‘Superman’ filming to shut down streets in downtown Cleveland this week

CLEVELAND, Ohio — It’s a bird, it’s a plane… it’s Superman?

Production on DC’s upcoming movie will shut down streets in downtown Cleveland starting Thursday. The city’s press release didn’t name the film, but signs on several faux storefronts, buildings and light poles in Public Square and along Superior Ave. indicate it takes place in Metropolis, the city where Clark Kent works as a newspaper reporter. Indeed, crews installed a sign for The Daily Planet over the entrance of the Leader Building today.

Superior Ave. from E. 6th St. to E. Roadway Ave. at Public Square will be fully closed Thursday through Saturday, though daily access to the parking garage at 200 Public Square will be available from E. Roadway Ave.

East 3rd St. — the street between the Cleveland Public Library and the Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse — will also be closed from Superior to Rockwell Ave. those same days.

Filming moves to Lakeside Ave. on Tuesday, June 25 as the street will be closed from E. 9th St. to East Mall Dr. near the convention center. The City Hall surface parking lot will also be closed. The Willard Garage will be open but the only access will be from E. 9th St.

Detour signs will be posted directing drivers to alternate routes. The city says some closures might last hours at a time while others closers may be intermittent. Downtown residents and commuters should expect additional closures throughout the shoot.

Production, meanwhile, appears to have already started 30 miles east at Mentor Headlands Beach. The state park was closed yesterday and today for filming and will be closed again on Thursday and Friday. Cameras are also expected to roll in Cincinnati later this summer.

The Greater Cleveland Film Commission can’t comment on any of the activity as the organization is bound by non-disclosure agreements with production companies that it attracts to the region.

In February, however, the Ohio Department of Development awarded an $11 million motion tax credit to a project called “Genesis.” Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer later confirmed that “Genesis” was the codename for DC’s Superman reboot, then known as “Superman: Legacy.”

Directed by James Gunn and starring David Corenswet in the title role, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, “Superman” flies into theaters on July 11, 2025.