We almost got a Man of Steel sequel from the director of the last four Mission: Impossible movies. And according to him, it would have been “so f***ing good.”
With James Gunn’s Superman reboot finally here, talk of a sequel, crossovers, and even some early Justice League teases are already circulating online.
As of the recording of this video, I haven’t seen Superman yet—but one thing’s for sure: if this movie does even a little bit well, we can count on a sequel going into development right away.
Or can we?
See, Superman’s cinematic journey has never exactly been smooth. There’s Superman Lives, the infamous unmade project from Kevin Smith and Tim Burton, J.J. Abrams’ scrapped Superman: Flyby, and even the announced-then-silently-scrapped Man of Steel 2—which would have starred Henry Cavill and been directed by Christopher McQuarrie.
So today, we’re diving into the Man of Steel sequel we almost got. Let’s get into it.
Back in 2008, after The Dark Knight broke box office records, DC wanted to follow it up with a more grounded, realistic take on their other heroes. They hired Zack Snyder—who had already adapted 300 and Watchmen—to direct a new Superman film that could potentially crossover with Christian Bale’s Batman. And in 2013, we got it. Man of Steel, produced by Christopher Nolan, written by David S. Goyer, and directed by Snyder, hit theatres and became a financial success—seemingly reviving interest in DC characters in the wake of Marvel’s growing dominance over the superhero genre.
Now, I won’t speak for everyone (Man of Steel is probably the most polarizing Superman film ever made), but I think most of us would have welcomed another round with Cavill as our favorite Kryptonian boy scout. Snyder’s Man of Steelwas the first Superman movie since 2006, when Bryan Singer attempted a soft reboot with Superman Returns. But Man of Steel ditched all past continuity and reimagined Clark Kent’s origin story, embracing a more raw and emotionally conflicted version of the character. It was a grounded take on Superman—someone struggling with his identity and powers—set against Snyder’s signature visual style: epic action, kinetic fights, muted colors, inner turmoil, redemption, and, yes, even murder.
But something unexpected happened—audiences started seeing Superman differently. Those who once dismissed him as a boring, overpowered do-gooder now saw a more complex, conflicted hero. A man torn between his inner rage and his duty to stop Zod’s chaos, while also trying to show humanity that even with the powers of a god, he was still one of them—still human enough to care about Earth.
Of course, not everyone was on board.
But regardless of where you stand (yes, I see you typing #RestoreTheSnyderVerse), Man of Steel remains a one-off solo entry in a larger crossover universe that started big… and ended in chaos, broken promises, and unfulfilled potential.
So… what happened?
Well, simply put: The Avengers happened.
In 2012, Marvel released what became a landmark cinematic moment—when Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America teamed up on-screen in a shared universe. That might not sound all that epic now, but back then? Game-changer.
The Avengers was a massive hit, unlocking the true financial potential of crossover storytelling. So naturally, DC scrambled. Nolan had wrapped up his Batman trilogy, and Snyder—originally brought in to make a one-off Supermanfilm—was suddenly expected to fast-track a full-fledged cinematic universe. The pressure was on. The studio turned into a think tank, chasing Marvel’s success. Big-name talent was hired and fired. Projects like Green Lantern, The Flash, and yes, a direct Superman sequel were tossed around—many with top-tier creatives attached. Including Mission: Impossibledirector Christopher McQuarrie, who had a strong pitch for Man of Steel 2 (we’ll come back to that).
Films were rushed. There was no time to mythically build out this world the way Snyder and Nolan had originally envisioned. The focus shifted from storytelling to appearances—how many characters can we cram into this movie? How fast can we get to Justice League?
We ended up seeing Batman in five movies (most of them subpar) and never even got a proper standalone Batman-in-Gotham film.
DC was scrambling: Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and finally… Justice League.
If this was the DCEU’s “Phase One,” yikes.
The rushed timeline and pressure to compete with Marvel led to sloppy continuity, a Superman “trilogy” that killed him off before we saw real growth, and a Justice League movie haunted by personal tragedy and a mid-production takeover by Joss Whedon. It looked like all hope for a Man of Steel sequel was gone. Even Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class) was brought in to write a sequel that never made it past the planning stage.
And then… Black Adam happened.
By this point, Cavill had mostly moved on from Superman. But he’d become close friends with McQuarrie on the set of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (and its sequels). Meanwhile, Dwayne Johnson had been pushing for nearly a decade to play Black Adam—and when the studio finally gave him the green light, he had one condition: Henry Cavill must return as Superman.
The post-credits scene in Black Adam teased exactly that. Cavill made a public announcement that he was back.
The plan?
McQuarrie’s pitch for Man of Steel 2 reportedly included Superman facing off against a member of the Green Lantern Corps. The studio, however, wanted Brainiac and more connections to the escaped Kryptonians from the first film.
McQuarrie said his pitch was “so f***ing good,” and explained that the movie would’ve opened with a scene that immediately defined Superman—what he feared most, what made him tick, and why he made the choices he did. “In five minutes,” he said, “the scale of the movie would have been extraordinary.”
We can only assume McQuarrie’s movie would’ve followed the existing DCEU continuity, which—let’s be honest—was already a bit of a mess. Between McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible workload, the DCEU’s string of box office bombs, and studio politics involving mergers and regime changes… the project died. Along with Cavill’s much-hyped Superman return.
And now? James Gunn and Peter Safran have taken over DC Studios and are rebooting the entire franchise—closing the book on Man of Steel once and for all.
But hey—we did get to see Cavill play Wolverine… wait, no we didn’t. (Yet.)
Look, I know some of you aren’t sold on Gunn’s take on Superman, but let’s be real—Deadpool said it best:
“We will treat you so much better than those f***s down the street.”
I’ve got tickets to see Superman this Thursday, so next time we talk, I’ll have seen it—and I’ll happily share my thoughts. See you then.
