While James Gunn’s upcoming Superman: Legacy will take the cultural icon back to his roots, it has been made clear it’ll not be another origin story despite featuring a Clark Kent who is just getting started. Another major departure from his past installments is that Superman will not be the first of his kind in this universe and will be thrown into a world where Superheroes have existed for a while.
Even though not many details about the plot have been made known to the public yet, following the list of characters that have been confirmed, it appears DCU might witness the JLI from the comics.
Justice League International Might End up Becoming a Thing in James Gunn’s DCU
Following the list of characters that have been confirmed so far in Superman: Legacy, it won’t be a far stretch to assume the universe might already involve a team of superheroes in motion. Although early rumors indicated that the Justice League of Society might be involved in some capacity, which was also introduced in DCEU’s Black Adam, there is no substantial weight behind those claims.
But what seems pretty possible is Justice League International, which first rose up in the aftermath of the Legends event back in 1987. And with Maxwell Lord being cast in the DCU, who had a key role in establishing JLI in the comics, it’s not hard to see why JLI might already be a thing in the DCU or could end up becoming a team in the future.
James Gunn’s Version of Green Lantern Will Avoid the Ryan Reynolds-Led Movie’s Grave Mistake
Another factor that adds to the possibility of Justice League International in the DCU is the confirmation of Guy Gardner’s Green Lantern, which will be played by Nathan Fillion. Per James Gunn, this iteration of the character will avoid the mistake that tanked Ryan Reynolds‘ version of the character. One of the most heavily criticized elements of 2011’s Green Lantern, whose failure led to the IP being absent from the big screen for over a decade, was its excessive reliance on CGI even for the suit. But James Gunn clarified this will not be the case for DCU’s Lanterns, stating (via Threads),
“I can’t remember ever having a CG suit unless it was on a CG character.”
On the flip side, fans were also a little concerned following the huge cast confirmed for Superman: Legacy, to which Gunn clarified everyone will be essential to the overall story.
Superman: Legacy will hit theatres on 11 July 2025.
