This week is shaping up to be all about Superman and we finally have some new story details before this Thursday's trailer is released. Outside of what we've pieced together from set photos, very little has been revealed up until this point.
Talking to The Wrap on the set of the movie this past June, writer and director James Gunn confirmed he's skipping the origin story when he said, "We just start in the middle of the action. Superman already exists. Lois and Clark already know each other."
"Lex hates Superman’s guts from the beginning, although they don’t know each other personally," the filmmaker revealed. "So we start right in the middle of the action. It takes place over a short amount of time."
As for his approach to Clark Kent and Lois Lane's dynamic, Gunn teased, "The relationship between David and Rachel’s [characters] on screen is something I don’t think we’ve seen in – I hate to say stuff like this – but I don’t think it’s something we’ve ever seen any superhero movie ever."
"It’s a complicated relationship and we really get into it and there’s long scenes that are about their relationship and the way they relate and what it would be like for a person who’s this incredibly intelligent, strong-headed, stubborn, skeptical journalist, to have a relationship with someone who can lift a skyscraper," he added.
Asked directly whether Lois is aware that Clark is Superman, all Gunn would say was, "Well, we’ll see. She knows who Superman is."
The DC Studios co-CEO also shared his take on how Superman balances his dual identities. "People said all sorts of different things. They said, 'Clark’s the real one.' They said, 'Superman’s the real one and Clark’s the secret identity.' But I don’t believe either of those things," he revealed. "I don’t think anybody knows Superman unless they know both of him. And when they know both of him, they know the real guy. And that means not too many people."
One of them has to be Lois based on those remarks, right?
Regardless, Gunn later addressed one of the biggest concerns fans have in regards to Superman's tone. Fortunately, it appears he's struck the right balance to deliver what sounds like a take on the Man of Steel that does right by him and his supporting cast.
"It’s humorous, but it certainly is not as comic or as much a comedy as either 'Suicide Squad' or 'Guardians,'" Gunn confirmed. "There’s plenty of humor in it."
"People like Rachel [Brosnahan] are so funny and David [Corenswet] is very funny as well, so there’s humor in it, but it’s trying to create something that is grounded, but also it’s an incredibly fanciful world, it’s fantasy, it’s taking from other things like 'Game of Thrones,' where it’s this universe where superheroes actually exist."
Superman will definitely be something of a departure for Gunn as the character is a far cry from the likes of Star-Lord, Peacemaker, and Rick Flag Sr.! Still, if he manages to stick the landing, we may be in store for something really special next summer.
Check back here later for more from Gunn on his main influences, how Top Gun: Maverick inspired his approach to the flying scenes, and new details on the reboot's music and score.
Superman arrives in theaters on July 11, 2025.