James Gunn’s Superman Movie Is Getting An Official Prequel

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Those who are eagerly awaiting James Gunn’s new Superman movie can get a glimpse at Clark Kent’s world a little early. That’s because the director’s forthcoming reboot is getting an official prequel from Penguin Random House. The publisher has announced an official tie-in novel titled Superman: Welcome to Metropolis, which takes place before the events of the movie, which hits theaters in July.

This is a junior novel, meaning it’s aimed largely at younger readers. It’s not like Batman: Resurrection, which took place in Tim Burton’s Batman universe and was aimed at older readers. In any event, since Gunn’s movie is not going to be an origin story, this novel could help lay some groundwork for David Corenswet’s version of Clark Kent. We’ve also got the cover aft for the book, which you can check out below.

Here is the synopsis for Superman: Welcome to Metropolis.

“Clark Kent is a fresh face to Metropolis, trying to balance his new job at The Daily Planet, and his secret identity as Superman, a powerful metahuman, while uncovering a dangerous mystery that seems to tie back to the infamous Lex Luthor. Discover how the world’s first superhero found his place in his new home in this original prequel novel based on the film.”

It’s particularly interesting that the synopsis refers to Superman as a “metahuman.” It seems as though the new DC Universe being put together by Gunn and Peter Safran may be employing that term for certain heroes and/or villains. After all, this is just one movie with many others, as well as several TV shows, on the way. Supergirl is currently filming and will arrive next summer. The Lanterns TV show is also currently in production.

While much of what comes next depends on how this movie performs, Gunn and Safran have plenty of other projects in various stages of development. There’s James Mangold’s Swamp Thing movie, for one. We’ve also got The Brave and the Bold, which will introduce the DCU’s new Batman. That actor hasn’t been revealed yet, but it’s been made clear that it won’t be Robert Pattinson from The Batman universe. Our new Batman technically appeared in the animated Creature Commandos, but it wasn’t clear who was behind the mask.

Superman also stars Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: Days of Future Past) as Lex Luthor. Edi Gathegi (For All Mankind), Anthony Carrigan (Gotham), Nathan Fillion (The Suicide Squad), Isabela Merced (Alien: Romulus), Skyler Gisondo (Booksmart), Sara Sampaio (At Midnight), María Gabriela de Faría (The Moodys), Wendell Pierce (Selma), Alan Tudyk (Andor), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Bird Box) and Neva Howell (Greedy People) round out the cast.