SUPERMAN Director James Gunn On New Spin On Lois & Clark's Relationship And A "Flawed" Man Of Steel

SUPERMAN Director James Gunn On New Spin On Lois & Clark's Relationship And A "Flawed" Man Of Steel

Superman director James Gunn shared some new insights on the DCU reboot's somewhat surprising take on the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane...

By MarkCassidy - May 01, 2025 12:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Superman

The first trailer for Superman made it pretty clear that Lois Lane and the Man of Steel were an item, but it seems the former is going to have some doubts about the relationship in the upcoming DC reboot.

While speaking to ABC, director James Gunn explained where we'll find Lois and Clark at the beginning of the movie.

“He’s in love with her. She’s the one that needs the convincing in the relationship. It’s not him. You really see where he needs her in his life.”

As for the Man of Tomorrow, it sounds like this interpretation of the iconic hero is going to be depicted as being far from perfect.

"[The film is] a personal journey for Superman that’s entirely new,” says Gunn. "He’s a character who is pretty damn good, but flawed.”

Some feel that Superman shouldn't be seen to display any flaws, but the character has never been immune to experiencing the same highs and lows that plague the humans he protects.

“He’s a public facing character, he’s a symbol,” adds David Corenswet. “There’s a presentational element to it, because he does want to present an image of calm and authority. While he doesn’t always feel that way, he always wants to make other people feel that way as Superman.”

The actor also confirmed that he drew inspiration from the All-Star Superman comic run, as well as his brother-in-law, who is 6’8” and 270 pounds, but is the “quietest, most wonderful man.”

“That’s where I sort of took the spirit of Clark. He’s this big presence, but he’s desperately trying to be as small as possible and as quiet as possible.”

Superman also stars Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Isabel Merced as Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho.

Sara Sampaio is on board as Lex's assistant/lover Eve Teschmacher, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell will play "Ma" and "Pa" Kent, and Milly Alcock's Supergirl has been confirmed to make her debut ahead of her own Woman of Tomorrow movie.

"And that’s a wrap," Gunn posted earlier this year when filming concluded. "God bless our cast and crew whose commitment, creativity, and hard work have brought this project to life. I set out to make a movie about a good man in a world that isn’t always so much. And the goodness and kindness and love I’ve encountered on a daily basis on the set has inspired me and thrust me forward when I felt too spent to move on my own.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. It has been an honor. The destination has been Superman, but the journey has been the toil and the laughter and the emotions and ideas and magic we’ve shared together on set - and for that I am forever grateful."

You can check out an updated synopsis for the movie below.

"In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind."

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MisterBones
MisterBones - 5/1/2025, 12:18 PM
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JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/1/2025, 12:20 PM
@MisterBones - Just give Superman the Maverick treatment for crying out loud. We don't need to see these heroes humiliated over and over again.
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/1/2025, 12:18 PM
I honestly thought this movie would easily make more than Man of Steel. The closer it gets, I'm not so sure.
TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 5/1/2025, 12:23 PM
@JacobsLadder - No matter how good this movie is, it still has to deal with the fallout of the previous five DC movies. DC has been shitting the bed for years; one movie isn't going to fix that.
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/1/2025, 12:28 PM
@TheJok3r - will not argue that at all.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 5/1/2025, 1:06 PM
@JacobsLadder - it's gonna blow past Man of Steel. Just look at the commentary under all the YouTube vids of the trailers and sneak peaks. And then you go to a negative review from Ben Shapiro where his entire comment section is burying him for trashing the footage. His entire audience turned on him in that review.

Now I'm not saying Ben Shapiro's audience is the litmus test for whether this film succeeds, but I think it adds to the notion that the footage has people from every walk excited for this movie (and yes alot of it has to do with Krypto. Dog owners loved that sneal peak). Gunn's pretty smart with how he's utilized Krypto this far, IMO. And I think the marketing has been far better than many here like to imply. The normies are all about this film.

Will definitely eat crow if I'm wrong on this and it bombs but I'm fairly certain it's gonna make a ton of money. They are about to go full Barbie with the marketing here from what I've heard.
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/1/2025, 1:59 PM
@McMurdo - it definitely will get my money. I'm not the biggest MoS fan.
Pictilli
Pictilli - 5/1/2025, 12:18 PM
All good things
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/1/2025, 12:25 PM
Sounds good imo!!.

I think Gunn has said that both Lois & Clark while being into each other are still different people in terms of their outlooks & perspectives which is what is causing doubts for the former which could be an interesting arc for her as Clark goes through his.

Corenswet also said in the interview that besides All Star , he also took inspiration from Christopher Reeves and moreso specifically this moment which is great since it’s one of my favorite bits of his performance in those films…

?si=kx9Fp48_SnsZcGJs

Anyway , can’t wait to see this!!.
RedFury
RedFury - 5/1/2025, 1:29 PM
@TheVisionary25 - such a fun juxtaposition of personality, and physicality by Reeves there. I'm really happy to see that Gunn and Corenswet are adapting this kind of persona for their take on Clark/Kal-El.

It feels like they'll sore, where Singer fell with his Superman returns. By the sounds of it Gunn is using Superman comics, and the Donner/Reeves films as large inspiration for their iteration, and building on that to create a Superman for modern times without abandoning the core of what we loved about what came before. While Singer tried to recreate what Donner/Reeves did but it sadly came across as a soulless copy of that prior magic.

I'm really excited to witness this film. I don't expect it to be perfect, but I think I'll absolutely love it.
RolandD
RolandD - 5/1/2025, 10:25 PM
@TheVisionary25 - it’s been some years since I’ve watched this movie. That scene tells me it’s time for a rewatch.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 5/1/2025, 12:29 PM
“Flawed Man of Steel”? Even James Gunn knows the suit sucks.
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 5/1/2025, 12:31 PM
just give me the trailer so i can get more hyped for this... and to give the GA some hope that this will be a great movie

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harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 5/1/2025, 12:40 PM
she pegs him.
radamo3
radamo3 - 5/1/2025, 12:54 PM
@harryba11zack - I bet you're an expert on the subject.
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 5/1/2025, 1:19 PM
@radamo3 -
Titan417
Titan417 - 5/1/2025, 1:05 PM
I like this Superman
McMurdo
McMurdo - 5/1/2025, 1:14 PM
This cast interview, IMO, articulates what Gunn is stating above in regards to Clark being "flawed". Clark and Lois have differing world views here. She argues pragmatism whilst Clark argues "good faith", and Clark resents any notion of naivety in that.

?si=UUxLUH8TdiXMVRhM
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 5/1/2025, 1:31 PM
@McMurdo - Where's Gunn's wife? how does he know what to say?
RolandD
RolandD - 5/1/2025, 10:24 PM
@HashTagSwagg - What a bizarre comment. Gunn is a self-made man and was successful long before Jennifer Holland came along.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 5/1/2025, 10:28 PM
@RolandD - Is that you James Gunn's wife?
RolandD
RolandD - 5/1/2025, 10:51 PM
@HashTagSwagg - I should’ve known better than to converse with someone who’s only interested in trolling.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 5/1/2025, 1:19 PM
"No matter what happens, he'll always have a smile on his face"

Let's [frick]ing go
MuadDib
MuadDib - 5/1/2025, 1:29 PM
Idk, All Star Superman isn’t overly flawed, it’s almost like perfect Superman. Here’s hoping Gunn doesn’t mess this up. He gets one shot, as long as it’s close we’re ok, but it’s a complete miss, the DCU is done and DC could get sold off.
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/1/2025, 2:00 PM
@MuadDib - no pressure. F4 too. A lot is riding on those two CBMs.
Yankdandy
Yankdandy - 5/1/2025, 2:31 PM
Girlboss Lois yawn. Gunn is so out of touch, people are tired of girlboss movies.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 5/1/2025, 3:25 PM
Not sure about Superman, but for Lois that's a pretty damn good choice.
SteviesRightFoo
SteviesRightFoo - 5/1/2025, 4:46 PM
Brosnahan is hot
Typhoon20
Typhoon20 - 5/1/2025, 7:40 PM
My least fav thing about these things is the relationships that's become so cliche. I don't care how it's in the comics but I'm just so tired to always see them couple a man and a woman together just because. How about a movie that doesn't have that cliche and does something new and focuses more on the character itself. Does it excite people to see Lois and Clark be a thing ? Why does that have to happen ? Just because it was a thing in the comics 100 years ago ? It's almost always never fullfilling and often always so shallow.
RolandD
RolandD - 5/1/2025, 10:18 PM
@Typhoon20 - Try that with a new character, but their relationship is iconic so it would be foolish to ignore that in my humble opinion. I absolutely think that you are onto something, just not with Superman.
NonPlayerC
NonPlayerC - 5/2/2025, 10:49 AM
@Typhoon20 - I see what you're saying but I think it plays better when they are already an item as opposed to playing the dreaded will they won't they scenario when they obviously will
RolandD
RolandD - 5/1/2025, 10:20 PM
Superman‘s perfect. He’s boring. Superman with flaws? That’s crazy. Just make a damn good movie. You can’t please everybody with everything and God knows our culture has really veered towards complaining.
SDCA27
SDCA27 - 5/1/2025, 10:58 PM
All you have to do is ask Bruce and he’ll tell you all about how flawed Clark is.
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 5/2/2025, 1:34 AM
Basically.

BlackBolt84
BlackBolt84 - 5/2/2025, 8:40 AM
Dude just proving time and time again that he doesn't get Superman and was the wrong person to do this movie.
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