James Gunn Explains Why Legacy Was Removed From The 'Superman' Title And Teases Never-Before-Seen Superman And Lois Lane Relationship
Superman director James Gunn shared some new details about the upcoming film including why he chose to drop Legacy from title as well as teasing what he’s calling a never-before-seen relationship between Superman and Lois Lane.
Speaking with ComicBook.com, Gunn explained why he dropped Legacy from the title, “I still think it has that aspect of ‘Legacy’ in it. We do this thing called the ‘pre-mortem’ before we started shooting. You ever hear of this? It’s great,” Gunn shared with ComicBook during a Superman set visit. “We go into a room with me and all the department heads and we say, ‘Let’s say this movie is a colossal f-ck-up. We find out two years from now when this movie comes out, it goes terribly wrong. What are we doing right now that we’re not talking about, that we’re doing this, making this movie wrong?’”
“It gives a chance for all of the parties involved to speak their mind, whether it’s about the script, whether it’s about the casting, whether it’s about how departments aren’t communicating with each other,” he continued. “Everybody is allowed, from transportation to whatever, they’re all allowed to say what they think. And I found it extremely helpful.”
“One of the things was, I thought maybe the title … had a looking back feeling about it, and this isn’t about looking back, this is about looking forward,” the filmmaker detailed. “When you see the movie, you’ll understand where ‘Legacy’ comes from because it is, again, it’s about Clark and his relationship to the script … and whose legacy is he, really? And so it’s about that. But I think as a title … it felt too looking back,” he concluded.
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Back in February, Gunn had previously addressed why he removed Legacy from the title, “When I finished the first draft of the script, I called the film Superman: Legacy. By the time I locked the final draft, it was clear the title was SUPERMAN. Making our way to you July 2025.”
On top of this explanation for why Legacy was removed from the title, Gunn also teased that the relationship between Superman and Lois Lane is something that has never before been seen in a movie.
He explained to ComicBook.com, “It’s just something that’s completely us. The relationship between David and Rachel’s [characters] on screen is something I don’t think we’ve seen in – I hate to say stuff like this – but I don’t think it’s something we’ve ever seen any superhero movie ever.”
Gunn elaborated, “It’s a complicated relationship and we really get into it and there’s long scenes that are about their relationship and the way they relate and what it would be like for a person who’s this incredibly intelligent, strong-headed, stubborn, skeptical journalist, to have a relationship with someone who can lift a skyscraper.”
Furthermore, Gunn played coy when asked whether Lois Lane knows that Clark Kent is Superman. He said, “Well, we’ll see. She knows who Superman is.”
Gunn did share details about his Superman and who knows his identity, “The only people that know Clark/Superman are his mom and his dad and a few others who know who he is, and those are very different things.”
“People said all sorts of different things. They said, ‘Clark’s the real one.’ They said, ‘Superman’s the real one and Clark’s the secret identity.’ But I don’t, it says it in my script on the second page – I don’t believe either of those things,” he continued. “I don’t think anybody knows Superman unless they know both of him. And when they know both of him, they know the real guy. And that means not too many people.”
What do you make of Gunn’s comments about why Legacy was removed from the title and what he had to say about Superman and Lois’ relationship?
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I'm cautiously optimistic that Gunn will stick with the heart of the character and the lore on this movie. If they change too much, the DCU is sunk. They can't afford the backlash.
I'm also cautiously optimistic. I want there to finally be a great Superman film, for there to finally be a good or even great core of Justice League movies, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman for sure. Whether any studio like Warner Brothers can keep their hands off and let it be made is another story. James Gunn has shown he can tell great stories; now he has to prove he can tell a great Superman story.