“Man of Tomorrow” – a follow up film to this summer’s hit “Superman” – is expected to hit theaters in July 2027, according to a Wednesday X post from director James Gunn. It featured an original drawing of Superman and villain Lex Luthor drawn by Jim Lee.
Deadline reported that David Cornswet is expected to return as Superman/Clark Kent in “Man of Tomorrow”. Nicholas Hoult is also expected to return as Luthor.
This film is part of the DC Cinematic Universe, a rival of the Marvel Cinematic Universe powerhouse that dominated the box office during the late 2000s and 2010s with films like “The Avengers” franchise, also based on comic book characters. Previous DC films often failed to perform like their Marvel counterparts at the box office, and DC Studios also faced challenges such as the public controversies related to “The Flash” star Ezra Miller.
“One of the problems with DCEU [DC Extended Universe] content in the past was no real consistency with in the universe itself,” said Gunn, who directed three successful “Guardians of the Galaxy” films in the MCU, according to ScreenRant. Gunn was hired to a main DC leadership position in 2022 alongside DC Studios co-head Peter Safran, and “Superman” was intended to revamp the franchise.
According to Deadline, “Superman” opened to $125 million at the box office on July 11 and it became the first DC movie since “The Batman” in 2022 to make more than $300 million at the domestic box office. As of Wednesday, the film had grossed more than $611 million globally and Rotten Tomatoes rankings showed that it was well received by both audiences and critics.
It also marked an apparent shift in the DC/Marvel dynamic at the box office. “The Fantastic 4: First Steps”, Marvel’s big summer 2025 release, opened a bit softer than “Superman” at around $117 million later in July and had grossed a little over $507 million globally by this Wednesday, per Box Office Mojo.
Back in 2012, “The Avengers” opened domestically at more than $207 million. That film, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” from 2015, “Avengers: Infinity War” from 2018 and “Avengers: Endgame” from 2019 all had worldwide grosses upwards of $1 billion. In recent years, COVID-19, streaming services and economic pressures have impacted in-person film attendance, though more “Avengers” films are slated for release in 2026 and 2027.
Following the success of “Superman” this summer, the DCEU is expected to continue growing next summer with “Supergirl” starring Milly Alcock from HBO’s “House of the Dragon”, a prequel series to “Game of Thrones”. Another entry into the DCEU, “Clayface”, is expected to open on Sept. 11 of next year, ahead of the second outing focused on Cornswet’s Superman, Deadline reported.