Superman returns to cinemas in 2027 with The man of tomorrow. A sequel to that of James Gunn Supermanthe film will see the Man of Steel teams up with his archenemy, Lex Luthor, against a common threat. Aside from this premise, we still know very little about Clark Kent’s next adventure. Luckily, we may have gotten some information on one crucial detail: Superman’s costume.
When James Gunn announced The man of tomorrow, different pieces of official art from the film drawn by various comic book artists, including Jim Lee. In the pieces, Superman was depicted wearing his costume from the eponymous feature film 2025. However, given that it was a drawing, it was unclear whether Clark would actually wear the same costume or if he would get a new one. Now we may have an answer to that.
The costumes used in Superman The film was exhibited at Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood as part of the THE Superman Exposure since May. Now, however, the Man of Steel’s supersuit appears to have disappeared from the screen. On the r/DCU subreddit, user r/M00r3C posted a photo of the exhibition. In place of the costume, there is a notice that says: “The Superman costume is currently in production use.”
The Superman costume was retired as it was used for the production of Man of Tomorrow.
byu/M00r3C inDCU_
Before delving further into this topic, it is important to note that the image may not be real. That said, it was shared, as mentioned, on the r/DCU subreddit, which is not known for misleading posts. It is also important to note that the production mentioned in the notice is not necessarily a DCU film or TV show. It could just as easily have been borrowed for an advertisement or some sort of promotional tie-in. That said, let’s assume this is true and focus on the (feasible) possibility that this development is tied to a major DC Studios production.
Superman could keep his costume for The man of tomorrow
Given that the only DCU movie gearing up for production in the not-so-distant future is The man of tomorrowit is logical to assume that the “production” mentioned in the notice is the upcoming sequel. We could argue clay face may also be an option. Still, given the way the filming unfolded for almost two months and how Clayface isn’t a Superman villain seems unlikely. If production is actually The man of tomorrowthis indicates the possibility that Kal-El is wearing the same costume he wore in Superman For The man of tomorrowat least for part (assuming he doesn’t get a new outfit at some point in the film).
Now it is understandable to read the review and mistakenly believe that The man of tomorrow is already in production. This is not the case. The film is, however, pre-production, and should start filming in summer 2026. With its release date less than two years away, the costume department is probably already putting together the film’s wardrobe. So it would make sense that the costume would be requested for the pre-production process.
Some may find it strange that a multi-million dollar production would take a costume on display in an exhibit instead of just making a new one. To explain why this might be the case, superhero costumes for major Hollywood productions can be incredibly expensive. As an example, Tobey Maguire’s costumes for 2002’s Spider-Man would have cost about $50,000 each (comic book movies often require multiple copies of the same costume). With that, even if more than one Superman costume were made, their value is likely so high that salvaging them all for future production could save a considerable amount of money on wardrobe.
Superman might keep the same costume for The man of tomorrow would make the film an outlier in the superhero genre. Comic book franchises tend to avoid keeping the same costume from one episode to the next. The MCU’s Spider-Man has received a new outfit in each of his three (soon to be four) films; Superman’s costume has changed slightly since then Man of Steel has Batman v Superman; Iron Man updated his armor at a rate that most of us simply couldn’t keep up with. Even Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy did this, with Batman receiving a major upgrade to his armor from Batman Begins has The Black Knight.
If this is indeed the case The man of tomorrow will use the same costume Supermanthe DCU would break with this trend. It would make sense, though, given the challenges its design presented in the first place. During a Superman scheduled visit (via Gizmodo), James Gunn explained what it took to arrive at the final design, given the difficulty of making Superman’s trunks work in live-action:
“We tried all these different versions, and we tested with trunks and without trunks. And one of the things David said was that Superman wants kids to not be afraid of him. He’s an alien. He has these incredible powers. He shoots rays from his eyes… He’s an incredibly powerful individual – who could be considered scary – and he wants people to love him. He wants to be a symbol of hope and of positivity. So he dresses like a professional wrestler. He dresses in a way that makes people not afraid of him, that shows that hope, that shows that positivity. And that really struck me. And I think trying to pretend that Superman’s costume doesn’t have frivolity at its core, trying to make him look serious is silly, because he’s a superhero. He’s the first one, he’s got bright colors and that’s who he is.”
The man of tomorrow is scheduled to hit theaters on July 9, 2027.
What do you think about the possibility of Clark Kent donning the Superman suit for The man of tomorrow? Let us know in the comments!
