Superman will set the tone for the new DCU and how better to do that than with a character like Kal-El? Arguably the world's most iconic superhero, everyone knows who Superman is and the pressure is on writer and director James Gunn to keep him relevant in 2025.
It's no secret that The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy helmer has turned to the comics for inspiration.
Talking to Screen Brief, Gunn said that his approach to Superman is about finding "the compassion of the human spirit" and delivering a version of the character "who is about kindness, love and compassion."
"He is the best of humanity, even though he is an alien from outer space," the filmmaker continued. "That came naturally as the story evolved. It’s one of the things that’s a little bit different than some of the other Superman movies. It’s about Superman’s external struggle, but it’s also about his internal struggle."
"It’s about who he is as a person, where he comes from, his parents - both his Kryptonian parents, and his, human parents. And we get to know who this guy is on a real elemental level. And that brings in all those other elements too."
Among those elements will be an exploration of Clark Kent and Superman's humanity. "Yes, he’s an alien from another planet who’s super powerful, but he is also deeply, deeply human. He has emotions and feelings, and he, you know, every day he wakes up and tries to make the best choices he can, and sometimes he fails, and that’s what this movie is about."
After teasing the "complex relationships between Clark and Lois and Lex and Clark," Gunn talked about making sure this version of Lex Luthor is "absolutely Superman’s equal." He added, "Maybe more that. You’ve got to be scared, and this Lex is scary. And it’s not just because he is a bad guy - because he’s pretty bad - but he has his reasons for thinking what he thinks, which we get into."
"And it’s a lot of ideological things about what Superman represents versus what he represents as the world’s most intelligent man. And so, I think that it really is this battle of ideologies between the two of them and how they look at the world. One of whom is very generous in his point of view, which is Superman, and one of them is not very generous in his point of view, which is Lex."
"But also, his intelligence and his way of dealing with the sort of henchmen that Lex has around him makes him incredibly dangerous to Superman," he explained. "And when you’re willing to fight, and there are no rules, you always have an upper hand over the person who’s willing to fight and has a lot of rules - which is Superman."
Finally, Gunn reflected on honouring the Man of Tomorrow's legacy and revealed that the 30-second trailer teaser (which you can watch again below) featured a cameo appearance from Superman creator Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's grandchildren.
"There’s a very interesting easter egg in the teaser. It’s in the teaser to the teaser. You can see Jerry and Joe’s grandkids who are in the Daily Planet. And they shot with us the whole time in the Daily Planet. So, they’re two of the reporters are in the background of the Daily Planet."
For those of you wondering, they're standing behind Jimmy Olsen!
Gunn is certainly saying all the right things when it comes to his take on Superman and the response to the first trailer has so far been overwhelmingly positive. Here's hoping the movie itself sticks the landing next year.
Superman, DC Studios' first feature film to hit the big screen, is set to soar into theaters worldwide next summer from Warner Bros. Pictures. 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.
Superman arrives in theaters on July 11, 2025.