow as "as much a Lex movie as it is a Superman movie" and called it "a story about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together to a certain degree against a much, much bigger threat."
The battle against Brainiac is set to be intense, with Gunn's chessboard photo also featuring a clapperboard bearing a logo that fuses Superman's shield with Brainiac's three-dot emblem. This hints that the storied history between the Last Son of Krypton and the android alien in the comics will be just as vicious in live-action.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
