Man of Tomorrow is one of the DCU’s most exciting upcoming projects, and it is already set to continue one of James Gunn’s best costuming trends. The DCU got off to a strong start with its first feature film, 2025’s Superman, bringing the latest version of the Man of Steel to life. While projects like Supergirl and Lanterns are closer, the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow isn’t far away, with it set to release in 2027. Very few details are known about the highly anticipated sequel, but as more things become known, the movie keeps looking better and better.
Man of Tomorrow will bring back Superman to face off against a new threat: Brainiac. The highly intelligent alien is one of Superman’s most iconic villains, so many DC fans are excited to finally see the character get adapted to the big screen. However, Brainiac isn’t the only villain who will appear in the upcoming film. It has already been confirmed that Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor will return for the sequel, and the egotistical billionaire is getting a major upgrade.
One of the best things about 2025’s Superman was its costumes. Unlike many contemporary superhero movies that overcomplicate the comic book designs in an attempt to ground them. Rather than being a high-tech alien suit, Superman’s suit looks like pajamas. Guy Gardner keeps his goofy haircut from the comics, Mister Terrific’s T facemask is just a giant T, and Metamorpho looks ripped straight from the source material. Superman doesn’t attempt to ground the character designs at all. Instead, it embraces the ridiculousness of the source material, and that’s what makes it so fun.
However, this hasn’t been the case for every DCU project. Both Supergirl and Lanters seem to be leaning away from these heightened costumes, instead focusing on more grounded outfits. This created a fear that Superman‘s costumes were a one-time thing, and that Man of Tomorrow could lean in a darker direction. Luckily, this isn’t the case.
An image from Man of Tomorrow has given a first look at Lex Luthor’s warsuit in the film. This power armor is one of Lex’s most commonly seen outfits, as it allows him to throw punches with Superman and DC’s other metahumans. Rather than attempting to ground the costume by overdesigning it and muting the colors, Man of Tomorrow‘s warsuit looks like it could have come straight from a cartoon. The suit is bright green and purple, bulky, and has Lex’s head sticking out of the top. On top of that, the suit is practical, with it actually being seen on-set rather than being made with CGI.
This is a great sign for Man of Tomorrow, as the other new costumes will probably be just as comic-accurate. New characters like Brainiac may look just as campy as they do in the comics, matching the tone of 2025’s Superman movie. This is the best direction for the DCU to go, giving it a more whimsical and heightened tone that isn’t seen in other superhero movies.
In its first few years, the DCU has been endlessly compared to the DCEU, DC’s previous cinematic universe. The DCEU was criticized for being overly dark and gritty, with Zack Snyder’s portrayal of the characters making them seem like serious, god-like figures. The DCU’s portrayal of characters like Superman completely contrasts with this. While Henry Cavill’s Superman wore a sleek, glistening alien suit, David Corenswet’s Superman suit is cloth and actually features the red trunks.
The more comic-accurate costumes immediately allow audiences to recognize that the DCU is a distinct entity from the DCEU. While the DCEU had lighthearted films like Shazam!, the visual identity of Superman is clearly different from Man of Steel. On top of that, it is a visual representation of how the DCU treats the source material. While the DCEU attempted to make the world of DC Comics realistic, the DCU is embracing the campy, cartoony nature of the comics.
With the bad taste that the DCEU left in the mouths of many fans, making the DCU as distinct as possible is a good thing. With Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker season 2, the DCU is off to a fantastic start, with it receiving much better critical reviews than the DCEU ever did. Audience confusion is never a good thing, and with the costume designs in Man of Tomorrow, the DCU doesn’t have to worry about that.
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