The first reactions for Superman have come in, with praise being heaped upon both James Gunn’s vision and David Corenswet’s performance in the title role.

The film is the first entry in the DC Universe, a new timeline of DC superheroes led by DC CEOs Gunn and Peter Safran. Future films scheduled for release focus on the characters Supergirl and Clayface, while The Brave And The Bold, focusing on a new version of Batman (separate to Robert Pattinson’s portrayal) is in development.

Superman sees Corenswet’s hero doubted by the public after being drawn into conflicts at home and abroad, something seized upon by his nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). He must rely on reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and his dog Krypto to help him turn things around.

The social media embargo for the film has lifted, with critics who attended early screenings largely liking what they saw.

“#SUPERMAN soars with heart, humour, and style—a bold yet faithful take on the iconic hero” said writer Bryan Sudfield. “James Gunn sets a fresh tone while honouring the character’s legacy, and David Corenswet shines with sincerity and strength. A promising, thrilling start to DC’s new era”.

#SUPERMAN soars with heart, humor, and style—a bold yet faithful take on the iconic hero. James Gunn sets a fresh tone while honoring the character’s legacy, and David Corenswet shines with sincerity and strength. A promising, thrilling start to DC’s new era. pic.twitter.com/XefXbmwfhW

— Bryan Sudfield (@BryanSudfield) July 8, 2025

Podcaster Brandon David enthused: “David Corenswet portrays an exceptional iteration of #Superman with sincerity, heroism, purity, and inspirational traits. Corenswet & Rachel Brosnahan’s chemistry for Clark and Lois is off the charts. Their relationship is an excellent driver, especially early”.

David Corenswet portrays an exceptional iteration of #Superman with sincerity, heroism, purity, and inspirational traits.

Corenswet & Rachel Brosnahan’s chemistry for Clark and Lois is off the charts. Their relationship is an excellent driver, especially early. pic.twitter.com/2x2mbOfJDc

— Brandon Davis (@BrandonDavisBD) July 8, 2025

Podcast Epic Film Guys posted: “He did it. James Gunn’s #Superman flies high! Vibrant, lighthearted and action-packed, it’s a true to form comic book adaptation surging with hope. David Corenswet embodies the definitive Superman for a new generation. This IS the Superman movie we’ve been waiting for”.

He did it. James Gunn’s #Superman flies high! Vibrant, lighthearted and action-packed, it’s a true to form comic book adaptation surging with hope. David Corenswet embodies the definitive Superman for a new generation. This IS the Superman movie we’ve been waiting for. pic.twitter.com/FpWJocJLiE

— Epic Film Guys ® (@EpicFilmGuys) July 8, 2025

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff praised the central performance, writing: “David Corenswet brings such an infectious determination and warmth to the role that it makes that pursuit all-consuming and impossibly heartening.

“Making that an even more robust aspect of the movie, Gunn and co. don’t shy away from exploring the challenges one might encounter when trying to navigate our reality while holding tight to those core values”.

#Superman made me so damn happy. The movie is loaded with exhilarating action set pieces and well-placed humor and levity, but the beating heart of the film is Superman’s humanity, and his insistence on doing good and making the world a better place. David Corenswet brings such… pic.twitter.com/cPAcPdxmQl

— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) July 8, 2025

Variety’s Courtney Howard declared: “#Superman absolutely soars! An awesome achievement & hopeful balm, honouring past iterations (cinema & comics) while cutting its own path. Corenswet has that heroic shimmer. Hoult is delightfully diabolical. Brosnahan brims w/ vim & vigor. Krypto’s adorbs”.

#Superman absolutely soars! An awesome achievement & hopeful balm, honoring past iterations (cinema & comics) while cutting its own path. Corenswet has that heroic shimmer. Hoult is delightfully diabolical. Brosnahan brims w/ vim & vigor. Krypto’s adorbs. @Superman @warnerbros pic.twitter.com/8sS3FNFf8i

— Courtney Howard (@Lulamaybelle) July 8, 2025

One dissenting opinion came from critic Peter Howell, who lamented: “James Gunn is brilliant at conjuring spectacle and creating alien realms, not so great at storytelling. David Corenswet plays a boyishly sweet Superman, constantly getting his ass kicked”.

He did, however, add that: “The real star of the show is superdog Krypto, who steals every scene he’s in — I’d rather see a movie about him”.

#SUPERMAN: Not the super start to the DC Universe everybody had been hoping for. James Gunn is brilliant at conjuring spectacle and creating alien realms, not so great at storytelling. David Corenswet plays a boyishly sweet Superman, constantly getting his ass kicked; he’d be… pic.twitter.com/osgb2fVmfs

— Peter Howell (@peterhowellfilm) July 8, 2025

Superman is released July 11. Recently, Gunn teased a “surprise cameo” in the film, as well as making an appearance on cartoon Rick & Morty arguing with former Superman director Zack Snyder.

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James Gunn and Zack Snyder have made cameo appearances in Rick And Morty‘s latest episode.

The DC directors lent their voices to parody versions of themselves in the episode ‘Ricker Than Fiction’ last night (July 6), which sees Rick and Morty dissatisfied with the direction of their favourite franchise Maximum Velocitree.

The titular pair confront Gunn, who is its director – and after being left unhappy with his response, Rick and Morty decide to alter the franchise themselves with their ‘Movie-lizer’ device.

In one scene, Gunn crosses paths with Snyder in a cafeteria, the latter telling his fellow director that he had seen his cut of Superman, joking: “Word of advice – he’s the Man of Steel, not the Man of Conversation. Do more shots of him punching.”

James Gunn and Zack Snyder both appeared in the latest episode of ‘RICK & MORTY’

“Just saw your new cut of ‘Superman.' Word of advice, he’s the ‘Man of Steel,’ not the ‘Man of Conversation.’ Do more shots of him punching!” pic.twitter.com/eLWBVhePIf

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 7, 2025

An angered Gunn hits back at him, admitting he’s frustrated because of Rick and Morty, quipping that Snyder’s “biceps are the size of my head”.

“Zack, we’re not losing touch with the audience, are we?” he asks. “I gave notes on the goddamn Count Chocula movie this morning.”

Snyder notes that he’s dealing with Rick, “the guy that sealed [Christopher] Nolan in the giant bookcase to quote-unquote punish him for Interstellar. He doesn’t represent real fans, he’s just the smartest man in the universe. Don’t sweat it, he can’t do what we do… probably.”

The episode then sees Rick and Morty coming up with a better ending, to which Gunn is converted. The director then takes the Movie-lizer’s hard drive to Warner Bros., declaring it could “save Hollywood”, before he is killed by the studio.

Opening up about landing the real Gunn and Snyder to do the voice cameos, show executive producer Scott Marder told Variety that they “were good sports” about the whole thing.

“Both of those guys sort of implied that this is the show they watch when they have downtime,” he added. “So they were thrilled to get to be a part of the world, and there was no pushback or bristling.

“If anything, they laughed at anything we threw at them. There were probably, frankly, even more digs and more silly things we could have used. All they did was laugh it off.”

Gunn is currently prepping the release of his new Superman film, and suggested in a recent interview that the film industry is dying because “people are making movies without a finished screenplay”.

Addressing a recently canned film of his, the director told Rolling Stone: “Everybody wanted to make the movie. It was greenlit, ready to go. The screenplay wasn’t ready. And I couldn’t do a movie where the screenplay’s not good.

“And we’ve been really lucky so far, because Supergirl’s script was so fucking good off the bat. And then Lanterns came in, and the script was so fucking good. Clayface, same thing. So fucking good. So we have these scripts that we’ve been really lucky with or wise in our choices or whatever the combination is.”

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Superman director James Gunn has revealed a surprise cameo in the new reboot of the film.

• READ MORE: ‘The Flash’ review: sparky superhero goes solo in electric origin story

Superman is set for release on July 11, and the reboot of the iconic series is set to become the first movie in the DC Universe (DCU), a soft reboot of the old DC Extended Universe which will have a united continuity across all works. It will be followed next year by Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow and Clayface.

Alongside David Corenswet who plays the titular hero, stars of the film include Rachel Brosnahan, who plays his love interest Lois Lane, while Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion and Isabela Merced all feature too.

Now, speaking to Jake’s Takes, Gunn revealed that a surprise cameo in the film comes in the form of A Star Is Born actor, Bradley Cooper, who plays Superman’s dad Jor-El in the film.

The pair have collaborated in the past previously on the Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy of films.

Gunn said: “Really, Bradley’s just doing me a favour. He’s a friend. We’ve stayed in close contact since the Guardians movies, and I admire him greatly as an actor and as a director.

“I just said, ‘Hey, will you do me a favour? Come down, go to England, we’re going to shoot you in a 3D environment, make a hologram of you, and you can play Jor-El.’ He was like, ‘Okay.’”

Gunn was also asked whether Jor-El could appear elsewhere in a future DC Universe (DCU) project, to which Gunn said: “You never know. It’s possible.”

Recently, Gunn claimed that the movie industry is dying due to films being made without finished scripts.

The DC Studios boss explained in a new interview with Rolling Stone that the studio recently “killed a project” because they couldn’t get the script to the right place.

“I do believe that the reason why the movie industry is dying is not because of people not wanting to see movies,” Gunn said. “It’s not because of home screens getting so good. The number one reason is because people are making movies without a finished screenplay.”

Elsewhere, Gunn recently insisted that the sequel to The Batman is still “really important” to DC Studios, despite the evolution of a new universe of characters.

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James Gunn claims the movie industry is dying due to films being made without finished scripts.

The DC Studios boss explained in a new interview with Rolling Stone that the studio recently “killed a project” because they couldn’t get the script to the right place.

“I do believe that the reason why the movie industry is dying is not because of people not wanting to see movies,” Gunn said. “It’s not because of home screens getting so good. The number one reason is because people are making movies without a finished screenplay.”

Speaking about his recently canned film, he added: “Everybody wanted to make the movie. It was greenlit, ready to go. The screenplay wasn’t ready. And I couldn’t do a movie where the screenplay’s not good.

“And we’ve been really lucky so far, because Supergirl’s script was so fucking good off the bat. And then Lanterns came in, and the script was so fucking good. Clayface, same thing. So fucking good. So we have these scripts that we’ve been really lucky with or wise in our choices or whatever the combination is.”

Not having a mandate from Warner Bros. to deliver a certain number of DC projects has also helped, according to Gunn and he believes Disney’s mandate to increase Marvel’s output during the launch of Disney+ had a negative impact.

“That wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. And it killed them,” he said of Marvel. “We don’t have the mandate [at DC] to have a certain amount of movies and TV shows every year. So we’re going to put out everything that we think is of the highest quality. We’re obviously going to do some good things and some not-so-good things, but hopefully on average everything will be as high-quality as possible. Nothing goes before there’s a screenplay that I personally am happy with.”

Disney boss Bob Iger has since focused Marvel on quality rather than quantity with Thunderbolts* as “the first and best example” of this.

The first movie in Gunn’s DC Universe, Superman is set for release next month and only one other (Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow) has finished filming and is due for release in 2026. Clayface has also been slated for next year.

Elsewhere, he recently insisted that the sequel to The Batman is still “really important” to DC Studios, despite the evolution of a new universe of characters.

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A new Wonder Woman film is being written for the DC Universe, according to DC Studios chief James Gunn.

READ MORE: ‘The Flash’ review: sparky superhero goes solo in electric origin story

Gal Gadot played the character in the now-cancelled DC Extended Universe. She would star in 2017’s Wonder Woman and its sequel, Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), as well as appearing in Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017). She last played the character in 2023, making cameos in Shazam! Fury Of The Gods as well as The Flash.

In late 2022, Gunn was appointed as the co-CEO of DC Studios, the new entity that would oversee a rebooted franchise now known simply as DC Universe. This would begin on the big screen with July’s Superman, directed by Gunn himself, with new versions of his Justice League colleagues on the way.

One of those, it would appear, is Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn revealed that an HBO show based on her home of Themyscira is “slow moving, but it’s moving”. He would also say that a script for a movie about the character is “being written right now”. It’s not known who will play the Amazonian hero, but Variety reported in 2023 that Gadot will not play the character in the new universe.

As it stands, the DC Universe’ planned releases are Superman, in cinemas July 11, with Supergirl: World of Tomorrow arriving June 26, 2026. A film based on the villain Clayface is scheduled for September 11, 2026, with James Watkins (Speak No Evil) attached to direct.

Recently Gunn reiterated that the sequel to The Batman, which is not part of the DC
Universe canon, is still a priority to the studio. “What Matt’s doing is still really important, despite all stories to the contrary,” he said, before adding: “We’re supposed to see that script shortly, and I can’t wait”.

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James Gunn has insisted that the sequel to The Batman is still “really important” to DC Studios, despite the evolution of a new universe of characters.

• READ MORE: ‘The Batman’ review: down in the dumps with Robert Pattinson’s dark knight

Robert Pattinson starred as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Matt Reeves’ 2022 blockbuster, a darker take on the world of Gotham co-starring Paul Dano as The Riddler and Colin Farrell as The Penguin. A box office success and critically well-received, a sequel has been eagerly anticipated ever since.

The film was released prior to the restructuring of DC’s film division in late 2022, where James Gunn was made co-CEO of DC Studios with Peter Safran, and launched a rebooted DC Universe with new interpretations of the superhero characters.

Given the grounded nature of Reeves’ story, it was questioned whether Pattinson’s Batman would be part of the DC Universe continuity, something confirmed in February when Gunn said that it was “not the plan” to include that iteration of the character, with The Batman existing in its own world while a new caped crusader would be cast for the DC Universe.

The Batman sequel’s delay to a 2027 release date has also led some to believe the project may never go ahead, but in December last year Gunn claimed the five year wait between films is “fairly common” in cinema history, citing the seven years between the second and third Guardians Of The Galaxy Films.

Now, the Superman director has given an update to Entertainment Weekly, insisting the project is still vital to DC’s future. “What Matt’s doing is still really important, despite all stories to the contrary,” Gunn comments, referring to rumours that The Batman was not wanted by the new studio set up. “We’re supposed to see that script shortly, and I can’t wait”.

In March, Robert Pattinson said he “fucking hopes” The Batman 2 starts filming soon, joking: “I’m 38, I’m old”.

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James Gunn has revealed he refused to put Thor in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, following the character’s integration into the group after Avengers: Endgame.

• READ MORE: ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy: Volume 3’ review: an oddly dark goodbye for Marvel’s funniest gang

Chris Hemsworth’s God Of Thunder ended up with The Guardians following the victory over Thanos in Endgame, although he leaves the group in the first act of 2022’s Thor: Love And Thunder. This meant by the time Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 was released in 2023, Gunn didn’t have to deal with the extra character.

Now working for Marvel rivals DC, Gunn told Entertainment Weekly that he flat out refused to include the character in any of his films.

“I said in the script notes: ‘I’m not gonna put him in. I don’t want to have Thor in the Guardians. I don’t want to do a movie with Thor,’” Gunn explained. “I don’t understand the character that much. I love watching his movies and I love Chris Hemsworth as a guy. I don’t understand how to write that character”.

The director made all three Guardians films for Marvel, working on DC projects The Suicide Squad (2021) and TV show Peacemaker in-between. In late 2022, Gunn was made co-CEO of the newly formed DC Studios, overseeing the rebooted DC Universe which will launch on the big screen this summer with Superman. Gunn directs David Corenswet in the lead, with the blockbuster due in cinemas on July 11.

Elsewhere in the interview, the filmmaker discussed the pitfalls of promising things in credit scenes, using Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) in Guardians Of The Galaxy as an example. He confessed: “I did not like what I did in Guardians 2 where we set up Adam Warlock and we set up the Guardians of the Galaxy and we set up all this shit that I didn’t necessarily plan on”.

James Gunn Added: “Well, I guess I kind of planned on fulfilling that promise, but you want to be careful about that. The way a post-credits scene works is a punch to the face, like, ‘Oh my God! Look at this.’ At times when you’re using it just solely to set something up, sometimes you’re screwing yourself over. It was not easy to work Adam Warlock into Guardians 3”.

Recently, a five-minute clip from Superman, featuring the hero’s dog Krypto, was teased ahead of the cinema release.

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Superman fans have criticised Zach Snyder for calling Henry Cavill the “greatest Superman of all time”.

It comes after the Man Of Steel director sent the star a message on X on his 42nd birthday alongside a behind-the-scenes photo of the actor.

“Happy Birthday to my friend, amazing actor, and greatest Superman of all time,” Snyder wrote.

Along with Man Of Steel, Cavill went on to star as Superman, in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice and 2017’s Justice League. He also made a cameo at the end of Black Adam in 2022 before James Gunn confirmed Cavill would no longer be involved in his vision of the DC Universe.

Happy Birthday to my friend, amazing actor, and greatest Superman of all time. #MoS, #BvS #ZSJL pic.twitter.com/1sKYSdNnzH

— Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) May 5, 2025

The post was heavily criticised by fans who pointed out that the late Christopher Reeve who starred in the original Superman films, was the greatest.

“He’s good but he’s not even close sorry,” one wrote while another added: “Sorry, second best, but yes, Happy Birthday, Henry!”

Another argued that the greatest “will always be Christopher reeves.. I’m sorry,, it’s just the law. These guys are all great but there’s only one.”

The greatest Superman of all time is Christopher Reeve pic.twitter.com/JVWAKCb4L8

— kara (@DCUSupergirl) May 5, 2025

he's good but he's not even close sorry pic.twitter.com/4vGizpa4kT

— @stevenvoiceover (@stevenvoiceover) May 5, 2025

Sorry, second best, but yes, Happy Birthday, Henry!

— kovy1 (@KOVALEV022473) May 6, 2025

Christopher Reeve better pic.twitter.com/mchMJJ9huc

— The Travel Tinker (@TheTravelTinker) May 6, 2025

#Gsmoat will always be Christopher reeves..
I’m sorry,, it’s just the law.
These guys are all great but there’s only one #gsmoat.

— mattp (@mappikko) May 6, 2025

He’s was a great Superman but sadly the whole idea of the JL was bad from the first movie and the ZS JL-that’s why he isn’t the greatest Superman I’d pick reeves any day he was and is the greatest Superman of all time let’s see what Gunn has to offer-HB Cavill

— YukinaKris (@YukinaKris) May 5, 2025

Ironically Cavill is also wearing a replica of Christopher Reeve’s Superman suit from the original 1978 film in Snyder’s post.

Elsewhere, David Corenswet will take up the role in Gunn’s forthcoming Superman reboot which is out in cinemas on July 11.

Following the first trailer last year, many Cavill fans roundly panned it with many criticising the suit and slamming the Man Of Steel star’s removal from the DC Universe.

The reboot of the iconic series is set to become the first movie in the DC Universe (DCU), a soft reboot of the old DC Extended Universe which will have a united continuity across all works. It’ll be followed next year by Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow and Clayface.

Alongside Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan plays his love interest Lois Lane, while Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion and Isabela Merced all feature too. Jack Quaid, meanwhile, said last year that he auditioned for the title role, admitting: “I didn’t get very far.”

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DC Studios has unveiled a new clip of James Gunn‘s upcoming Superman film – check it out below.

• READ MORE: ‘The Flash’ review: sparky superhero goes solo in electric origin story

The five-minute clip debuted last night (April 3) via DC Studios’ official YouTube and social media channels. In the clip, we see Superman/Kal-El plummeting into the Arctic, damaged and bruised.

Superman – portrayed by David Corenswet – whistles for Krypto the Superdog to rescue him. The playful super-powered pup mistakenly pounces onto Supes, leaving him crying and writhing in pain. After Krypto calms down, the Man of Steel instructs him to take them home (the Fortress of Solitude).

Superman is then attended to by a number of hyper-intelligent Kryptonian robots, who nurse him back to health – he’s shown to have numerous broken bones and damage to core organs – by basking him in yellow sunlight.

The clip then ends with several shots of Superman/Clark Kent in action throughout several phases of the film.

The new clip follows the first trailer, which came out in December and showed Krypto the Superdog in live-action for the first time, and a second teaser in January. The teaser was met with mixed reception, prompting Gunn to fire back at unhappy fans claiming Corenswet’s face had been altered with CGI: “There is absolutely zero CG in his face. People’s faces can look different when you put a wide-angle lens up close. The background plate in Svalbard is 100% real as is David.”

Superman is set for release on July 11, and the reboot of the iconic series is set to become the first movie in the DC Universe (DCU), a soft reboot of the old DC Extended Universe which will have a united continuity across all works. It’ll be followed next year by Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow and Clayface.

Alongside Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan plays his love interest Lois Lane, while Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion and Isabela Merced all feature too. Jack Quaid, meanwhile, said last year that he auditioned for the title role, admitting: “I didn’t get very far.”

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Tributes have poured in for Gene Hackman, who passed away yesterday aged 95.

• READ MORE: Gene Hackman found dead in New Mexico home with wife and dog

Gene Hackman was reportedly found dead with his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog on Wednesday afternoon (February 26) in their home in the New Mexico city of Santa Fe, Per the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Their deaths were confirmed by Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza hours later at midnight. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that, in an interview, Mendoza stated there was no immediate indication of foul play. No cause of death was provided, along with a possible time of death.

Arakawa, a classical pianist, was 63. He is survived by his three children: Christopher, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne, with whom he shared with his late ex-wife, Faye Maltese, who died in 2017.

One of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors, Hackman worked as an actor for over four decades. He won Best Actor at the Academy Awards for the classic crime thriller The French Connection, and Best Supporting Actor for Clint Eastwood’s Western Unforgiven.

He also appeared in 1978’s Superman as villain Lex Luthor, and in Wes Anderson comedy The Royal Tenenbaums. He retired from acting in 2004, and would go on to write a number of crime novels.

Francis Ford Coppola, his director on The Conversation, posted on Instagram with a picture of the pair on set. The caption read: “The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution”.

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A post shared by Francis Ford Coppola (@francisfordcoppola)

The Prince Of Wales posted a tribute on X (formerly Twitter), saying he was “so sad” to hear the news, and calling Hackman a “true genius”. Clint Eastwood, Hackman’s director and co-star in Unforgiven and the thriller Absolute Power, shared on the platform “Extremely saddened by the passing of Gene Hackman, He will be deeply missed…

So sad to hear the news of the death of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy. Hackman was a true genius of film who brought each and every character to life with power, authenticity and star quality. W https://t.co/qcqmMsHs1f

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) February 27, 2025

Extremely saddened by the passing of Gene Hackman, He will be deeply missed… pic.twitter.com/7OlSijbB1H

— Clint Eastwood (@EastwoodMalpaso) February 27, 2025

Morgan Freeman, Hackman’s co-star in Unforgiven, reflected on their time making the drama Under Suspiction. Mel Brooks, who directed Hackman in a rare comedy performance in Young Frankenstein, reminisced about his casting in the film and called the actor “perfect”.

One of the personal highlights of my career was bringing the French Film Gardé a Vue (Under Suspicion) to life with the incredibly gifted Gene Hackman. And of course… Unforgiven. Rest in peace, my friend. pic.twitter.com/Rw6DTwScZn

— Morgan Freeman (@morgan_freeman) February 27, 2025

I was privileged to know Gene Hackman because he played tennis with another Gene—Gene Wilder. And that Gene told him about a little role called The Blind Hermit in our movie YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. He said, “Do you think Mel would let me play it? I’ve always wanted to do a comedy.”… pic.twitter.com/hjDHROS6GA

— Mel Brooks (@MelBrooks) February 28, 2025

DC Universe boss James Gunn paid tribute, posting: “Gene Hackman was truly one of the greatest screen actors of all time. He almost never hit a false note”. Oscar winner Ralph Fiennes shared a picture of the actor with the caption “Gene Hackman 1930 – 2025”.

Gene Hackman was truly one of the greatest screen actors of all time. He almost never hit a false note. Always mesmerizing. Rest in Peace, Gene. My favorite movies of his:

The Conversation
Unforgiven
Night Moves
Bonnie & Clyde
The French Connection
Superman
Mississippi Burning pic.twitter.com/jXVw0nbZ8z

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) February 27, 2025

Gene Hackman 1930 – 2025 pic.twitter.com/8N5Yt2fuO8

— Ralph Fiennes (@mrralphfiennes) February 27, 2025

On Instagram, Tom Hanks said “There has never been a ‘Gene Hackman Type’. There has only been Gene Hackman”. Viola Davis also shared on her account “You were one of the greats. God bless those who loved you”.

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A post shared by Tom Hanks (@tomhanks)

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A post shared by VIOLA DAVIS (@violadavis)

Edgar Wright, who cited The French Connection as an inspiration for his 2017 film Baby Driver, shared a picture of the actor on and wrote “The greatest…”

Hollywood star Antonio Banderas also tweeted: “A very sad day for the cinema’s family. Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have passed away. My deepest condolences to friends, family and cinema lovers. RIP”

The greatest… https://t.co/8hUq4JpM1j

— edgarwright (@edgarwright) February 27, 2025

A very sad day for the cinema’s family. Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have passed away.

My deepest condolences to friends, family and cinema lovers.
RIP pic.twitter.com/PmuiLU4Jyb

— Antonio Banderas (@antoniobanderas) February 27, 2025

Star Trek legend George Takei posted: “We have lost one of the true giants of the screen. Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it. He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on forever”.

We have lost one of the true giants of the screen. Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it. He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on… pic.twitter.com/OfmXVCG0jt

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) February 27, 2025

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