SUPERMAN Star Rachel Brosnahan On How DCU Reboot Differs From Previous Movies: "This Is Not An Origin Story"

SUPERMAN Star Rachel Brosnahan On How DCU Reboot Differs From Previous Movies: "This Is Not An Origin Story"

In a new interview, Superman star Rachel Brosnahan explains how James Gunn's DCU reboot sets itself apart from previous versions of the Man of Steel story...

By MarkCassidy - Apr 07, 2025 05:04 PM EST
Filed Under: Superman

We've seen a lot of different takes on Superman over the years, on the big and small screen, and most interpretations of the legendary DC Comics hero retell at least some aspects of the Man of Steel's origin story.

Director James Gunn has already confirmed that his upcoming DCU reboot will skip Kal-El's early life on Earth and begin when he has already embraced his destiny as Superman, and star Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane) has now revealed that this is what she's most excited for audiences to experience when they see the movie.

“I also love that this is not an origin story," she tells Collider"We've seen the origin story done so well a number of different times, but we come into a world that already exists — Lois and Clark are working at the Daily Planet, monsters exist in Metropolis, Lex Luthor has LuthorCorp. We drop in at this point in their relationship that I've never seen before.”

As previously reported, Superman begins with Lois and Clark Kent already in a relationship.

"They've been together for about three months. And they're asking some questions about the future of their relationship. They're not sure if this is something that was just a really great fling or something that could be forever, and they have really opposite worldviews, and they bump up against each other that way. So, it was a really fun way into a familiar story.”

Comic readers and fans of the likes of The CW's Superman and Lois will be used to this dynamic, but it's not something that's been explored nearly as often in a feature format, and will hopefully make for an interesting introduction to these iconic characters in the DCU. 

You can check out the recently-released 5-minute preview below.

SUPERMAN Director James Gunn Shares A (Disappointing?) Update On When We'll See The Movie's Next Trailer
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SUPERMAN Director James Gunn Shares A (Disappointing?) Update On When We'll See The Movie's Next Trailer

Superman also Isabel Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, Nathan Fillion as 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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HulkisHoly
HulkisHoly - 4/7/2025, 5:46 PM
Thank GOODNESS!! I really don’t need to see another Superman origin story.
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 4/7/2025, 5:46 PM
Gunn's wife needs an Origin Story
TK420
TK420 - 4/7/2025, 6:06 PM
@harryba11zack - Shhhh. He's liable to hear you...
JurassicClunge
JurassicClunge - 4/7/2025, 5:48 PM
Damn together for 3 months and she's already giving superman the where is this relationship going talk.

💀
fanboy03191
fanboy03191 - 4/7/2025, 5:53 PM
@JurassicClunge - pretty normal- not like it’s marriage but that’s an appropriate time to determine what the relationship is going to be.
JurassicClunge
JurassicClunge - 4/7/2025, 6:03 PM
@fanboy03191 - brother that is way too fast!

Their relationship is younger than a phone contract! 😭
AnEye
AnEye - 4/7/2025, 7:07 PM
@JurassicClunge - That is pretty normal though.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 4/7/2025, 7:20 PM
@JurassicClunge - maybe if you're 20
JurassicClunge
JurassicClunge - 4/7/2025, 7:44 PM
@bobevanz - you're a virgin I'm not sure if you have the ability to give an opinion on this one.

😌😌😌
jst5
jst5 - 4/7/2025, 10:16 PM
@bobevanz - Yea that is 100% a view of someone in their 20's.You don't even really know a person till a full year and that depends on how much time you spend with this person.You're not even seeing the real person after 3 months!
ToldYaSo
ToldYaSo - 4/7/2025, 5:57 PM
Hey gang, I know this is completely off topic, but I stumbled across something that might interest fans of the Jurassic movies. It's a little budget film that has a cool concept. Check out "Primitive War trailer" on YouTube.
Looks kinda fun.
JurassicClunge
JurassicClunge - 4/7/2025, 6:06 PM
@ToldYaSo - haha that looks wild.
TheRealMandarin
TheRealMandarin - 4/7/2025, 6:31 PM
@ToldYaSo - let em know about the uncharted movie we should've gotten to! Fountain of youth trailer from Guy Ritchie just dropped a few days ago.
TK420
TK420 - 4/7/2025, 6:09 PM
I think we could use a feel-good superhero movie. We've had plenty of the deconstruction stuff, I think anyway. Superman needs to be a legit good dude and a true aspirational hero... not breaking necks and shit.
HulkisHoly
HulkisHoly - 4/7/2025, 8:15 PM
@TK420 -

Right. We got Snyders take and omniman and so many other evil supermen.
CaptainAwkward
CaptainAwkward - 4/7/2025, 9:41 PM
@TK420 - Yet another fool who didn’t understand man of steel sigh.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 4/7/2025, 6:12 PM
Movie is gonna make alot of money. Don't underestimate a rowdy super dog and an earnest Kal El.
ToldYaSo
ToldYaSo - 4/7/2025, 7:07 PM
@McMurdo - Agreed. I think the GA is going to love this movie.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 4/7/2025, 6:20 PM
Sounds good!!.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think we have seen a version of Superman & Lois on screen that starts with them being early into a relationship at all…

Even shows like Smallville build up to that or Superman & Lois where they have already had a strong relationship for years so to show them in the nascent stage of their romance & figuring out if it has a future given their differing POV’s is fresh aswell as feels human & relatable imo.

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It does make me wonder then if Lois knows Clark is Superman already or finds out through the course of this story?
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 4/7/2025, 6:29 PM
Good, his origin is iconic at this point.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 4/7/2025, 6:56 PM
@ModHaterSLADE -
Isn't that more of a reason to show it?

Especially if this is the 'definitive edition', the cinematic universe that could last decades and tell his story to the end (or at least as close as you get with Superman)

Plus his origin is tied to the core aspect of his character, how does the world react to Clark/Superman - it's a defining aspect to everyone he encounters:

• Lex Luthor we'll never see the initial reaction Lex had to Superman's arrival or his motivation to hate Superman?
• Lois Lane we'll never see how she initially met Clark or her reaction to Superman, the entire foundation of the romance is not here?
• Jonathan and Martha Kent, we'll never see them reacting to finding Superman or discovering his powers or teaching him life lessons, the thing that defines Superman's personality is gone?

If we skip the origin story then you lose all that. You can try to cover what those events were in the present but you won't get the same reaction. You don't need to spend a movie on it, but you can give us the condensed version of his arrival and have key moments during an opening to show us how people react and set the tone before we then get flung into the action.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 4/7/2025, 8:47 PM
@Scarilian - No, enough people know his origin. It's played out. They can always just show glimpses of it like Incredible Hulk did in the credits anyway.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 4/7/2025, 6:36 PM
Origins are the foundations and the building blocks for how we understand a characters start so we can compare that with where they go and where they finish. We can see the characters grow, learn their powers, huge moments of development for them, what defines them.

I get the alternative viewpoint that we've seen some of their origins a few times, but that idea of the origin was so popular that we had shows like Smallville that ran for 10 seasons! There's demand for these characters to have their origins depicted and if you have competent writers and directors you can depict these in ways we haven't seen before.

Feels like modern day writers are afraid of the notion that a character needs to be built-up. That you generally shouldn't start a story during the middle. It takes more work to write the origin and show gradual growth throughout the story, skipping the origin is lazier because we'll generally not see that slow growth.

Take this Superman for instance if we are skipping the origin then you miss the entire concept of how the world reacts to Superman, the defining moments of him starting at the Daily Planet, the first hints of Lex's obsession with him, the first meeting with Lois Lane, the first villain he faces, his initial bond with the Kents and him discovering his identity, his first time visiting the fortress... all of this is just gone forever in Gunn-verse. So many interesting moments that we'll just skip and these moments are foundational for everyone, not just Clark.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 4/7/2025, 7:36 PM
Okay.

Is this good?

Does it have too much humor that doesn't work, like some of the things written by James Gunn and Taika Waititi?
CAPTAINPINKEYE
CAPTAINPINKEYE - 4/7/2025, 7:46 PM
Can't wait. This is the only movie I'm excited to see this year.
CaptainAwkward
CaptainAwkward - 4/7/2025, 11:23 PM
@CAPTAINPINKEYE - Really? Wow
MaxPaint
MaxPaint - 4/7/2025, 8:27 PM
Rushing things up never ends well.
DREAMER
DREAMER - 4/7/2025, 9:00 PM
Different "pocket universes" in the movie sounds like plan B, D and C in case this movie flops
CaptainAwkward
CaptainAwkward - 4/7/2025, 11:21 PM
@DREAMER - lol Warner bros be moving scared. 😂
MisterBones
MisterBones - 4/7/2025, 9:39 PM
She better call him smallville
User Comment Image
DrDReturns
DrDReturns - 4/8/2025, 1:15 AM
@MisterBones - It's up there with Mary Jane calling Peter "Tiger" :-)

Good stuff.
MisterBones
MisterBones - 4/8/2025, 8:33 AM
@DrDReturns - exactly. It’s iconic
Presto76
Presto76 - 4/7/2025, 10:06 PM
I'm glad they skipped the origin. The amazing spiderman was hobbled by repeating the uncle bens arc, it was dull and repetitive. Audiences dont want to sit through the same stuff over and over again, they want new situations.
CaptainAwkward
CaptainAwkward - 4/7/2025, 11:20 PM
@Presto76 - Pretty much although it wasn’t dull for me but derivative of what’s come before.
Pictilli
Pictilli - 4/7/2025, 10:12 PM
Sounds spectacular. Can't wait!
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 4/8/2025, 12:32 AM
The angle they have approached their relationship here seems like what would come after the final Smallville Season when he finally told her who he really was and she jumped into his arms to kiss him. The "middle phase" so to speak.

They'll need a decade or two to reach Superman & Lois dynamic status though.
Timerider
Timerider - 4/8/2025, 1:53 AM
So basically, it’s Lois and Clark the New Adventures of Superman Season 3.
Lois: Who’s asking Clark or Superman?

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