Just a few months ago, Henry Cavill reappeared in the DC Universe once again as he reprised his role as Superman in Black Adam. That, however, appeared to be a short-lived idea, as the additions of James Gunn and Peter Safran into the DC creative team has meant another shift in direction. This new-look DC will include a new Batman, a new Flash (presumably), and the presence of Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa as Wonder Woman and Aquaman is currently in doubt. Superman is another character that will be recast, and he will also get his own solo film titled Superman: Legacy, which will be written and directed by James Gunn and is slated to release in 2025.
That film promises to be very different from the last Superman solo outing, 2013’s Man of Steel. Man of Steel was very committed to Zack Snyder’s unique vision for the character which included Superman as a darker, more serious figure that also had more real world consequences (as well as some religious metaphors throughout). Superman: Legacy appears to be going in a very different direction than that, and James Gunn has said that it will feature more of Clark Kent in the movie and will show him as a young journalist at the Daily Planet. The inclusion of more Clark Kent is a great sign for the prospects of this new Superman movie, as the Man of Steel’s real world persona was painfully absent in most of the recent stories featuring the character.
Why is Superman's secret identity so important?
Superman’s classic look is known by virtually everyone, even those that have never seen a DC movies or read a comic book. The blue suit, red cape, and S symbol on his chest is an iconic and instantly recognizable design, but interestingly, Superman’s real world look is arguably just as much of a classic. The combed dark hair, unkempt suit, and big black glasses are all distinctive features of the look of Clark Kent, who is a major part of this character.
In a lot of ways, the anxious and nervous young man that is Clark Kent is the real version of this character. Superman is more of the mask, as the suit gives him the self-esteem and confidence to defeat Metropolis’ most powerful villains. However, underneath all of that is still Clark Kent, and the reason why it is always so important for the Kryptonian to keep his identity a secret is to preserve the life that he has as a human. His relationships with Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, as well as his mother Martha are all the most important things in this character’s life, so he must keep them safe by having the Superman identity and Clark Kent be separate.
How can Superman Legacy use Clark Kent?
Superman: Legacy will almost certainly play on that classic superhero inner struggle of a character that has two identities: their hero role and their regular role as a human being. The action, suspense, and epic adventures that come along with a superhero story are all key reasons why audiences are so invested in these movies and shows, but it’s often the human being aspect that makes fans truly fall in love with these characters.
For example, Spider-Man is one of, if not the most popular superhero of all time, but so many of the reasons why the character works is because of his real world persona of Peter Parker. Stan Lee ultimately created this hero to be relatable to readers picking up a comic book, and in particular, the creator of Marvel Comics knew that Peter Parker would be that emotional connection for the audience.
This is the same sort of idea for Superman. The upcoming new film will undoubtedly have some exciting action sequences featuring the character, but the Clark Kent side must be properly utilized in order for the movie to fulfill its full potential. This could be done by simply having Clark Kent appear in a more prominent role (something that hasn’t been the case since Brandon Routh’s take on the character in the mid-2000s). Audiences barely got to see Kent as a journalist or as a human being, and most of the relatable character traits were gone. There was almost no difference between Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent and Henry Cavill’s Superman, for example, which only furthered the disconnect from the audience.
Batman v Superman was labeled as a follow-up to Man of Steel, and it certainly was that in terms of the plot and story of the film, but it didn’t focus on Superman much as a human being, let alone Clark Kent. The Snyder films were arguably more focused on the idea of Superman rather than the actual person, and certainly didn’t appear too interested in Clark Kent or his career at the Daily Planet. That’s not to criticize those movies, as Snyder was clearly doing something different and unique with the character in a truly commendable way, but James Gunn’s new movie appears to be a back-to-basics approach for Superman, something that appears necessary having not really had a classic Man of Steel in quite a few years now.