James Gunn’sSupermanis six months away from release, yet it started the new year in style by topping IMDB’s list of 2025’s most anticipated movies.
Statistical proof of industry-wide interest in Gunn’s vision ofSupermancame after the teaser trailer was released and became DC and Warner Bros.’ most popular in 24 hours with 250 million views across all channels.Early test screenings ofSupermanhave accorded itGuardians of the Galaxy-level quality. Its release date of June 21, 2025, would mark exactly 12 years and a month since the character’s last solo outing on the big screen.
Superman’s Hype Is at Boiling Point for 2025
On Jul 18, 2025,IMDBreleased its annual list of the ten most anticipated movies of the year.Supermantopped the list with25 Days Latersequel,28 Years Later—starring Cillian Murphy, Ralph Fiennes, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson—and Marvel Studios’The Fantastic Four: First Stepsfilling the top three. A short note onSupermanreads in part, “… Shifting a bit from Snyder’s darker take on the Kryptonian, Gunn is promising “a Superman who is about kindness, love, and compassion…the best of humanity, even though he is an alien from outer space.” We can definitely get behind that.”Noteworthy is Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot’sSnow Whitelive-action adaptation of the 1937 classic, despite its controversy.
For a character who has endured modest-to-negative reviews in his big-screen outings since 1983’sSuperman IIIand has been relegated to third place in the list of most popular comic book characters—behind Batman and Spider-Man—Superman’s recent ranking on IMDB’s list, along with the trailer numbers, proves that his fortunes have risen in recent months. Deserving the lion’s share of praise forSuperman’s popularity is the teaser trailer, which gave the audience visual confirmation ofJames Gunn’s promise to resurrect the Silver Age Superman. Before the release of the teaser,Supermanplaced ninth onFandango’s list of most anticipated movies of 2025, behind the leader,Captain America: Brave New World—now sixth on IMBD’s list.
The Fantastic Four: First Stepsseems like the only movie that could challenge the Man of Steel’s position, pending the trailer’s release. And while some may argue that it would be of little consequence to the Superman-aware general audience, Marvel Studios' track record—at least pre-Avengers: Endgame—and the fact that there hasn’t been a live-action Fantastic Four project is a major factor to consider. Kevin Feige seems to be confident of its chances by schedulingThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsfor a July 25 release,two weeks afterSuperman’s.
Warner Bros. and the James Gunn and Peter Safran-led DC Studios would no doubt be pleased with the buzz aroundSuperman, and would now be looking forward to making it the highest-grossing comic book outing of 2025. WithSuperman’s clout, anything on par with, or below, the 2013 gross ofMan of Steel($670 million), despite being a profit, is likely to be interpreted by Warner Bros. executives and industry experts as an underwhelming performance.
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Written and directed by James Gunn, Superman is the first movie in Warner Bros.' rebooted DC Universe to center around the titular comic book hero. It introduces a new version of the Man of Steel after Henry Cavill’s departure from the role, honoring the character’s roots as “the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way.”
