Warning! This article contains spoilers forSuperman.Superman’s original title teased the film’s biggest plot twist years before we ever got to see it on-screen. As the first proper movie inthe DCU timeline,Supermanis a big deal for an assortment of reasons, most crucially that it’s a big reboot for the majorDChero’s on-screen story.
Interestingly,Supermanactively leans into the opportunity it’s given to shake up the hero’s on-screen story by adjusting a series of details about the Man of Steel and the DCU’s version of his lore. Funnily enough, though, one of its biggest and most surprising changes was already teased via the original title of the2025 DC movie.
Superman’s Original Title Was Superman: Legacy
While the 2025Supermanmovie now goes by a simpler name,it was originally titled asSuperman: Legacyinstead. This title was first revealed bySupermandirector and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn in theoriginal January 2023 announcementthat revealed much of the DC Universe Chapter 1’s slate.
However, this label wouldn’t be a permanent one, as the subtitle would be dropped in 2024. Naturally, this led to questions about whySupermanhad essentially lost one half of its title, which James Gunn delved into in aDecember 2024Supermanmovie set visitincluding several press outlets, includingScreenRant, wherein the director explained:
“Well, I still think it has that aspect of ‘Legacy’ in it… I thought maybe the title was they had a looking back feeling about it. And this isn’t about looking back, this is about looking forward, so, although when you see the movie, you’ll understand where Legacy comes from because it is, again, it’s about Clark and his relationship to the script.How many parents lose their relationship to human parents and whose legacy is he really?And so it’s about that. But I think as a title I felt it, it felt too looking back.”
Given Superman has a considerable legacy as a character - and given his legacy is one of two worlds, as a result of his ties to Krypton and Earth - this initial title appeared to make a lot of straightforward sense before it was dropped. However, looking back now, it seems like it had a fascinating tie to the 2025 movie’s biggest plot twist.
The Superman: Legacy Title Teased The DCU Movie’s Big Plot Twist Long Before The Movie Came Out
Supermanhas plenty of plot twists throughout its story, which features the likes of secret clones and pocket dimension prison worlds. However, the most potent plot twist in the movie is the reveal that Superman’s birth parents, Jor-El and Lara, had more sinister machinations for their son when they sent him to Earth.
Until the events ofSuperman, the Man of Steel had only heard part of the recording they left for him due to it being damaged, which appeared to show the pair telling Kal-El to watch over Earth as its kind protector. Later, though, The Engineer is able to fix the recording and find its full message, which is notably different.
The full message is a more warmongering version of things, with Superman’s Kryptonian parents instead insisting their son rule over Earth and kill whoever stands in his way or opposes him. Unsurprisingly, Superman is horrified by this, and it’s something that’s certainly elicited a lot of reactions from audiences, too.
Given this,it’s easy to see why the movie was originally titledSuperman: Legacy, as the film has to navigate Clark learning how different the legacy his parents left him actually is, and how different the way they wanted him to honor Krypton’s legacy is too. That said, it’s also easy to see why this name was changed.
The Superman Movie’s Ties To “Legacy” May Explain Why The Title Was Changed
WhileSupermandoes focus on the hero learning about his Kryptonian parents' original message, the film’s story is about much more than this, and explores many other paths as it unfolds.Calling the movieSuperman: Legacycould have left people overly focusing on this part of the film, further explaining why the choice was made to tweak it.
Though the film ends on the note of Clark embracing his human parents' legacy more now he’s aware of the flaws of what his birth parents were seemingly trying to teach him, even this doesn’t fully justify calling the filmSuperman: Legacy. Indeed, Jonathan Kent outright says to Clark that it’s his own actions that should define him, not where he came from or who raised him, underlining this idea.
Jonathan specifically tells Clark that “Parents aren’t here to tell their children who they’re supposed to be.Your choices. Your actions. That’s what makes you who you are.”
With all of this in mind, Gunn referencing that the change was made because theLegacysubtitle “had a looking back feeling” makes a lot of sense. With the movie celebrating Superman in a way that looks towards his future as a hero and person, this simpler title makes a lot of sense on several levels.
I Think Changing Superman’s Title Was The Right Move
Ultimately,Superman’s message is that people are defined by what they do, not who they are, and this aligns itself best with a title that doesn’t center itself on the past or the idea of legacy.Supermancould have more explicitly explored the idea that each person defines their own legacy, but this would have arguably needlessly taken up time.
There’s also little reason for the 2025 film to not go by the simplerSupermantitle, since there’s already inherently going to be interest in a Superman movie without needing to tease or allude to specifics. This is doubly true since it’s been almost 50 years sinceSuperman: The Movieused the title, and every other film has been a sequel or had its own different name.
ThoughSuperman’s box office will only become fully clear later down the line, the care that appears to have gone into every aspect of the film - title included - already seems to have paid off based on the reception to its story thus far. As such, whileSupermanmay have dropped it from its name, its results may well still make it a crucial cornerstone of the hero’s cinematic legacy all the same.
