With potential concerns for a delay to its release date, Superman: Legacy just got a new status update for its production as part of the upcoming DCU slate.
DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are set to kick off their new DC Universe with a reboot of Superman’s story being its first film in the summer of 2025.
But with both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA moving forward with strikes, concerns regarding delays to that movie’s release date have become quite real as Hollywood’s writers and actors seek fair pay and compensation.
Superman Reboot Production Update Shared
In May 2023, DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn announced that Superman: Legacy would begin shooting in January 2024 ahead of its July 11, 2025 release date.
Now, a new update from Variety revealed that the upcoming Superman reboot "can begin production in the spring" if the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike comes to a close by the end of 2023.
Although the WGA writers’ strike is now officially over, Superman: Legacy wasn’t affected with Gunn having turned in his first draft of the script shortly before the strike began.
Now, the biggest concern is that production may be delayed from January 2024 until later into spring due to the actors’ strike and prep required to get productions back in motion, although Warner Bros. could still possibly make that January date.
Gunn will also now be back to work shortly on revising and editing his Superman: Legacy script, picking up where he left off after he was confirmed to both write and direct the reboot.
Elsa Ramo, a managing partner at Ramo Law and an attorney representing Image Entertainment and Skydance during the strikes, also noted that every major studio's priorities are in picking up on projects “that were all but greenlit but stopped" over the summer due to the strikes:
“The priorities seem to be things that were all but greenlit but stopped because of the strike. They need to figure out how they finish what they started.”
When Will the Superman Reboot Begin Shooting?
Being the first movie in the new DCU slate, James Gunn and co. are looking to get started on production sooner rather than later, with this report being a good sign that it won’t face much of a delay - if any.
Casting announcements have already been made confirming David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, with Gunn also indicating a role for the classic DC character Jimmy Olsen.
For the time being, all DC Studios can do is wait for the actors’ strike to meet a conclusion, which many are hoping to see soon after the writers’ strike comes to a resolution.
But with photos of Corenswet already teasing his intense prep for this iconic role, anticipation is already building to find out more details about the Man of Steel’s long-awaited return to the skies and the big screen.
For now, Superman: Legacy is set to land in theaters on July 11, 2025.
