DC Studios head James Gunn has confirmed that his upcoming Superman: Legacy is not a young Superman movie, making it clear that Henry Cavill wasn’t dropped as the Kryptonian hero only because of his age profile being unsuitable to play a young superhero.

The Guardians of the Galaxy director brushed off the young Superman rumours in response to a fan query on Threads on Friday: “I was never making a ‘young Superman’ movie, just a Superman movie!” he wrote.

After taking over DC Studios with Peter Stefan in 2022, Gunn announced their plans for the DCU. “Peter and I have a DC slate ready to go, which we couldn't be more over the moon about. Among those on the slate is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman's life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill.”

Shortly after that, it was announced that Henry Cavill will not reprise his role as Superman even after portraying the role for a recent cameo in The Flash (2023).

The Witcher actor has been replaced by The Politician’s David Corenswet in the upcoming film. Corenswet’s Superman will be joined by Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane alongside Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl and Anthony Carrigan as shapeshifter Metamorpho.

Superman: Legacy will mark the big-screen beginning of Gunn and Safran’s revamped DCU, which they revealed back in January. During that announcement, Gunn said he was only writing Superman: Legacy. However, one month before heading into pre-production, the writer-director revealed that he will also be helming the movie.

Chapter One of the DCU is slated to kick off with Superman: Legacy on July 11, 2025 and will be followed by Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Swamp Thing and The Authority alongside five TV shows including Creature Commandos, Waller, Lanterns, Booster Gold, and Paradise Lost.