News that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be “stepping down” as DC Studios co-heads shocked the industry. At this stage, there’s been no official word on what might become of Gunn’s DC Universe, but there has been all sorts of conjecture and rumors making the rounds. One of these rumors suggests that the upcoming “Superman” sequel, “Man of Tomorrow,” will be significantly reworked ahead of its 2027 release. Now, Gunn has taken to social media to quash the rumor — though at this point it’s hard to know who to believe.
Following the Warner Bros./Paramount merger, DC Studios now belongs to Skydance, and it seems the new ownership has big changes in store. Reports have claimed that Skydance CEO David Ellison will dismantle Gunn’s DC Universe following his departure. Meanwhile, Nexus Point News published an article in which it cited sources claiming “Man of Tomorrow” is being trimmed down ahead of its July 2027 release. According to the outlet, planned cameos are being cut and reshoots being planned. If Ellison is, indeed, planning to raze Gunn’s cinematic universe, that would make sense. According to Gunn himself, however, it’s all nonsense. The director wrote a post on Threads stating:
“There are a lot of untrue rumors going around, but one of them is that Skydance has seen ‘Man of Tomorrow’ and that all sorts of sweeping changes are being made. No one from Skydance has even seen the movie — the only people that have are Peter Safran and a very small trusted group of friends and family. So any stories around this narrative are false.”
It makes no sense for Skydance to leave Man of Tomorrow untouched
On one hand, it’s reassuring to hear that James Gunn will be able to finish his movie without Skydance making changes. On the other, he didn’t actually state unequivocally that the new owners wouldn’t be altering “Man of Tomorrow,” only that nobody from Skydance has seen the movie yet. But given what we’re hearing about how David Ellison plans to reboot the DC Universe, and the fact he’s appointed a new DC Studios head in Jeremy Latcham, it would make sense for “Man of Tomorrow” to be reworked.
Gunn previously confirmed that Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle would return in “Man of Tomorrow.” Nexus Point News’ report claims that this is one of the cameos on the chopping block following Skydance’s Warner takeover. If true, it would frankly make a lot of sense. Ellison clearly has plans for DC moving forward, and he won’t want audiences confused by cameos that suggest the return of erstwhile heroes to a universe he plans to dismantle.
Page Six has reported that Gunn is only staying to finish “Man of Tomorrow” because Directors Guild of America rules mean he “could not be removed” from the project. If accurate, this suggests Ellison would have given Gunn the boot from his own movie if he could — adding more credence to the idea that Skydance wants to make changes to “Man of Tomorrow” and the DC Universe as a whole. According to the director himself, this is all untrue. But everything we’ve seen and heard suggests otherwise.
Just because Skydance hasn’t seen Man of Tomorrow, doesn’t mean changes are impossible
A Puck report has claimed that James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios exit was driven in part by cost-cutting. Given all the financial promises David Ellison had to make in order to close the Warner/Paramount merger, and the fact Gunn and Safran were making a tidy little profit for themselves via a deal that gave them significant autonomy as DC Studios co-heads, that makes sense. As such, if Skydance is committed to putting out “Man of Tomorrow,” it will want to do all it can make sure it’s profitable while also trying not to misguide audiences with cameos and setups for a DC Universe future that simply isn’t going to arrive.
It’s unclear whether the same rules that supposedly prevented Skydance from removing Gunn from “Man of Tomorrow” will also prevent them from meddling too much in the final product. But it seems almost certain that Ellison will want to have some say in the movie. With Jeremy Latcham now set to oversee DC Studios, clearly the Skydance CEO has a different vision in mind for the brand moving forward. The fact that nobody from Skydance has seen “Man of Tomorrow,” therefore, doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have major changes planned.
Bearing in mind Gunn and Safran were previously told they would be staying on at Skydance before Ellison suddenly dropped the axe, it’s hard to say who knows what over at DC Studios. For now, Gunn clearly believes he’ll be able to put out the “Superman” sequel he wants to make, but who’s to say what might happen over the coming months. “Man of Tomorrow” is set for a July 9, 2027 release, and a lot can happen between now and then.