James Gunn Reveals Which Comic Book Inspired His ‘Superman: Legacy’

DCEU will be officially over by the end of this year, and after that, a whole era awaits for DC and its live-action content. Apart from the Elseworlds projects, such as ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ and ‘The Batman — Part II,’ the audience also has a new Superman movie to look forward to. We don’t know if James Gunn’s ‘Superman: Legacy’ will be good or if it’s going to be commercially successful, but one thing is certain: the success (or failure) of this movie will dictate the direction of DC movies for at least the next ten years.

Warner Bros. and DC Studios are putting all of their hopes into this upcoming reboot, and if this time doesn’t work out, who knows if it ever will? James Gunn has a good track record with the superhero movies he wrote and directed in the past. His ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ trilogy and ‘The Suicide Squad’ received positive feedback, and although Superman is something entirely different compared to those teams of weirdos that Gunn surely knows how to handle, it’ll be interesting to see what Gunn prepares for us in his upcoming superhero flick.

James Gunn talks about a comic book that hugely influences his upcoming Superman movie.

Apart from being a filmmaker, James Gunn is known as a huge fan of comics, which he doesn’t hesitate to share in his posts on social media. Recently, he posted an image of ‘Superman for All Seasons,’ a 4-issue comic book limited series which DC Comics published in 1998. Gunn said that this is one of his favorite Superman stories and a huge influence on his ‘Superman: Legacy.’

“Just received this stunningly gorgeous Absolute edition of Superman for All Seasons, one of my favorite Superman stories & a huge influence on Legacy (& a strangely perfect bookend with All-Star Superman). The late, great Tim Sales artwork & Bjarne Hansen’s watercolor work have never looked better – nor have Clark & Ma & Pa. Jeph Loeb’s elegant, confident story still sings.”

James Gunn

‘Superman for All Seasons’ first appeared in September 1998, and it ran for four issues until December of the same year. It was written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale. Each issue is set in a different season and narrated by one of the four characters: Jonathan Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Lana Lang. ‘Superman for All Seasons’ was highly praised by fans and critics.

The plot of ‘Superman: Legacy’ is still under wraps, but we have plenty of information regarding the casting. We know that David Corenswet will play a new cinematic Superman while Rachel Brosnahan will play Lois Lane. The movie will also feature Hawkgirl (played by Isabela Merced), Michael Holt/Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Guy Gardner/Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), and Rex Mason/Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan).

Written and directed by James Gunn, ‘Superman: Legacy’ is currently set to be released on July 11, 2025.

Liked this article? Join the community on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!