This has been a big week for Superman: Legacy as James Gunn has officially confirmed the two actors who will play the iconic Clark Kent and Lois Lane — David Corenswet (Pearl, We Own This City) and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Patriots Day). With that exciting news comes some details about the story of Superman: Legacy.
The Hollywood Reporter detailed some key points in the upcoming film, including that Superman will enter a world with superheroes. This is actually a great idea! There are plenty of directions to go with this type of story that allows Gunn to differentiate the new version from past incarnations. Plus, it also allows him to play with the past.
Evil Superman vs. Superman?
At this point, everyone is tired of the nostalgia bait. Fans simply want a strong film overall, which is why this soft reboot is needed. However, there’s no denying that the DCEU missed the opportunity to say goodbye to Henry Cavill‘s Superman. The Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker could use this opportunity to tackle one of the Superman clones from the comics.
The old Clark Kent could be dead in this universe. That would inspire a new Kryptonian to come down and try to save the day. But The Authority is running amok (as faux heroes). The new Clark Kent sees how shady the fake heroes are and takes them down. The Authority can revive (or clone) the dead Clark Kent, and he can come back as either Bizarro or Black Zero. This will finally allow the evil Superman storyline to take place while introducing audiences to the new generation of Superman. It’s highly doubtful they’re going this route, but an Evil Superman vs. Superman battle would be cool nevertheless.
It Organically Allows The Authority To Come In
The Authority is a tricky beast. The problem is that The Boys is doing something extremely similar with The Seven. Wisely, The Authority is getting its own film. However, Superman: Legacy is coming out first, so audiences won’t get that proper introduction to the anti-heroes. Still, it’s better that The Authority make their presence known in the first film.
The best option is to not make them the villains out of the gate. The Authority can be a Thanos or Joker, but the group needs a proper build. Plus, the story does need to focus on Superman/Clark Kent, so the supergroup can play a crucial role in the origin story without overshadowing the key player. This also could be a great way of building towards the official Authority film like Captain America: Civil War did for Spider-Man and Black Panther.
It Avoids A Generic Origin Story
It would be perfectly fine if Gunn opted to avoid the origin story altogether. Like Batman or Spider-Man, audiences know the story of Clark Kent. There’s really no need to cover that ground again. Gunn can simply dive into the action by having Superman as a huge figure in Metropolis and build the story from there.
Given the casting announcement, Lex Luthor will likely be the primary villain of the upcoming DCU feature. It would’ve been great if a new villain got a shot here — someone like Brainiac or Mongul. It’s actually stunning that the former has yet to make a live-action appearance thus far. Nevertheless, skipping the traditional origin story allows Gunn to truly build up Lex Luthor and navigate different waters when it comes to the new Clark Kent.
The notion that Superman coming into the world with other heroes present means that the tired secret identity trope doesn’t have to exist. To be honest, it never made sense that Superman never hid his identity. Gunn can rectify that problem by not going the route of Superman living an ordinary life.
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