The Fortress of Solitude is traditionally a key setting in both comics and the live-action Superman films. Christopher Reeve’s Superman meets the digitized “ghost” of Jor-El (Marlon Brando) in the 1978 film, while Brandon Routh’s version of the character communed with Brando’s Kryptonian patriarch in 2006’s “Superman Returns.” In 2013’s “Man of Steel,” Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent-Superman traversed the northern landscape before meeting the DCEU’s Jor-El (Russell Crowe), who appears to his son in human form.
While the fortress serves as a place of change for Clark-Superman in the Man of Steel’s feature film appearances, it serves an even greater purpose in DC Comics lore. The Fortress is not only a base of operations for the Superman Family of superheroes, but it also stores an arsenal of Kryptonian weaponry. In addition, various versions of the Fortress include rooms set aside for the likes of Batman and Lois Lane, a zoo inhabited by endangered species from across the galaxy, and more.
Of course, fans won’t truly know whether the rich history of the Fortress will play any part in James Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy” until the film is released. But since Gunn’s DC co-CEO Peter Safran said at the January 2023 event that revealed their DC slate that “Legacy” will not be a film that examines Superman’s origin, it’s possible fans will see more of the Fortress than in previous live-action stories. The Superman Family is set expand with Gunn and Safran’s upcoming “Supergirl: World of Tomorrow,” and if Gunn gets his wish to bring Krypto the Superdog to life in live-action, the growing superfamily is going to need a place they can call home.
