Man of Tomorrow will bring Superman, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor back together, but they won’t be picking up exactly where things left off. Some time will have passed, their relationships will have changed, and David Corenswet seems to think that is part of what makes the sequel interesting. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the actor compared the experience to watching Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. He loved seeing Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia again after spending time away from them, and he felt something similar when James Gunn explained where Clark, Lois, and Lex would be when the new movie begins.
According to Corenswet, Superman and Lex, as well as Clark and Lois, will have moved into a new phase of their lives. They’ve been through more since we last saw them, and that should change how they deal with each other. Clark and Lois have a relationship that’s becoming more established, while Superman and Lex’s rivalry has its own history now. But getting to a more settled place doesn’t mean things are going to stay that way for long.
Corenswet described the characters as starting out in “more solid and consolidated situations,” before adding that “all of it will be put at risk.” That’s the interesting part of his Empire Strikes Back comparison. The characters might be in a better place when the film opens, but something is going to come along and test those relationships. And for Clark, that could be a particularly uncomfortable experience, given that the two people closest to the story are also the ones he has the most reason to worry about: Lois, who won’t always agree with him, and Lex, who has already shown just how dangerous he can be.
What We Know About ‘Man of Tomorrow’
Man of Tomorrow is scheduled to arrive in theaters on July 9, 2027. David Corenswet will return as Superman, Nicholas Hoult is back as Lex Luthor, and Lars Eidinger will play Brainiac, the threat that forces the two enemies into an uneasy partnership. James Gunn has already suggested that Superman and Lex won’t be working together for the entire film. Speaking on The Howard Stern Show, he said the two would collaborate “up to a certain point.” Which, considering their history, doesn’t exactly sound reassuring.
In Superman, Lex did everything he could to ruin Clark’s life. He framed him, had him imprisoned, and used a message from his Kryptonian birth parents to turn public opinion against him. Now Clark may have to work alongside the same man who took his most personal secret and turned it into a weapon. Even if they genuinely need each other’s help to stop Brainiac, it’s hard to imagine Lex agreeing to this arrangement without getting something out of it.
Lois Lane, played by Rachel Brosnahan, is another reason Clark’s decision could get complicated. Her relationship with Clark doesn’t mean she is willing to let him off the hook when she thinks he’s done something wrong. Their interview in Superman made that pretty clear. Lois challenged him over his decision to intervene in Boravia’s invasion of Jarhanpur, questioning whether he had the right to step into an international conflict and what the consequences might be. Clark believed he was saving lives, but Lois wanted him to think about what happened after he stepped in. Being Superman’s girlfriend wasn’t going to change how she did her job.
Lois and Jimmy Olsen also helped expose Lex’s secret arrangement to supply weapons to Boravia in exchange for territory in Jarhanpur. So Lois isn’t simply suspicious of Lex because he happens to be Superman’s enemy. She knows what he is capable of, and she’s seen the damage his ambitions can cause. If Clark decides to work with him, she’ll have plenty of reasons to ask questions. What does Lex actually want? And how long before he finds another way to use Superman for his own benefit?
Why the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ Comparison Could Be Bad News for Superman
There is a reason The Empire Strikes Back remains one of the most memorable sequels in the Star Wars franchise. It takes characters audiences have grown attached to and puts them through a genuinely miserable time. Han and Leia finally admit their feelings for each other, only for Han to be frozen in carbonite and taken away by Boba Fett. Luke sees his friends in danger and rushes to Cloud City, despite Yoda warning him against acting on his fear. He ends up losing a hand, nearly dies, and discovers that Darth Vader is his father. By the end, Han is still missing, Luke has been left questioning everything he thought he knew, and there isn’t exactly a happy ending waiting around the corner.
Corenswet hasn’t said that Man of Tomorrow will follow the same path, of course. Still, the comparison raises some interesting questions about what could happen to Clark. Lex already knows how to exploit Superman’s sense of responsibility, and he understands that Clark will put himself in danger if it means protecting innocent people. If Brainiac turns out to be a threat Superman can’t handle alone, Clark might have to accept help from someone he has every reason to distrust.
The problem is that working with Lex could give him exactly what he wants. Even if they defeat Brainiac, Lex could learn more about Superman’s abilities, weaknesses, and personal life than Clark would ever willingly tell him. Lex doesn’t need to win every battle to come out ahead. Sometimes, getting close enough to understand your enemy is useful all by itself.
Lois probably won’t be thrilled about the arrangement, either. She has already seen Lex’s plans up close, and she knows that his business dealings in Boravia weren’t some harmless attempt to gain an advantage over Superman. People were being hurt, and Lex stood to benefit. Clark might believe that joining forces with him is the only practical way to stop Brainiac, but Lois could see it as another situation in which Lex gets to manipulate Clark by making himself seem indispensable.
That tension also goes back to the disagreement they had over Jarhanpur. Clark tends to focus on the people he can save right in front of him, while Lois wants him to consider the wider consequences of his actions. Neither perspective is necessarily simple or entirely wrong, which is what makes their relationship more interesting than a straightforward superhero romance. If Clark starts making compromises to work with Lex, the question won’t just be whether Lois trusts him. It will be whether Clark can still recognise the point at which a necessary compromise becomes a mistake.
Corenswet hasn’t promised that Man of Tomorrow will end with a devastating twist like The Empire Strikes Back. But his comments suggest that the film won’t simply reunite these characters and let them carry on as usual. Superman may have to work with Lex to save the world, only to discover that the cost of that decision is much harder to deal with than defeating Brainiac. And if Lex walks away with something he can use against Clark later, that uneasy alliance could turn out to be the beginning of a much bigger problem.