NYCC 2024: Everything James Gunn said about Superman, Peacemaker & more

James Gunn dropped by New York Comic Con 2024 over the weekend to hang at a panel with the cast of Creature Commandos, the oddball upcoming animated series kicking off his new DC Universe in December. He also shared a few tidbits on other upcoming DC Films projects, especially Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

“Supergirl’s a mess,” Gunn said, affectionately. Indeed, that description of her is accurate to the comics source material. Based on the DC miniseries of the same name, written by Tom King and drawn by Bilquis Evely, Woman of Tomorrow begins with Supergirl flying a spaceship so far away from any yellow suns that her powers wear off, all in the pursuit of actually being able to get drunk.

“I can’t wait for people to see it,” Gunn said about the movie, currently scheduled for release on June 26, 2026. “I think it’s a completely different, unique take on a superhero.”

Read on for everything else Gunn said about Supergirl, as well as his highly anticipated Superman movie, the Green Lantern buddy series Lanterns, and a second season of Peacemaker.

After getting drunk and stranded in deep space, Supergirl gains the attention of a stoic young space-farmgirl, Ruthye, who makes a deal with Supergirl to hunt down the man who killed Ruthye’s father and deliver vengeance upon him. Yes, Woman of Tomorrow is True Grit in space, with Supergirl as Rooster Cogburn.

“I saw the screen test for Ruthye, with Milly Alcock, who will be playing Supergirl,” Gunn said, “and oh my God, I’m so excited.”

He said production on Woman of Tomorrow has been “blessed from the beginning. [Screenwriter Ana Nogueira] came in and she pitched the story to me of Supergirl, and it was just one of the best pitches I’ve ever heard. She immediately wrote it. She came in with a first draft that was great, and it’s just gotten better and better. And then [director Craig Gillespie] has been incredibly easy to work with, and I can’t wait for that to come out.”

Gunn said the film is hewing closely to King and Evely’s 2021 story. “There are a few differences, because it’s a three-act structure, so it’s a little bit different than the [comic’s] structure, which kind of goes through various stories. But it has all those major characters and major themes.”

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will start shooting in January, according to Gunn.

Gunn had little to say about his kickoff movie for his new DC Films project, except to wax eloquent on David Corenswet, who plays Superman/Clark Kent.

“David Corenswet is going to blow people the fuck away. He is the movie star that everyone just dreams he could possibly be. I don’t think anyone really understands the depth of this guy’s talent, dramatically, comedically. He’s the best physical action star I’ve probably ever worked with. […] He’s an amazing actor. And Rachel Brosnahan [cast as Lois Lane], I think you’re going to die for her as well.”

Cryptically, he promised “it won’t be too long before we see a trailer [for Superman], but it’s also not going to be too soon.” Superman is currently scheduled to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.

The second season of Gunn’s superhero show spinoff of his 2021 movie The Suicide Squad was put on hold in January 2023 so Gunn could focus on his new duties as DC studio co-chair, and on writing, developing, and shooting Superman. But Gunn confirmed at the NYCC panel that Peacemaker season 2 is currently shooting, and that he’d taken time off from the set to attend NYCC. Most of his commentary on season 2 was focused on his star, John Cena.

“John Cena has improved as an actor in a way that I have — honest to God, I have never seen anyone who has gotten so much better in such a short amount of time,” Gunn said. “He was great in the first season. This season, he owns, and he’s amazing.

“It’s a very different season of Peacemaker. Very magical.” Gunn did not indicate whether he was speaking figuratively or literally.

The second season does not have a release date, but it’s set after the events of Superman, so we likely won’t see it until late 2025 at the earliest.

News that Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge, The Underground Railroad) had been cast as the Green Lantern John Stewart, alongside Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan, was revealed only a few weeks ago, and Gunn made sure to comment.

“Aaron Pierre is somebody who I wanted to get for a long time,” Gunn said. “People don’t know, but he was almost Adam Warlock. He’s an amazing actor, and I’ve just really admired him from the beginning of his career. And so when it got down to it, he was just fantastic. Seeing him read with [Chandler] was of one of those miraculous moments where you go, Oh my God, I don’t care what they’re saying, I just love everything they’re saying together.”

Gunn said that comics writer Tom King offered the first pitch on Lanterns, and continued to work on the series with writers Chris Mundy and Damon Lindelof. “It has come out very easily, very naturally. It’s a very grounded series, a very real series, which is strange to say in a Green Lantern show.”

Lanterns doesn’t have a release date, but is expected to begin filming in 2025.