James Gunn’s DC Universe just hit a major milestone. Man of Tomorrow, the sequel to 2025’s Superman, officially wrapped principal photography in late August, and Gunn wasted no time sharing the news — and a little bit of on-set mischief — with fans. The film is now headed into post-production ahead of its July 9, 2027, theatrical release, and with filming complete, the pieces of what’s shaping up to be one of the most anticipated superhero sequels in years are finally coming into focus.
Here’s a full rundown of everything currently confirmed about Man of Tomorrow, from its villain team-up premise to its sprawling returning cast.
The Wrap Announcement
Gunn confirmed the wrap on social media with a pair of photos from the set. One showed Nicholas Hoult, who plays Lex Luthor, jumping into a lake after the final shot of the shoot. The other featured Gunn and his key collaborators gathered around the video monitors, whom he affectionately called his “brain trust.” Gunn described the production as a genuinely joyful experience and thanked his cast and crew for it.
Filming began in April 2026, meaning the shoot ran for roughly four to five months — a substantial production window that lines up with the scale of the story Gunn has been teasing since the sequel was first announced.
The Plot: Superman and Lex Luthor, Reluctant Allies
The central hook of Man of Tomorrow is a reversal fans have been speculating about since the sequel was announced: Superman and his archenemy Lex Luthor are forced to set aside their rivalry and team up against a far greater threat. That threat is Brainiac, the super-intelligent alien conqueror, played by German actor Lars Eidinger.
Gunn has described the film as being just as much about Lex as it is about Superman, saying he related to the character and wanted to build something substantial around the dynamic between the two men. He’s also confirmed that the story takes place in essentially real time within the DC Universe’s internal timeline, placing the events of Man of Tomorrow roughly two years after the first Superman film. DC Studios has framed the sequel as the next chapter in what it’s calling the “Super Family Saga,” tying it into the broader DCU slate that includes Supergirl, Peacemaker Season 2, and the upcoming Lanterns series on HBO Max.
Some fan theorizing has also connected the film to Salvation, a prison-dimension storyline from the comics that has already surfaced in Peacemaker Season 2 through Lex Luthor’s dealings with Rick Flag Sr. Whether that connection plays a meaningful role in Man of Tomorrow’s plot remains unconfirmed, but the setting of some of the film’s final shots has fueled plenty of speculation.
A Packed Returning (and Expanding) Cast
Man of Tomorrow brings back nearly the entire ensemble from 2025’s Superman, while folding in several new additions pulled from elsewhere in the DCU:
- David Corenswet returns as Superman/Clark Kent
- Rachel Brosnahan returns as Lois Lane
- Nicholas Hoult returns as Lex Luthor
- Skyler Gisondo returns as Jimmy Olsen
- Wendell Pierce returns as Perry White
- Mikaela Hoover returns as Cat Grant
- Sara Sampaio returns as Eve Teschmacher
- Frank Grillo returns as Rick Flag Sr.
- Isabela Merced returns as Hawkgirl
- Nathan Fillion returns as Guy Gardner
- Edi Gathegi returns as Mister Terrific
- Lars Eidinger joins as Brainiac
- Adria Arjona joins as Maxima
- Xolo Maridueña returns as Blue Beetle, reprising the role for the first time since his standalone 2023 film
- Aaron Pierre, who currently plays John Stewart/Green Lantern in HBO’s Lanterns series, crosses over into the film version of the character
That’s an unusually large ensemble for a superhero sequel, and it signals how central Gunn’s shared-universe approach has become to the DCU’s second wave of films. Rather than treating Man of Tomorrow as a standalone Superman story, it’s shaping up as a genuine team-up movie that pulls characters in from across Gunn’s slate of DC projects.
Visual Teases: Lex Luthor’s Comic-Accurate Warsuit
When the sequel was first announced in September 2025, Gunn shared a teaser image showing Superman standing beside Lex Luthor in his Warsuit — a nod to Luthor’s comic book power armor. Gunn later shared an early look at Hoult in the suit on set, giving fans their first real sense of how the film plans to visualize one of Lex’s most iconic looks. Given the plot’s focus on a Luthor-Superman alliance, the Warsuit’s appearance suggests Lex may play a far more heroic, or at least pragmatic, role than in past adaptations.
Why This Sequel Matters for the DCU
Superman was the film that launched Gunn’s rebooted DC Universe in 2025, and it became the year’s highest-grossing comic book release, pulling in over $600 million worldwide. Since then, the DCU has expanded quickly, with Peacemaker’s second season and 2026’s Supergirl continuing to build out the shared continuity, alongside a more mixed critical reception for some of those follow-ups. That makes Man of Tomorrow something of a pressure test: a chance for Gunn to prove that his slower-building, ensemble-driven approach to the DCU can deliver a sequel that lives up to the original’s box office and critical momentum.
With filming now complete, attention shifts to post-production, marketing, and the inevitable wave of trailers expected to roll out over the coming year. Given how tightly Gunn has controlled information about the plot so far, don’t expect too many details to leak before Warner Bros. is ready to start marketing in earnest.
The Bottom Line
Man of Tomorrow has cleared one of its biggest hurdles with production now finished, and the pieces are in place for what could be one of 2027’s defining blockbusters. With Superman and Lex Luthor forced into an uneasy alliance against Brainiac, a returning cast stacked with DCU veterans, and new arrivals like Aaron Pierre’s Green Lantern joining the fray, James Gunn’s follow-up has a lot riding on it — and a lot of ways to deliver.
