James Gunn’s Superman Timeline Comments Reveal Likely Motivations For Superman’s Main Villain

Superman has always managed to ignite the ire of one resourceful major DC villain in every iteration, and now fans can tell what causes their conflict in the upcoming reboot film that’s set to kick off the new DCU in July.

While Superman has always been a major part of the DC mythos in any iteration, there hasn’t often been as much riding on the character as there is in the leadup to James Gunn’s 2025 reboot film Superman. Chosen as the first shot in a planned barrage of DC films and shows set in Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DCU, the film pretty much has to succeed. Gunn has admitted as much in a recent on-set Superman press briefing, but fans were pretty much already aware of that. Fortunately, the project has been viewed positively, and things are even more favorable following the first proper trailer for the film. With the movie just months from release, there’s finally a ton of information on it to digest.

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Fans are expecting DC Studios to deliver a lot in 2025 with a glaring focus on Superman, and that includes some iconic villains to go up against the heroes being introduced with the franchise’s premiere live-action project. Most notable is Superman’s archnemesis Lex Luthor, an antagonist that represents an ideological opposition to the character more so than anyone else in his rogue’s gallery. While the comics have given tons of reasons why Lex hates Superman in different stories, recent comments from James Gunn narrow down the options to one clear winner. In a recent statement reported on by The Direct, Gunn revealed an important fact about the film that makes it all pretty clear. “We just start in the middle of the action. Superman’s already existing. Lois and Clark already know each other. Lex hates Superman’s guts from the beginning, although they don’t know each other personally. So we start right in the middle of the action. It takes place over a short amount of time.”

By specifying that Luthor has hated Superman since the beginning but explicitly stating that they have no personal relationship, Gunn has ruled pretty much all the reasons that have to do with a past wrong or slight. Instead, the film will portray Luthor’s hatred in its purest form: a visceral, burning opposition to Superman’s existence in a world that should (in his mind) revere Luthor’s brilliance and leadership above all else. The very existence of a Superman grinds away at Lex’s feelings of superiority and supremacy, a feeling he masks by appealing to Humanism and secular rationality in the face of someone that he, more than anyone else, regularly refers to as a god. While Gunn’s Superman represents the best of humanity, Luthor balks at the very prospect that this superior being is human at all.

The choice to eschew some of the more meandering reasoning behind a villain’s origins to focus on the things that really drive them and remain consistent with their character is always a good one. For Lex, that’s always been his own hubris and how it affects his view of Superman. While some versions have played him straight and seen his genuine concerns for humanity finally bring an end to the feud, that’s not what makes a villain. Luthor has been a staple of every iteration of the Man of Steel, with the recently concluded Superman & Lois boasting one of the best adaptations of Lex so far. While that version excelled at being grittier and more grounded as a villain in a similarly grounded Superman story, Gunn’s Lex can really hit his stride as the gray cloud hanging over the idealistic and positive big blue boy scout that Clark Kent was raised to be. Nicholas Hoult certainly looks the part in recent footage as Lex, but getting the portrayal of these internally complex yet outwardly simple motivations of his will be the real challenge.

Things are looking good, with the early Superman test screening earning praise and favorable comparisons to Gunn’s standout work on Guardians of the Galaxy. While the latter was simply a bright spot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s dull 2023, Superman has the responsibility and privilege of setting the tone for an entire franchise in the making. Fans can only speculate about how things will go down and how well it’ll do until the film premieres in a few months, but the signs seem to be green.

Superman is currently set for theatrical release on July 11, 2025.

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.”

Release Date

July 11, 2025

Cast

David Corenswet
, Rachel Brosnahan
, María Gabriela De Faría
, Edi Gathegi
, Nicholas Hoult
, Frank Grillo
, Nathan Fillion
, Milly Alcock
, Sara Sampaio
, Pruitt Taylor Vince
, Skyler Gisondo
, Anthony Carrigan
, Wendell Pierce
, Beck Bennett
, Sean Gunn

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

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Source: The Direct