While there is still no announcement regarding the future of the Justice League in the new DC Universe, a Superman movie theory teases the team’s replacement. Directors Joss Whedon and Zack Snyder brought to life their visions for DC’s premiere superhero team in the DCEU through the theatrical cut of Justice League and the Max-released Zack Snyder’s Justice League. With the end of the shared universe, a new iteration of the Justice League will rise in James Gunn’s DCU. However, a project for the team has still to be unveiled as part of the DCU’s slate of movies and series.

While the team does not debut, the DCU is hard at work introducing heroes who should be a part of the team, such as David Corenswet’s Superman, Batman, multiple Green Lanterns, and more. As the first movie in the new DCU, Superman will do a lot of the heavy lifting in regard to establishing the DCU as a living, breathing comic book universe. To do that, multiple heroes will appear alongside Corenswet’s Superman. Those characters could lead to another team in a future DC movie, as a new reveal teases a possible Justice League replacement could be in play.

Superman Theory: The Justice League International Is In The Movie

A Different Version Of The Classic DC Team

Since James Gunn’s Superman started filming outdoors, several set photos and videos from the DCU’s first movie have started to emerge. Those revealed the first looks at major characters in the film, such as Edi Gathegi’s Mister Terrific, as well as gave fans the best look yet at David Corenswet as Superman, with the actor’s suit being much brighter than DC’s reveal of the costume led to think. On Twitter, @dcuworld noticed an interesting detail. Mister Terrific might have the LORDTECH logo on his suit, which would establish a connection to the Justice League International.

While an argument could be made that the logo on Mister Terrific’s suit is actually related to the character’s Terrifitech from DC Comics and the two companies’ logos are simply one above the other, another Superman set photo shared by @ThatComicFan3 shows a different sign. On this one, the logo from Mister Terrific’s suit and the LORDTECH name are separated from the rest. Based on the set photos, a Superman reboot theory claims the film will introduce the Justice League International, as the team is connected to Maxwell Lord in the comics.

Interestingly, James Gunn’s brother, Sean Gunn, has been cast as Maxwell Lord in the DCU, though his debut project has yet to be confirmed. In the comics, Lord served as the manager of the Justice League International, helping the more global version of DC’s premiere superhero team to earn a name worldwide and get sponsorship from the United Nations. Based on Lord’s DCU casting and the logo on Mister Terrific’s suit possibly being linked to him, the other DCU heroes confirmed for Superman could be members of the Justice League International, perhaps trying to recruit the Man of Steel.

Multiple JLI Characters Have Been Confirmed For Superman And Other DCU Projects

The DCU Will Feature Several Heroes

Aiding the Superman movie theory is the fact that the DCU has announced multiple characters from the Justice League International roster for the initial projects of the DCU’s Chapter One. Gunn’s Superman includes the Guy Gardner version of Green Lantern. The character, who will be played by Gunn’s longtime collaborator Nathan Fillion, is one of the biggest players in the Justice League International. Superman will also include Metamorpho, played by Barry‘s Anthony Carrigan. In the comics, the character was part of the Justice League: Europe, a localized branch of the Justice League: International.

Batman was also part of the first version of the Justice League International. The Dark Knight is confirmed to make his DCU debut in The Brave and the Bold movie alongside Bruce Wayne’s biological son, Damian. Booster Gold, another exciting member of the JLI in the comics, will get an irreverent series on Max in the new DC Universe. With the confirmation that Xolo Maridueña’s Jaime Reyes will return in a Blue Beetle animated series, perhaps the Ted Kord version of the hero, who was a JLI member in the comics, could also make his DCU debut in the show.

The DCU Can Make Maxwell Lord A Better Character Than The DCEU

The Villain Appeared In A Controversial DCEU Movie

Sean Gunn will be playing multiple characters in the DCU between animated and live-action, but his most exciting role is undoubtedly that of Maxwell Lord. The reason for that is the huge potential the character has, as well as the fact that the DCU can fix the mistakes the DCEU made regarding the character. Maxwell Lord made a single appearance in the DCEU, with the character being the main villain of Wonder Woman 1984. The movie ended up being a major disappointment, and even though Pedro Pascal played Lord, the character was not the best.

Lord really pops when he is presented as a cunning businessman. While the DCEU kept the drive the character has for expanding his business and getting more power, Pascal’s version of the character boiled down to a desperate man on his last straw who finds a magical artifact and then has success. The DCU can bring a more classic version of the villain to life, with Sean Gunn appearing throughout the DCU’s Chapter One to recruit heroes for the Justice League International. After his evil intent gets exposed, Corenswet’s Superman and other heroes could form the new Justice League.

The Justice League International Plays To A DCU Strength

The DCU Can Be A Living & Breathing Comic Book Universe

The DCEU only had a couple of teams, something the DCU will certainly expand on, making it a key strength of the new shared universe. Gunn’s Superman will already include multiple heroes alongside Corenswet’s Man of Steel, and if that practice is repeated for other projects, the number of characters in the DCU will get high very fast. As such, the answer to how to balance such a large cast comes from the introduction of multiple teams from DC Comics.

The DCU can thrive with different teams that give the franchise great variety. The Authority movie will follow a violent team of anti-heroes. The reported Teen Titans film focuses on younger heroes in a coming-of-age story. Teams like the Bat-Family, the Terrifics, the Green Lantern Corps, and more are also being set up. The Justice League International could then serve as the starting point for the DCU, showing fans what the heroes have been doing so far, with the traditional Justice League coming after a few projects have established heroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.

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  Justice League

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  Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by the Man of Steel’s selfless act in Batman V Superman, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Evil forces have set their sights on our world, tasking the malevolent Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons with bringing Earth under the control of Darkseid, ruler of the planet Apokolips. In response, Batman and Wonder Woman unite a team of metahuman heroes including The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman to protect humanity as the Justice League. The Justice League first appeared in March 1960 in issue #28 of The Brave and the Bold. In the fifty years since the heroes first united, the team has welcomed various members of DC comic book canon: Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Shazam, among others. Recently rebooted as part of DC Rebirth, the current comic iteration of the team includes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, two Green Lanterns (Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz), Aquaman, Barry Allen, as well as Cyborg. 

  Director

  Zack Snyder

  Release Date

  
  November 17, 2017
  

  Writers

  Chris Terrio
  , Joss Whedon

  Cast

  Jeremy Irons
  , Gal Gadot
  , Amy Adams
  , Jesse Eisenberg
  , Ciarán Hinds
  , Ben Affleck
  , Henry Cavill
  , Ezra Miller
  , J. K. Simmons
  , Jason Momoa
  , Ray Fisher

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  Superman (2025)

  Written and directed by James Gunn, Superman is the first movie in Warner Bros.’ rebooted DC Universe to center around the titular comic book hero. It introduces a new version of the Man of Steel after Henry Cavill’s departure from the role, honoring the character’s roots as “the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way.”

  Director

  James Gunn

  Release Date

  
  July 11, 2025
  

  Writers

  James Gunn

  Cast

  David Corenswet
  , Rachel Brosnahan
  , María Gabriela De Faría
  , Edi Gathegi
  , Nicholas Hoult
  , Frank Grillo
  , Nathan Fillion
  , Milly Alcock
  , Sara Sampaio
  , Pruitt Taylor Vince
  , Skyler Gisondo
  , Anthony Carrigan
  , Wendell Pierce
  , Beck Bennett
  , Sean Gunn

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