Ever since James Gunn, co-chair and co-CEO of DC Studios for Warner Bros., announced last December that there would be a new Superman film without Henry Cavill planned as one of his upcoming projects, and that he would be writing the screenplay for it, people on the Internet have been wondering just when Gunn would decide that he would be the one in the director’s chair for this film instead of trusting it to someone else. There were also a few people who were convinced that Gunn wouldn’t direct, but wondered just which director he would hire for the job.

Yesterday afternoon, Gunn used his Twitter page to officially announce that not only will be writing the upcoming Superman film, which is titled Superman: Legacy, but that he will be directing it. That announcement came as a shock to very few people, and Gunn used the rest of his thread to explain the importance of the film’s release date, and how he became convinced that he has a Superman story worth telling.

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. pic.twitter.com/ohQNV8nI4g

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 15, 2023

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.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 15, 2023

So I chose to finally take on writing the script. But I was hesitant to direct, despite the constant pestering by Peter Safran and others to commit (sorry, Peter).

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 15, 2023

But, the long and the short of it is, I love this script, and I’m incredibly excited as we begin this journey. #UpUpandAway

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 15, 2023

Some people were just as excited about this news as they were when Gunn was first announced to be in charge of DC Studios, and they gave Gunn their full support while letting him know they couldn’t wait to see Superman: Legacy when it drops. Then there were others who predictably expressed anger, disappointment, and vitriol towards this news, which was and still is exactly how they felt about Gunn being put in charge of the DCU. It even got to the point where some of these naysayers began to wonder if Gunn was being petty towards director Zack Snyder, and made this announcement about Superman: Legacy to take attention away from Snyder using his own Twitter page yesterday morning (with the help of actor/audiobook narrator Ray Porter, who played Darkseid in Zack Snyder’s Justice League) to hint that there may be another SnyderCon happening on the weekend of April 28.

#fullcircle pic.twitter.com/UTK9qSq17q

— Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) March 15, 2023

The first SnyderCon occurred in March of 2019, and was a weekend-long charity event held at The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California (which is also Snyder’s alma mater), in which Snyder (accompanied by special guests and Snyder collaborators such as Jake Weber, Jackie Earle Haley, cinematographer Larry Fong, and producer Deborah Snyder, who is also married to Zack) screened the director’s cuts of his films Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen, and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice for the numerous fans who were in attendance. Though there has been no official news that this event being teased actually is SnyderCon 2.0, there is already chatter from fans on social media that Snyder might be screening his trilogy of DCEU films (Man of Steel, the Ultimate Edition of Batman v. Superman, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League), as well as sharing more details about Rebel Moon, his two-part sci-fi film premiering on Netflix December 22. Some of them are even hoping that Snyder will not only announce that Warner Bros. has given him permission to film his Justice League sequels for Netflix that will complete his five-part saga as originally intended, but that the #SellSnyderverseToNetflix hashtag on Twitter is now a reality, and that Netflix will release other projects like writer-director David Ayer’s original version of Suicide Squad that wasn’t released in theaters, and a Batman film with Ben Affleck reprising his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne.

(Most of us are familiar with Netflix being infamous for canceling their shows in only their first and second seasons, and even just learned that they refuse to go forward with another rom-com by writer-director Nancy Meyers due to budgetary issues. But none of that will stop certain fans from making noise with their #SellSnyderverseToNetflix campaign, and being convinced that they can catch lightning in a bottle once again after the success of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut hashtag in 2020.)

As for James Gunn, there has been nothing so far to indicate any bad blood whatsoever between him and Zack Snyder. Especially since the two of them have worked together before, as Gunn wrote the screenplay — with uncredited contributions by writers Scott Frank and Michael Tolkin — for Snyder’s first film, the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. That still won’t stop the worst and loudest members of the DCU fandom from continuing to believe that Gunn himself is the Antichrist, and that Superman: Legacy will not be worth waiting for. But until that film opens in theaters worldwide, we can look forward to the Internet doing their own fancasts on who should be chosen to play Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, etc. Austin Butler has already been suggested to play Superman, which wouldn’t be the first time he’s been considered by fans to play a DC character, as he’s also been fancast to play Green Arrow. Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh — who made history this past weekend by winning Oscars for their performances in Everything Everywhere All at Once — were both suggested to play Jonathan and Martha Kent. Besides fans sharing their casting choices, we can also look forward to Gunn using his Twitter to keep confirming which rumors about the DCU are true, and which ones are bullsh-t that deserve to be ignored.

Gunn’s next film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, opens in theaters May 5, 2023; and Superman: Legacy is scheduled to open in theaters July 11, 2025.