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Superman: Coates/Abrams Elseworlds Project Still in Development: Gunn

DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn reaffirmed that writer Ta-Nehisi Coates & producer J.J. Abrams' Superman reboot project is still in development.

Even with Superman: Legacy officially in play at that point, DC Studios co-CEO and "Legacy" writer & director James Gunn made it clear back in May 2023 during an interview with io9 that writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and producer J.J. Abrams' Superman reboot project was still in development. "Those two things are totally unrelated," Gunn confirmed regarding the "Elseworlds" project, which would reportedly see a Black lead cast in the role of The Man of Steel. "That's an exciting movie. I know that Chantal Nong, who is the executive on that project, is extremely excited about it. So if it comes in and it's great, which I haven't read the script, and if the timing is right, that could absolutely happen. That's totally unrelated. It would be an Elseworlds tale like 'Joker.'"

But that was eight months ago – and A LOT has gone down across the pop culture landscape production-wise (like that one-in-a-lifetime dual WGA & SAG-AFTRA strikes) since that time – leaving things even more unsteady than they were at this point last year. But one thing hasn't changed – and Gunn reaffirmed that on Threads when asked if Coates & Abrams' Superman project was still in play:

Superman: Legacy – James Gunn Makes the Announcement

Here's a look back at Gunn's tweet from March 2023 making the announcement that he would be writing and directing Superman: Legacy, followed by the full, heartfelt text of the message he shared while confirming what's been rumbling around social media since the previous week:

"Yes, I'm directing Superman: Legacy to be released on July 11, 2025. My brother Matt told me when he saw the release date he started to cry. I asked him why. He said, 'Dude, it's Dad's birthday.' I hadn't realized," Gunn wrote in the opening to his series of tweets announcing the news. "I lost my Dad almost three years ago. He was my best friend. He didn't understand me as a kid, but he supported my love of comics and my love of film, and I wouldn't be making this movie now without him. It has been a long road to this point. I was offered Superman years ago – I initially said no because I didn't have a way in that felt unique and fun and emotional that gave Superman the dignity he deserved. Then a bit less than a year ago, I saw a way in, in many ways centering around Superman's heritage – how both his aristocratic Kryptonian parents and his Kansas farmer parents inform who he is and the choices he makes."

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