In 2022, the DC Extended Universe (or DCEU, which is every DC movie from Man of Steel through Aquaman 2, with the exceptions of The Batman (2022) and Joker (2019)) was confirmed to be coming to an end after a series of flops, and Henry Cavill and most of the DCEU cast were confirmed to be replaced. Filmmaker James Gunn (director of Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad (2021)) was confirmed to be the head of the new DC universe (also known as the DCU or Gunnverse). The first movie of James Gunn’s DCU was Superman (2025), directed by Gunn himself. There was controversy leading up to Superman (2025)’s release because of Henry Cavill getting replaced with David Corenswet as Superman. At the end of it all, Superman (2025) is doing well at the box office, making over $610 million at the box office on a budget of $225 million as of September 12, 2025. Superman (2025) was also well received, receiving an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 7.3/10 on IMDB, and an 8/10 from IGN. So the question is: is Superman (2025) really super, man?
One thing to notice about Superman (2025) is that, even though it’s the first movie in James Gunn’s DCU, it’s not an origin story. That’s a good move—everyone already knows Superman’s backstory, and skipping it lets the movie do more with the character and the plot. Something else that one may notice about the movie is that it is more light-hearted and less dark in its tone than other DC movies. In my opinion, that is a great thing because Superman is supposed to be a less serious character, and he only became serious after the success of Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. I like the more light-hearted tone because it makes the movie feel more genuine and sincere in a way, and it also makes Superman (2025) a movie where one should feel good after watching it. Anyways, in Superman (2025), Lex Luthor tries to find dirt on Superman, and he eventually does. As a result, Clark Kent/Superman discovers something about his past that he did not even know. Now Superman has to basically find himself, redeem himself in the eyes of the public, and stop Lex Luthor’s evil schemes.While Lex Luthor finds dirt on Superman, he also causes lots of conflict just to try to get Superman involved and get people to hate Superman. In my opinion, Nicholas Hoult’s portrayal of Lex Luthor was the best part of the movie. Lex Luthor was a great villain because he was not someone who we were supposed to feel bad for, like some other villains as of now. His motivation was mainly hating Superman, and while some may not like that, in my opinion, we are not supposed to feel bad for the villain, and so it feels good when Lex Luthor gets what is coming for him later on. Lex Luthor hates Superman, and clearly does everything in his power to hate Superman.
Going back to Superman, I like his character arc of finding himself, because while that is technically unoriginal (i.e., Thor’s character arc throughout all four Thor movies was for him to find himself), it involves a twist that nobody would expect, and so it provides a fresh take on that kind of character arc as a result. Speaking of plot twists, there is one involving one of Clark Kent’s Daily Planet buddies, Jimmy Olsen, where Jimmy is more involved in the plot than expected. That is a good plot twist because Jimmy Olsen is (or up to that point in the movie, was) a side character, so nobody would expect it. However, a minor complaint that I have with the movie is that we do not really see Clark Kent with his Daily Planet co-workers much apart from Lois Lane. Even Jimmy Olsen, who is pretty relevant to the plot, did not get much time with Clark Kent. However, that is just a minor complaint.
Something that I really like about Superman (2025) is Clark Kent and Lois Lane’s dynamic throughout the movie. There is a scene where Clark Kent as Superman is interviewed by Lois Lane, and it does not go very well for Clark Kent/Superman because he is not really prepared for the questions. That is a good scene because it does a great job at showing that Superman is not perfect (which may be a misconception by some). Also, David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan do great jobs as Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane. Something else I really liked about the movie is the cameos. The cameos were done very well, and are pretty subtle and not shoved in your face unlike some other movies as of recent. The main cameos (not really cameos, but appearances of non-Superman characters) are the appearances of the Justice Gang, which includes Guy Gardner’s Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific, and Hawkgirl (and the Justice Gang are featured in the trailers, so it is not really a spoiler to mention them). They have a decent part in the plot of the movie, and Green Lantern and Mr. Terrific are highlights of the movie. Mr. Terrific gets some funny and cool one-liners, and there is a cool scene where he fights some of Luthor’s henchmen. Also, Mr. Terrific helps out Superman during the movie, so that is cool. Green Lantern is a highlight of the movie because it is funny that there is an egotistical Green Lantern who thinks higher of himself than he actually is. Green Lantern also gets many funny one-liners, and Nathan Fillion does a great job of playing this egotistical Green Lantern (fun fact: Nathan Fillion voiced Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern in multiple animated projects, so it is nice that he gets to play a Green Lantern in live action). Hawkgirl does not get as much time to shine as her partners, but she gets a little bit of time to shine during the final battle. As for other cameos, I cannot spoil them, but there is a cameo at the end of the movie that is supposed to tease the next movie in the Gunnverse. Also, I liked Superman’s dog, Krypto. As far as I am aware, this movie marks Krypto’s live-action Superman movie debut, and Krypto was a highlight of this movie. Krypto was cute and funny because he was pretty much “The worst dog in the world” in the words of James Gunn. Another thing that Superman (2025) does well is the soundtrack. Mainly, the end credits song “Punkrocker” by Teddybears and Iggy Pop is the song that stuck out to me the most after watching the movie. Although “Punkrocker” did not originate in Superman (2025), I think it brought that song back into relevancy. In general, James Gunn does very well with the soundtracks of his movies, the Guardians of the Galaxy movies are the main examples, and it is nice that he has not lost his touch.
Next year, there is going to be a Supergirl movie and a Clayface horror movie, which I feel like James Gunn will cook with. I think it is an interesting choice to make a Clayface movie be the introduction to Gotham in the Gunnverse, unless they combine The Batman (2022) universe into the Gunnverse, but I feel like James Gunn will make a good movie (hopefully better than Sony’s Spider-Man-less Universe movies and Joker Folie a Deux). As I am writing this, James Gunn just announced the Superman (2025) sequel, called Man of Tomorrow, which will come out in 2027. Of course, I am very excited for it. Tune in a few weeks to see my thoughts on the Man of Tomorrow announcement.
Overall, Superman (2025) is a great start to James Gunn’s DCU, and I am excited for the future of James Gunn’s DCU. Superman (2025) has great characters, well-done cameos, a good story, great acting performances, great comedy, a solid soundtrack, a tone that fits very well with the movie, and it is just a great movie. I would definitely recommend watching Superman (2025) while it is still in theaters, but it is also available on some streaming services for a price, if you’d prefer to watch it at home. So, to answer the question at the start of the article/review, Superman (2025) is indeed super, man. I give Superman (2025) a 9/10.
