The trinity of DC Comics has traditionally been Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Rumors have recently made the rounds that director James Gunn was actively looking to cast the latter two heroes for his upcoming Superman film. However, in a recent exchange on Threads, the director denied that Batman or Wonder Woman will appear in his DCU film Man of Tomorrow.
Gunn left no room for interpretation in his replies. ComicBookMovie.com reported that when a user asked if the rumors that the casting process is already in motion were true, Gunn said, “No. All these rumors of Batman and Wonder Woman auditions are false.”
Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, and Ben Affleck as the Snyderverse Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman – HBO Max
The decision to sideline two of the Big Three is likely one that will divide fans. For some, the DC Universe (DCU) won’t feel complete until Batman and Wonder Woman join Superman on screen—if not in Man of Tomorrow, then at least soon. Others may appreciate that Gunn isn’t following too closely in Zack Snyder’s footsteps and rushing into setting up the Justice League.
But Gunn, who is also the co-CEO of DC Studios, may have other reasons for not using two of DC Comics’ most iconic characters in Man of Tomorrow.
Too Many Batmen?
The DCU intends to produce a standalone Batman film titled Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Andy Muschietti is signed on to direct. But in an interview last fall, he and his sister and producing partner, Barbara Muschietti, hedged when asked if the movie was still in their future.
“The intention is yes, but we can’t talk about it,” Barbara said.
Batman overlooking Gotham City – Warner Bros., YouTube
Meanwhile, director Matt Reeves is finalizing the cast for The Batman: Part II and shooting for an October 1, 2027 release. His movies take place in the DC Elseworlds continuity, which is separate from the DCU. With Man of Tomorrow set to hit theaters just a few months earlier, Gunn may not want to introduce a competing Batman, though the two movies will likely approach the character very differently.
That Batman will be denied his DCU debut in Man of Tomorrow seems especially credible given the release schedule. The reasons for not introducing Wonder Woman are less clear, but Gunn was firm in his statements that she will not be in the movie either.
Wonder Woman Rumors
Another user on Threads noted that the rumors about Wonder Woman appearing in Man of Tomorrow were “getting so loud” that they were “becoming hard to ignore.”
Gunn replied that he is casting a female character for the movie, but that it isn’t Wonder Woman. “My only guess is scoopers are taking a stab at guessing that’s [Wonder Woman],” he wrote. “If only because if you guess about enough stuff, something is likely to be true every once in a while. But I can’t think of something true off hand.”
A screenshot from Wonder Woman (TBA), Monolith Productions
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This may have been a subtle dig at scooper Jeff Sneider, who claimed on a recent episode of The Hot Mic podcast that Gunn was meeting with actresses before the holidays for the role of Wonder Woman. Gunn and Sneider have publicly clashed in the past over Sneider’s reporting.
Variety has confirmed that Supergirl screenwriter Ana Nogueira has been hired to write a Wonder Woman movie for the DCU. But like Batman, Wonder Woman may only be mentioned in Man of Tomorrow and not debut until a standalone movie is made.
For now, all of the major Man of Tomorrow casting announcements seem to have been made.
Scoopers Strike Out
When asked if there were any roles left to cast in Man of Tomorrow, Gunn said that casting Lars Eidinger as Brainiac was the big news.
“Most of the other sizeable roles are characters we’ve already met,” he said, before adding that a few smaller parts are still being filled.
Lars Eidinger in an interview – YouTube, The Upcoming
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Ultimately, if Gunn was intending to use Batman and Wonder Woman in Man of Tomorrow, it’s unlikely he would have denied it or kept it a secret. The director has a reputation for promoting every aspect of the DCU, even those—like the upcoming video game, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight—with which he’s not directly involved. The episode serves as another reminder that scoop culture often thrives on volume rather than accuracy—even when fans are eager to believe the rumors.
Do you believe James Gunn? Or do you think Batman and Wonder Woman will be in Man of Tomorrow? Let us know in the comments!
I mean, I used to like his style quite a bit. Now he’s just so off-puting.
Gunn would rather focus on characters like drunken Supergirl and Peacemaker than prioritize the characters that people actually want to see.
Not just the ones people want to see, but also those heroes embodying their traditional thematic elements. Deconstruction, cynical, sarcastic, and so on isn’t what fans want to see.
You’d think after all the movies that fail, usually because the makers never set out to honor the source material and tradition of the source, people would get the point.
This is one of the reasons why Man of Steel, which undermines a key pillar of Superman’s character, polarizes the audience while the first Wonder Woman is typically praised as being a good representation of the iconic character.
I predict that it won’t be too many years from now before the MSM is full of articles about how the toxic audience ruined any chance the DCU ever had. Not that the nominal heads of the silo make very, very bad decisions. Nope, it is the toxic fandom.
It will probably happen after Supergirl underperforms. Then it’ll be toxic *misogynist* fans who are ruining DC.