Here’s your first, weird look at David Corenswet as Superman

Here’s an unexpected surprise for your Monday: James Gunn has revealed the first look at David Corenswet as Superman. To recap, Gunn and producer Peter Safran were hired as co-chairmen of DC Studios in 2022. In early 2023, the duo announced their plan for DC’s slate, including the first feature Superman: Legacy, which would be the “start of the DCU.” Gunn wrote the script and decided to direct the film, eventually dropping the “Legacy” (it’s cleaner) and gathering the opposite of a Suicide Squad with his big ensemble cast. Principal photography for the film began in February 2024; the film is due in theaters July 11, 2025.

All of that brings us to today, with the first photo of star Corenswet (Pearl, The Politician) in Superman’s signature blue and red suit. The picture is… kind of funky? At first glance, you might think the image was created by artificial intelligence. But no, Corenswet’s hands just look like that, apparently, as Gunn wrote on social media the photo “was taken on set by Jess Miglio and was entirely in-camera.” The image depicts Superman seemingly just pulling on the boots of his already-dirty suit, despite the fact that there’s a colorful, possibly planetary (?) explosion happening behind him. By all means, Clark, move at a glacial pace!

The suit bears some resemblance to Henry Cavill’s Superman costume in its slightly more muted color scheme and pebbled texture. However, this suit has more inexplicable paneling and a slight turtleneck (and, if you want to be a real creep and zoom all the way in, it looks like the red undies might be back?). It also looks way more suit-like than previous Supermen: there are creases at the shoulders where the fabric appears to bunch up, a change from other form-fitting versions of the suit that looked like a second skin. (In fairness, the older versions looked like relatively cheap latex.)

This is the first look at Superman and the first true taste of Gunn and Safran’s DC Universe, so eat it up, nerd. Yet to be seen in character are the rest of the cast, including Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor (though we have seen his bald head, so that’s a start), Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Milly Alcock as Supergirl, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Terence Rosemore as Otis, Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, or Wendell Pierce as Perry White. Phew! In other words, there’s still a lot to come from Superman in the year-plus wait for the film to actually hit theaters. Gunn has been sharing a lot of behind-the-scenes and teases from set on his social media, so you can expect to be fed with plenty of content between now and then. This is just the first bite!