How to Watch the Superman Movies in Order
With 'Superman: Legacy' arriving in 2025, now is the perfect time to re-familiarize yourself with America's favorite superhero.
It's a bird... It's a plane... It's... the release date of Superman: Legacy off in the extremely distant horizon!
Despite the fact that Superman: Legacy has barely even taken flight in terms of production, it seems that nearly every superhero movie fan already has their sights set on the film's July 11, 2025 release date. Perhaps that's thanks to some stealth publicity ploy by DC to deflect attention away from the controversial (and flopping) release of The Flash. Or, maybe the Internet truly has chosen to fixate on digging up nearly every pre-production detail available. (If you haven't been keeping up on things, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is already tied to the project, with David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan confirmed to be starring as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, respectively.)
Though the film's far-off release is a bummer, it means you have time to rise to the occasion and watch (or rewatch) the entire franchise to prepare for the big release. With Superman: Legacy promising a new era of the franchise—offering something of a fresh origin story to our spandex-clad lad—it would do you good to do a bit of background research. Plus, given that Superman has existed as a character since the 1930s, with the film franchise starting in 1978, two years might be the exact amount of time you need to consume your own "Snyder Cut" volume of Superman history.
To save you from traversing from Krypton to Smallville and back, we've compiled all of the streaming links you need to watch the complete Superman franchise, beginning with 1978's seminal Superman: The Movie. Of course, if you want to get technical, Superman first appears in the 15-part film serial Superman released in 1948, then he appeared in 1950's film serial Atom Man vs. Superman, as well as 1951's Superman vs. The Mole Men. (It appears that some diehard fans have uploaded these in parts onto YouTube, if you're feeling particularly heroic.)
Upcoming franchise installments aside, digging into the history of the Superman films in itself is a pretty interesting lens into American history. While his form-fitting uniform might not exactly seem in line with old-fashioned values of American masculinity, the hero is thought to embody the American ideal. (Previously, his catchphrase was even, "Truth, justice, and the American way.") Given this lens, it's especially interesting to watch how Superman has evolved over the years—whether it was Christopher Reeve shoe-horning nuclear disarmament sentiments into Superman IV, or his revamped catchphrase.
If a short attention span is your Kryptonite, start your voyage into the Superman marathon now. By 2025, you'll be a history buff on all things Man of Steel. Up, up, and away.
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