James Gunn Calls It Quits With One of His Closest Collaborators on 'Superman 2'

One of James Gunn's closest collaborators will not return to work with him when he dives into production on Superman 2 (Man of Tomorrow). Gunn's Superman sequel is gearing up to be a massive production, bringing in one of the biggest villains in DC history to fight the Man of Steel and leaving Earth's safety in the balance. This will also come with some notable changes behind the scenes as Gunn pushes forward with the DC Universe.

DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn confirmed that Sam McCurdy will be the cinematographer for Man of Tomorrow. Gunn replied to a fan on Threads who asked whether a new production listing naming McCurdy as the cinematographer was true, indicating the hire is official. This means that Gunn's regular co-collaborator, Henry Braham, will not be back for the DC sequel.

Gunn also spoke on the Crew Call with Anthony D'Alessandro podcast about his experience with McCurdy with McCurdy there alongside him. Noting their experience together on Peacemaker Season 1, Gunn "fell in love with his style" and the way they communicated with one another, reflecting on the "really good and easy rapport" they developed:

"Michael Bonvillain, who did the pilot of 'Peacemaker,' brought on Sam, and then I worked with Sam, he was the second DP on the first season of 'Peacemaker,' and I sort of fell in love with his style and the way we communicated, how he communicated with everyone on set, how he communicates with everyone. So, we just had a really good and easy rapport."

Gunn and Braham have a long history of working together, as Braham was the director of photography on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and 3, The Suicide Squad, and Superman. The two also joined forces on The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which was filmed immediately before production started on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Meanwhile, McCurdy will reunite with Gunn after first working together on Peacemaker Season 1. His other major credits include Game of Thrones, Shogun, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

Man of Tomorrow will be the direct sequel to 2025's Superman, directed once again by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn. Starring David Corenswet, Nicholas Hoult, Rachel Brosnahan, Frank Grillo, and Lars Eidinger, this film will make Clark Kent and Lex Luthor allies against a much more dangerous threat, which will come in the form of the supervillain Brainiac. Man of Tomorrow will debut in theaters on July 9, 2027.

New Cinematographer's Impact on Superman 2 

James Gunn is well known for the breadth of color used on screen, especially in his superhero movies from both the Marvel and DC Universes. While Braham played a major role in bringing those colors to life through his cinematography, the hope is that Man of Tomorrow will be able to bring many of those same colors through McCurdy's vision.

Story-wise, Superman 2 has no shortage of thrilling moments in store, especially considering this movie will deliver the first live-action depiction of Brainiac in a DC movie. His green skin and alien nature will automatically help deliver some exciting moments for fans to watch, and the film may even take a deeper dive into space after the first movie fully took place on Earth.

Even looking solely at the Earth-based material in Superman, Gunn and Braham delivered a vibrant look at this new DC Universe, with the buildings and greenery taking center stage from start to finish. Thankfully, looking at McCurdy's past work on Peacemaker (which came before the show was integrated into Gunn's DCU), the expectation should be that he will fit this new movie seamlessly next to everything already developed for this franchise.

While fans will not see the results of McCurdy's work until at least the end of this year (possibly later), Man of Tomorrow will have high expectations both visually and narratively as the year continues.