CinemaCon 2025: Warner Bros. Hard Launches the ‘Summer of Superman’

Brat Summer is so 2024. Warner Bros. used its CinemaCon stage time on Tuesday to rebrand 2025’s warm weather season as the “Summer of Superman.”

On July 11, the Last Son of Krypton returns to the big screen in his first solo feature in more than a decade. And this time, he’s carrying the weight of an entire universe on his back. Written and directed by James Gunn, Superman is the launching pad for an all-new, different version of the DC Cinematic Universe—one that’s directly overseen by Gunn and his DC Studios partner, Peter Safran.

“We’re gearing up to launch a thrilling new era for this globally-iconic brand,” Gunn said during his CinemaCon remarks before bringing on the film’s stars, David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult. “I cannot wait to share the film with you guys and with the rest of the world.”

Era appropriate

The DC cinematic universe has seen a number of eras come and ago over the years. Warner Bros. recently brought the curtain down on the ill-fated iteration that took flight with the last standalone Superman movie, 2013’s Man of Steel directed by Zack Snyder. Gunn and Safran were handpicked to rebuild the brand from the ground up, ensuring that it could stand as a central pillar for the studio’s cinematic slate for 2025 and beyond.

Speaking about what makes his version of Superman unique, Gunn emphasized that his movie “celebrates kindness and human love,” which he suggested seems to be in short supply right now on movie screens and in the real world.

“The internet makes fun of kindness,” Gunn remarked with no small trace of melancholy. But the director also promised plenty of super-spectacle, including kaiju battles, a blend of science and sorcery, and a very rambunctious flying dog.

Interestingly, though, Gunn declined to share any specific details about the movie’s story. He and Safran also opted not to screen an extensive amount of footage from the film, instead closing the panel with a slightly longer version of the trailer that’s been playing in theaters for several months. In contrast, the studio showed the first 10 minutes of the Brad Pitt-led Formula 1 racing movie F1 in their entirety. (F1 was funded by Apple and is being released theatrically by Warner Bros.)

In lieu of a longer footage presentation, Gunn and Safran instead moderated an extended conversation with the cast that similarly avoided getting into plot specifics. The duo also didn’t reference their post-Superman plans for DC Studios, which includes a Supergirl film that’s currently in production.

The Summer of Superman may be here, but audiences and fans will likely appreciate some more daylight about the film and the future of DC Studios as July approaches.

Battle ready

Warner Bros. heads Pam Abdy and Michael DeLuca emceed the studio’s CinemaCon presentation amidst reports that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has been meeting with new candidates to take over the film division. The high costs of the some of the films on the 2025 release calendar is rumored to be the impetus behind his search.

One of the priciest movies on the studio’s slate is September’s One Battle After Another, which finally unites director Paul Thomas Anderson with Leonardo DiCaprio nearly 30 years after the Titanic star nearly headlined the filmmaker’s 1997 breakout film, Boogie Nights. DiCaprio took the CinemaCon stage to excite exhibitors about booking Battle, which reportedly carries a $130 million budget.

“With this film, Paul has tapped into something politically and culturally that is burrowing beneath our psyche,” DiCaprio said, adding that the movie had an epic “scope and scale.”

Abdy and DeLuca then shared a first look at another expensive bet: The Bride!, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s updated take on The Bride of Frankenstein due in theaters in March. The actress-turned-director labeled the $80 million movie a “punk monstrous love story,” and the trailer teased an amalgam of influences ranging from Bonnie & Clyde to Poor Things.

For the record, F1 also races onto screens in June with a hefty $200 million budget, although Apple—which will host the movie on AppleTV+ following its theatrical run—picked up that tab. And the film’s producer Jerry Bruckheimer seemed confident that it would earn back every dime and then some.

“We believe this will be the cinematic event of the summer,” he said, predicting the same billion-dollar success that his sequel Top Gun: Maverick enjoyed three years ago.

If Bruckheimer’s prediction holds true, Superman may need to look out for Pitt in his rearview this summer.