Superman: Michael Bay Was Going to Direct Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel 2

It looks like Christopher McQuarrie wasn’t the only director that Warner Bros. reached out to about directing Man of Steel 2.

While promoting Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning last month, McQuarrie shared previously undisclosed details about his Man of Steel 2 pitch. The filmmaker revealed that his sequel would have opened with a montage similar to the heartbreaking opening of Pixar’s Up. He also teased the potential for “amazing conflict” between Henry Cavill‘s Superman and Green Lantern, given how the two shared “amazing similarities.”

However, it has been revealed in a new report from The Wrap that McQuarrie wasn’t the only director who was eyed to helm Man of Steel 2. According to two insiders, Warner Bros. Pictures chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy briefly tried to get a standalone Man of Steel 2 off the ground in 2022. While the sequel never materialized, De Luca and Abdy reportedly wanted Michael Bay to direct the Henry Cavill-led DC Extended Universe movie.

Canceled Superman movie would’ve been Michael Bay’s first superhero film

Bay is known for his action blockbusters, having directed the first two Bad Boys movies as well as the first five live-action/CG Transformers features. His other notable movie credits include The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Pain & Gain, and 6 Underground.

If Bay had agreed to direct Man of Steel 2, it would have marked his first directorial effort for the superhero genre. He previously produced the 2014 live-action/CG reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as well as its 2016 sequel, Out of the Shadows, which were directed by Jonathan Liebesman and Dave Green, respectively.

Despite Cavill’s return as Superman in Black Adam, the hiring of James Gunn and Peter Safran as co-heads of DC Studios led to the decision to shutter the DCEU in favor of a new shared universe, with new actors playing DC’s iconic heroes. A new Superman movie was subsequently announced with Gunn at the helm and will be the first theatrical installment in the DC Universe.

David Corenswet is headlining the upcoming blockbuster as the titular Man of Steel, with Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult co-starring as Daily Planet journalist Lois Lane and the villainous Lex Luthor, respectively. Superman is set to soar into theaters on July 11, 2025.

Originally reported by Lee Freitag on SuperHeroHype.

Source: Comingsoon.net