Up, Up, and Away! Truth, Justice, and The American Way. These immediately cause comic fans to conjure up one specific character, The Big Blue Boy Scout. Superman. Heralded as the one that started the superhero boom in comics way back in 1938, there have been a lot of live-action versions over the years. The Flash movie highlighted some of the more popular ones and even one that had never actually been put on film. With James Gunn taking over the DCU and using a new Superman film as the starting line, what can we expect from the upcoming film?
Who’s In It?
It’s always interesting to see who will get the chance to put on the suit. Will they go more for the look of Superman, or will they find an actor who can convey the wholesomeness of the character? Sometimes, they get both. The characters surrounding him are just as crucial as the Man of Steel himself. Something past films have failed to nail. So, who is playing our favorite characters?
Clark Kent/Superman – David Corenswet
Corenswet is donning the S this time around. Most film fans will have seen him in such films as Pearl and Twisters. He made a quick stop for one episode of House Of Cards. Hopefully, he didn’t run afoul of Kevin Spacey’s diva behavior. With Superman, Corenswet will be pushed into the Hollywood spotlight. Fans online had pointed out his resemblance to the last actor to play the character on the big screen. When asked about possibly playing the character before he was confirmed for the role, he stated, ” I would love to see somebody do an upbeat, throwback [take on Superman] .” Here’s hoping he gets his wish.
While speaking with Time, Corenswet said, “What’s the pressure? Pressure to be good? I definitely want to be good. But I’m not directing the movie. I give James puzzle pieces, and he gets to pick which one goes in which place. I can’t take on the responsibility that James took on of delivering a Superman film to the masses. But James is the right person to do it.“ He added that it’s an “amazing, solemn responsibility to be the person to play this character,” and while some may find the character “boring” compared to more conflicted characters, the actor isn’t buying it. “Compared to Batman and Spider-Man, he isn’t depicted as having great inner turmoil. If he’s invincible, what’s at stake?” Corenswet said before citing All-Star Superman writer Grant Morrison: “All the important stuff. You can be the most well-adjusted, well-intentioned person, but people will still die. You can’t save everyone forever.“
Gunn told THR, “Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, David Corenswet is going to freak everyone out with how great he is. He is one of the best actors I’ve ever worked with, and he can do everything. The man is incredible.” As for the version of Clark Kent / Superman that Corenswet is bringing to life, Gunn has said, “He is starting to become successful (at both jobs) in the big glitzy city so far away from home. He’s madly in love with a woman who isn’t so sure about him. And he’s made a few superhuman friends who like him but think of him as naive. All these new elements in his life have unbalanced him a bit and as he’s tottering we’re going to see where he lands in terms of his values and choices.” A full Q&A with Gunn can be read at THIS LINK.
Lois Lane – Rachel Brosnahan
Lois is always a tough character to cast. She has to be tough as nails but still soft enough to fall for Superman. Margot Kidder hit it out of the park in the 1978 film, and everyone else has been trying to play catch up ever since. With Rachel Brosnahan, they may have a winner on their hands. Her turn onThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel shows she can portray someone who can hold her own but knows when she can’t do it alone. I’m excited to see what she brings to the role.
When she was asked seeing David Corenswet in the suit for the first time, Brosnahan told Variety, “It sort of happened twice. When we tested for the parts together, I was doing a play, so I had to get out very quickly. I was leaving and I knocked on the door, and he was standing there in a Superman suit, testing. I was just like, ‘Superman is in the building.’ It was wild. It was one of those electric moments that feel really rare. In that moment, I knew it would be David.“
Lex Luthor – Nicholas Hoult
Many fans say that no one has really nailed the comic book version of Lex Luthor. Those of us who grew up in the 80s still have a soft spot for the Gene Hackman version, but they may be right. The closest version we may have gotten was with Michael Rosenbaum on Smallville, but he had a lot more time to develop the character than most. Hopefully, Nicholas Hoult will give us what we’ve been wanting. He’s no stranger to comic book films after playing Beast in the throwback X-Men films starting with First Class. He even talked with Rosenbaum on his podcast about playing the character. Here’s hoping we get a great version of Luthor this time around. We should be okay if he’s not the sniveling version of Snyder’s Luthor.
Others
Gunn has filled out some of the other characters with some interesting choices. Jimmy Olsen will be played by Skyler Gisondo, who will be pretty spot-on. Neva Howell and Pruitt Taylor Vince will play Ma and Pa Kent. Playing Perry White will be Wendell Pierce. He is a good choice, as many have enjoyed his turns in shows like The Wire and Treme. Sara Sampaio (At Midnight) plays Eve Teschmacher.
Interestingly, we already know the film will have more superheroes than just Superman. Some confirmed characters are Nathan Fillion (The Rookie) as Guy Gardner, a charismatic and slightly obnoxious member of the Green Lantern Corps; Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold) as Hawkgirl; Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) as Mister Terrific; Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho; María Gabriela de Faría (Deadly Class) as The Engineer, a member of The Authority. Superman’s dog Krypto is also in the mix. In response to Gunn’s reveal of Krypto on Threads, one fan said, “Not to be ‘that guy,’ but isn’t Krypto supposed to be something akin to a Labrador or something similar?” Gunn replied, “No. Krypto is historically a generic white dog, sometimes also a lab, white shepherd, husky, or Dalmatian. But obviously he’s an alien so he wouldn’t necessarily be exactly any one of these things.“
Asked about her Superman character The Engineer during a recent Reddit AMA, de Faría answered, “She is badass. She is a very strong character and it’s been a huge challenge to portray her from every aspect. I don’t know how much I should share because we are not supposed to talk about the movie at all and I don’t wanna get fired.” She went on to say that the Superman set is “one of the friendliest sets I’ve ever worked on. Everybody is so kind, and talented and focused. David Corenswet is perfect as Superman, he might actually be Superman posing as David Corenswet. James Gunn know exactly what he wants and doesn’t improvise on the fly, everything is calculated but feels very free at the same time. I’m very excited for the audience to see a good, colorful, happy story about our favorite superhero.“
What’s It About?
Of course, we don’t know yet. With superheroes being big money makers at the box office, they tend to get pretty tightlipped about the films’ plots until they get closer to release. As long as it’s not about Lex Luthor trying to pull off a real estate scheme or another origin story. We have gotten both done over and over again in the past. Even Brandon Routh’s Superman Returns ended up with Luthor creating an entire island of Kryptonite. When will that guy have enough land?
For years, comic fans have been clamoring to see Lex Luthor in his battle armor and for Brainiac to make an appearance. Both have happened in the TV shows that were on the CW for years, but maybe it’s finally time to happen in James Gunn’s Superman. Hopefully, James Gunn will listen, as both things are way overdue. A recent photo of David Corenswet in the new Superman suit shows something big happening in the background that could indicate a Braniac appearance.
The hope for the film is to show that Superman’s old-school morals are still relevant to a modern audience. One thing Snyder’s Man Of Steel was dinged for was throwing out his old values for a contemporary sensibility. He even kills Zod at the end. Many said his old values didn’t work anymore, but Marvel then showed that was false in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I hope Gunn keeps this in mind and brings us a throwback to what Superman used to stand for.
The Suit
An interesting thing about the new Superman suit is the biggest reappearance in the franchise. The red trunks are back! As time passed, DC Comics started to phase out the trunks of their characters. They said it was from a bygone era that had been irrelevant for decades. Strong Men in the circus were shown to wear trunks over their tights, and the characters’ original designs used this. Most don’t even know why that was a thing, and they were eliminated across the board. They have come back in the comics for Superman, and now it looks like they are back in James Gunn’s Superman.
The set photos
Of course, James Gunn’s Superman hasn’t been without controversy. Shortly after production began, the internet started getting flooded with unofficial pictures taken on-set. While some didn’t like the way Corenswet’s supersuit looked, the most controversial aspect – by far – is how Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern looks:
Fan reaction on Twitter got pretty heated, but many also thought those who are skeptical about how the character looks should give James Gunn the benefit of the doubt considering how well he did with the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.
Here are some more set pics:
Marketing
As the film’s release draws near, we have seen a lot of trailers and posters:
Plus, Shaq:
When Can We See It?
Superman is scheduled to reach the big screen on July 11th. To mark the release date one year out, Gunn unveiled the film’s official, retro-style Superman logo online:
Gunn has confirmed that the finished film has a running time of 2 hours and 9 minutes and does include a post-credits scene. He told Entertainment Weekly that he doesn’t want to include any post-credit scenes in DCU movies that set up future events/characters “unless it really, really works.” So you probably shouldn’t expect many wild twists at the end of most DCU entries. However, Gunn said he does “love giving something back to the audience, so I will try to put something in the end credits for audiences to see, because I think it’s great. I love my crew, and I want you to stick around and see who the gaffers were.“
In an interview with Rolling Stone, the director and DC Studios co-CEO was asked how it feels to have the weight of the entire franchise on his shoulders. “Really, I just go, ‘That’s their business.’ Because that’s not the truth for me. My truth is this is the first movie out of DC Studios,” Gunn said. “Other people may say, ‘It’s gotta be a home run, nothing else.’ I’m like, ‘No, I’d be very happy with a double.” F*****g Iron Man wasn’t the be-all and end-all. It wasn’t Avatar. We are doing something that’s a piece of the puzzle. It’s not the puzzle itself. We have Peacemaker, we have Supergirl, and what we want to do is make a movie that people love, they feel connected to the characters. It’s just this one movie. It’s not everything.“ He continued, “I hate it when there’s a f***ing article and it’s going on about all the problems and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and ‘that means even more pressure on James Gunn and Superman.’ I’m like, ‘Guys, I’m not responsible for all that. I’m responsible for my piece of the pie. I’ve gotta make my budget back. I’ll be very happy with that.’“
Superman has been Rated PG-13 “for violence, action and language.”
Are you excited for James Gunn’s Superman? Let us know in the comments.
