A new report claims that Warner Bros. was hoping to tap Michael Bay as director for a potential Man of Steel sequel.
Per The Wrap, Warner Bros. Pictures chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy briefly tried to get a "standalone Henry Cavill-led Superman film going in 2022, with Michael Bay eyed to possibly direct." [UPDATE: A spokesperson for Warner Bros. denies this claim]. This was before James Gunn and Peter Safran were named as the two new co-heads of DC Studios.
It's worth noting that this report lends some credence to a 2022 story that claimed Warner Bros. was doing a complete overhaul that involved bringing classic DC heroes back and taking Superman into a different, lighter direction. Ben Affleck recently commented that movies like Justice League and Batman V Superman were far from kid-friendly.
It was announced in 2022 that Henry Cavill would be hanging up the cape, though he's signed on for multiple franchise deals since then, including a live-action Voltron movie, a live-action Warhammer series, and a live-action reboot of Highlander.
Bay has recently traded action movies for documentaries, with his first-ever doc, We Are Storror, premiering at the 2025 South by Southwest Film and TV festival. The pic follows the parkour group Storror, whose stunts have caused some mild controversy. His next project was thought to be a live-action movie based on the shocking YouTube series Skibidi Toilet, which personally scares me on a deep, existential level, though he recently denied reports he'll be directing Skibidi Toilet over on Instagram.
James Gunn's Superman hits theaters on July 11. For more, check out our list of all the upcoming DC movies and shows you need to know about.
