The new DC Universe is off and running under the direction of DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran and they’re wasting no time building it all out. To that end, Gunn recently announced the follow-up to this summer’s “Superman,” which he directed, in the form of a new movie called “Man of Tomorrow.” While David Corenswet’s Man of Steel will be a major character, this film is not being billed as a straight-up sequel. To that end, more heroes are seemingly joining the roster for this one.
Isabela Merced, who plays Hawkgirl, responded after James Gunn’s “Man of Tomorrow” announcement on social media. Taking to her Instagram Stories, the actress shared the artwork included in Gunn’s announcement, which features Superman standing next to Lex Luthor in his warsuit, along with the caption, “See you sooon.” That makes it pretty clear that Merced will be part of the proceedings, and she’s not alone.
On James Gunn’s Instagram post announcing the movie, Aaron Pierre, who is playing the Green Lantern John Stewart in the “Lanterns” TV show, commented saying, “Yes, indeed!” with a green heart emoji. Gunn then replied to the comment with an excited hands emoji. Pierre also shared Gunn’s post on his Instagram Stories as well. That’s slightly less definitive than Merced’s post, but it seems to point in the same direction.
Gunn, known best as the director of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy, has made it clear that the same actors will play their characters on TV, in the movies, and even animation. Frank Grillo plays Rick Flag Sr. in “Creature Commandos” and in “Superman.” Merced’s Hawkgirl also appeared in “Peacemaker” season 2. It’s all connected. So it would make sense to bring Pierre’s Green Lantern to the big screen sooner rather than later.
Man of Tomorrow will have a lot more than just Superman in it
During the press tour for “Superman,” Gunn was asked a lot about a sequel. He made it clear that he was writing a follow-up, which we now know as “Man of Tomorrow,” but also made it known that it was not “Superman 2.” Replying to a fan on Threads previously Gunn explained, “Superman has a major role. ‘It’s not Superman 2.'”
That takes on new meaning in light of what we know about the movie. The artwork shared by Gunn hints at a big story for Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, which could make him more of a co-lead. Without getting into wild speculation territory, it’s possible that there is a larger threat to humanity that presents itself, resulting in the need for more heroes than just Superman to extinguish said threat.
Because it had so many characters in it, there was concern that “Superman” would be more of an ensemble picture. Gunn went out of his way to make sure it was still very much Clark Kent’s story. Here though, he’s potentially opening the door for more of an ensemble piece. If this new movie is not “Superman 2,” that means it can focus elsewhere and give some of these other emerging characters in the DCU more time to breathe. Who knows? Maybe this could help tee up a solo “Green Lantern” movie. Right now, the possibilities feel endless.
“Man of Tomorrow” hits theaters on July 9, 2027.
