After roughly a decade of ups and downs, DC followers have so much to have fun proper now. James Gunn’s “Superman” continues to be well-received by critics and audiences alike (you may learn /Movie’s assessment right here), and the field workplace exhibits that viewers are wanting to look in the direction of a vibrant, optimistic future for the newly rebooted DCU. Whereas Metropolis’ future appears to be like brighter than ever, Gotham Metropolis can be on a profitable streak because of “The Penguin” receiving a whopping 24 Emmy nominations, in addition to Matt Reeves lastly submitting his script for “The Batman Half II.”
Naturally, hypothesis about the way forward for the DCU is working rampant. Specifically, followers at the moment are extra keen than ever to see what a profitable and cohesive shared universe that includes DC Comics characters can convey to each movie and tv. As thrilling as it’s to see “Supergirl: Lady of Tomorrow” and “Clayface” hit theaters in 2026, in addition to “Lanterns” additional introducing viewers to the DCU’s Inexperienced Lantern Corps, there’s nonetheless a want for a correct “Superman” sequel. James Gunn has teased that he’s creating a follow-up that’s “form of” a sequel to the movie, which some have alleged to be a “World’s Best” film by which David Corenswet’s Man of Metal will share the highlight with the DCU’s Batman. Though it’s essential to broaden the DCU and finally introduce the Caped Crusader, I humbly recommend that bringing him right into a “Superman” sequel is just not the correct transfer.
Field workplace glory is tempting, however DC Studios ought to keep away from repeating historical past
Though Superman will be the godfather of all superheroes in comedian e book historical past, Batman is by each metric extra standard with mainstream audiences. Certain, Richard Donner’s “Superman: The Film” is a blueprint for superhero cinema, a lot in order that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige watches it earlier than beginning work on each MCU film, however audiences clearly resonate with Batman’s cinematic adventures greater than Superman’s. From the field workplace alone, as of mid-July 2025, standalone Superman films have grossed roughly $2 billion, with Zack Snyder’s “Man of Metal” being the highest-grossing solo movie, having earned $670 million globally. As for Batman, his standalone films have greater than doubled his fellow Justice League colleague with almost $4.5 billion in worldwide totals, and Christopher Nolan’s “The Darkish Knight Rises” reigns with almost $1.1 billion.
Batman dwarfing Superman on the field workplace performed a transparent consider why, as an alternative of greenlighting a standalone “Man of Metal” sequel, Warner Bros. opted to chase the unprecedented success of Marvel Studios by bringing him into the follow-up, “Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice.” that movie’s field workplace tallies, it grew to become the highest-grossing movie that includes Superman, and but, solely the third highest-grossing movie that includes Batman. A movie that includes the 2 most well-known superheroes in comedian e book historical past ought to have grossed $1 billion with its eyes closed and palms tied behind its again, however its messy high quality and divisive nature solid a shadow upon the DCEU that tarnished the comedian e book model’s popularity with audiences for the rest of its run, with “Justice League” grossing lower than “Man of Metal” and far of the remainder of the cinematic universe topic to diminishing returns. The truth that an R-rated Elseworlds “Joker” film grossed $1 billion whereas no Superman movie has hit that milestone ought to let you know sufficient.
Superman deserves extra alternatives to shine on his personal with out Batman
Finally, placing Batman within the “Superman” sequel could be an absolute mistake. One of many many problems with following “Man of Metal” up with “Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice” is that whereas the primary movie set a basis for additional exploration into the newly established lifetime of Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), along with his profession on the Each day Planet and broader life inside Metropolis, the follow-up places a lot of Superman’s lore within the backseat in favor of introducing Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Gotham Metropolis. Whereas it was comprehensible to introduce parts of this new Darkish Knight, the viewers already has far more familiarity with Gotham Metropolis’s characters and lore than they do with the town of Metropolis.
One of many parts of James Gunn’s “Superman” that succeeded (though the movie might have used extra of it) was introducing the Each day Planet workers and the way it capabilities as a necessary aspect to not simply the story, but in addition to the broader occasions that transpire inside Metropolis itself and past. After all, you’ve Clark Kent (David Corenswet) and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) on the coronary heart of all of it, however supporting gamers like Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), Perry White (Wendell Pierce), Steve Lombard (Beck Bennett), and Cat Grant (Mikaela Hoover) helped construct out a necessary aspect of Superman lore that have been usually sidelined or ignored within the earlier DCEU. (In “Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice,” Jimmy Olsen, performed by Michael Cassidy, is murdered after lower than a minute of display time.) Plus, Superman has a rogues gallery of villains who’re lengthy overdue for the large display remedy.
It is also price noting that whether or not or not the DCU Batman is, as James Gunn beforehand talked about, a brand new actor or, as rumors proceed to persist, Robert Pattinson merging into the continuity, Superman needs to be allowed to shine on his personal phrases, provided that Batman has been the golden goose for DC and Warner Bros. for thus lengthy. DC Studios ought to strike whereas the super-iron is scorching, given the goodwill Gunn’s new movie has restored for Superman’s public notion. If something, a Superman and Supergirl team-up movie could be preferable. A “World’s Best” film is just not a nasty concept, but it surely ought to wait after a correct “Superman 2” in addition to Batman’s debut in a standalone DCU movie. Introduce extra villains like Brainiac, broaden upon Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), and naturally, give us extra from the Each day Planet workers. Bringing in Batman will solely overshadow the lore of Metropolis as soon as once more, and provided that Superman is the “MGM Lion” of the DC Studios intro (or a minimum of he was in the latest film), Gunn and Peter Safran ought to honor that by retaining him on the middle of the whole world’s dialog.
“Superman” is now taking part in in theaters.
