Batman Fans Shouldn't Get Their Hopes Up For A Superman: Legacy Cameo

There is a lot riding on the success of "Superman: Legacy," James Gunn's follow up to his emotional goodbye to the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies. "Superman: Legacy" is meant to be not only the start of a whole new DC canon (kind of), but the first real test of James Gunn and Peter Safran as the heads of DC Studios. Once again, we have a DC cinematic universe starting with a Superman movie after the last one crashed and burned.

Though we don't know a lot about "Superman: Legacy" just yet, there is reason to be excited. For one, Gunn has said his version of the Man of Steel will not be a brooding, violent guy but a "big galoot" who doesn't want to hurt anyone — the "boy scout" Batman always called him. The movie is also going to skip the traditional origin story, which is great news for everyone not wanting to see yet another Krypton explode.

One of the most interesting additions Gunn is doing to his take on Superman is fill his world with other heroes, like Metamorpho, Hawkgirl and Mister Terrific. Traditionally, Superman is the first hero, and everyone else follows after him, but not in "Superman: Legacy." As Gunn said, "The characters are there because they help tell Superman's story better, not so we can set up separate projects in the franchise."

As many heroes as "Superman: Legacy" will have, there's one DC icon fans shouldn't expect to show up: the Caped Crusader. When asked on Threads about Batman appearing in the movie, his answer was simply. "Well he can't appear in Superman Legacy because he's not in the script."

We don't know whether "Superman: Legacy" will be any good, but so far, Gunn has been saying all the right things. It may seem obvious, but introducing as big of a character as Batman to your brand new universe in the middle of another character's big movie is not a good idea. Superman and Batman are the two pillars of DC comics, and even if we've seen the characters in film many times already, they don't really work as side characters or cameos as they'd overshadow the rest of the film. This is especially true of a brand new Superman and a brand new Batman who need their own movies to be properly developed and to have the audience form a connection to them. 

Still, the idea of a comics-accurate Superman and a Batman who has a son and a whole family teaming up and having proper banter sounds quite exciting. But before that happens, fans have to wait for "Superman: Legacy" to come out on July 11, 2025.