Superman stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult were on hand to promote the movie at CinemaCon this week, with the latter two revealing what it was like to see their co-star suit up as the DCU's Man of Steel.
We've already seen plenty of Corenswet both in set photos and the movie's teaser trailer; however, for Hoult, watching the actor take flight for the first time sounds like something of a transcendent experience.
"I have a very clear memory," Hoult recalled (via GamesRadar+). "I was on a set where David was dressed as Superman. He was flying on to the set and the bright sun was illuminating him from behind - and it was one of those moments where I felt like I was witnessing the magic of cinema in first person and in real time."
As you might expect, this made staying in character a challenge for the Lex Luthor actor. "I was sitting there thinking, 'I’m evil, I hate him, et cetera.' But I also felt this little warmth in my tummy and I had a little stupid grin on my face. I remember thinking, 'This is magic.'"
"I turned around to see another 50 people in the room and they’ve all got that same expression on their face as they’re watching him," Hoult continued. "That was beautiful to witness because it shows what this character means and how David represents him, as well as what James has created with this story. It shows the magic of what these stories have created for all of us in the cinema."
Brosnahan, who plays Lois Lane, echoed those sentiments by saying, "I remember we shot a scene where we were walking through a field at night and the moon was behind [David]. The trees were blowing the distance. It was magic."
Addressing Corenswet, the actor said, "I think I turned to you - and I don’t know if I'm allowed to curse in here - but I said, 'Dude, you’re f***ing Superman. This is crazy!' And David was like, 'Yes, I know. I’ve been here for many, many months.'"
DC Studios' CinemaCon presentation, part of Warner Bros.' larger panel at the event in Las Vegas, has drawn mixed reviews. Jeff Sneider, for example, has said that studio head and filmmaker James Gunn couldn't "just let the footage speak for itself."
"Instead, the verbose executive insisted on speaking, and speaking, and speaking some more, to the point that the Superman segment felt endless," the reporter added. "You could feel the presentation lose momentum as the room began to deflate."
He also criticised Peter Safran's "junket-level questions," pondering, "Why ask David Corenswet which DC character he’d like to be if he wasn’t Superman when this is his big introduction to theater owners as Superman?"
While the press attends CinemaCon, it's mostly for theater exhibitors, so the fact that this Superman showcase didn't blow any minds won't ultimately make any difference to how it performs in theaters this summer.
It's a shame Warner Bros. didn't capitalise on the buzz by releasing a trailer or poster, but a 5-minute sneak will play in front of A Minecraft Movie this weekend. It's unclear when, or indeed if, that will be released online.
Superman arrives in theaters on July 11, 2025.