Is it an homage to the original 1978 movie or just pure happenstance?
That’s the question some Superman fans have been asking after DC Studios CEO James Gunn revealed that the previously titled “Superman: Legacy” would be getting a subtle name change.
Gunn made the announcement via Instagram on Thursday and included a wintry shot of Superman’s iconic “S” emblem.
You can check it out for yourself below:
“When I finished the first draft of the script, I called the film Superman: Legacy,” Gunn explained in his Instagram post. “By the time I locked the final draft, it was clear the title was SUPERMAN.”
Yes, it appears “Legacy” has gone the way of Krypton and went poof, leaving behind just “Superman.”
And if that newer, simpler movie title sounds at all familiar to you, that’s because the original 1978 Superman movie (and arguably the forefather of all modern superhero movies) shared the same title.
Did you enjoy the original 1978 Superman movie?
In recent years, people have affectionately referred to the film as “Superman: The Movie,” but the actual title of the movie is still just “Superman.”
The 1978 film starred the tragic and beloved actor Christopher Reeve, whose life was irrevocably altered after a horse-riding incident left him paralyzed from the shoulders down.
Reeve, who passed away in 2004 at the age of 52, became a beloved icon among superhero fans — one whose memory even modern-day fans do not want to see disrespected.
Of course, it wasn’t just Reeve who starred in the nearly 50-year-old movie.
Yes, the movie is aggressively campy by today’s standards, but even that couldn’t take away from the acting chops of Hollywood legends like Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman, who were also in the flick.
The original Reeve film was such a success that it swiftly spawned a trio of sequels (sadly, to diminishing returns) in “Superman II,” “Superman III,” and “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.”
(The less said about “The Quest for Peace” the better.)
In the post, Gunn also revealed that principal photography had begun on the movie.
“Overjoyed to be announcing the start of principal photography on SUPERMAN today, February 29, which just so happens to be – coincidentally and unplanned – Superman’s birthday,” Gunn posted.
(And yes, this writer just learned that Superman’s birthday is February 29.)
So what do you think? Is James Gunn changing the title of his ballyhooed superhero epic as a subtle nod to Reeve and the 1978 original? Or perhaps even as an homage?
Or is it just pure chance?
The world will be able to judge for themselves when the newly re-titled “Superman” releases on July 11, 2025.
