James Gunn reveals why Superman is having an early digital release

James Gunn reveals why his Superman film is getting a digital release within a month of its theatrical debut in US theaters. The film began its theatrical run on July 11 and has been a massive success for Warner Bros./DC, earning over $583 million at the worldwide box office so far against its reported $225 million budget.

The David Corenswet starrer is still holding strong in the theaters, which might make the fans wonder why the studio decided to release the film so early online. Gunn revealed the reason during his recent interview with ScreenRant,

"Well, it's very complicated, but the truth is it is because of Peacemaker. I originally thought Peacemaker was going to be coming out next month. There were a lot of things that are beyond our control, so that Peacemaker is coming out now, and, at the end of the day, I wanted everyone to be able to see Superman that wanted to, even those people who couldn't get to a theater before Peacemaker. And that's really the reason for it."

The second season of Peacemaker premieres on August 21, roughly a week after the digital release of Gunn's film on August 15.

How is Peacemaker related to Superman?

A still from James Gunn’s DCU film (Image via YouTube/DC)

James Gunn's Superman featured many guest appearances from actors who are a part of the latest slate of the DCU. One of these cameos was from John Cena, who plays Christopher Smith/Peacemaker in this universe. Despite a brief appearance in the movie, we learned that Smith is skeptical about Kal-el's motives.

Peacemaker's appearance made it clear that he belongs to the same universe as the DCU's new Man of Steel. Around the time of the film's release, writer-director James Gunn also revealed that the show's second season will take place shortly after the events of his blockbuster film.

The subsequently released Peacemaker teasers also showed the Justice Gang members, Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) in this universe alongside their corporate matchmaker, billionaire Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn). So, it's clear that they will play a major role in the show's new season.

HBO Max presents Peacemaker, From DC Studios VIP PEACEFEST - Source: Getty

For all these reasons, the film's digital release makes sense since it would allow people who couldn't catch it in theaters to do so at home before Peacemaker returns with its new set of episodes.

During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn addressed how his film about the Son of Krypton ties in with Peacemaker.

“It’s a big part, definitely. Superman leads directly into Peacemaker; it should be noted that this is for adults, not for children, but Superman leads into this show, and then we have the setting up of all of the rest of the DCU in this season of Peacemaker; it’s incredibly important," Gunn said.

He further added,

“Lots of guest stars coming up, lots of characters that are showing up that we’ve already met in Superman. I don’t think there’s anything that I’ve ever done that I love more than this season of Peacemaker, so I’m so excited for people to see it.”

James Gunn's Superman will be out on video-on-demand platforms from August 15, 2025.