In a recent interview with ScreenRant, James Gunn opened up about Superman and how his version of the Man of Steel is not invincible in the ways we’ve come to expect. When asked whether he planned to depict a more emotionally and physically vulnerable Superman, Gunn replied:
“Yes. It is, both to some degree.”
While the trailers and promotional materials have already teased a bleeding Superman, it’s not just about showing that he can get roughed up. Gunn emphasized that the story will explore Clark Kent’s inner life just as much as his outer strength:
“Emotionally, for sure, simply because we’re invited into Superman’s personal life. This is about his interior life.
At the core of the story – it’s surrounded by pyrotechnics and flying dogs and robots – but at the core of the story it’s about a person who thinks of himself in a certain way, finds out that isn’t true, and has to recontextualize who he is in the face of that.”
This isn’t your standard “truth, justice, and save the cat out of a tree” Superman. Gunn said:
“That isn’t really what your normal Superman story is, nor any hero’s story, for the most part. So I think that’s a difference. He’s more vulnerable in that way.
“And then physically – I mean, listen, he’s fighting an equal and opposite force. So, in some ways, it’s no different than when Superman was fighting the bad guys in Superman II, in Donner’s film.”
But don’t mistake “vulnerable” for weak. Gunn points out that Superman will still go up against some serious power, what he calls an “equal and opposite force,” which naturally draws comparisons to Superman II and its Kryptonian face-off. Except this time, there’s no turning back the clock.
“But we do see him bleed, which is different. He can’t make the world go backwards in time through spinning around it. So I kind of took a Superman that was a mix of different Supermans throughout the comics in terms of his power set,”
So, this Superman has limits, and that makes him more human, and maybe even more heroic.
Superman is “set in a world very different from ours and far removed from the DCEU. Heroes have been around for ages, and we’ll see how it affected this world’s history and has shaped the DCU.”
David Corenswet takes on the iconic role, and he’s joined by Nicholas Hoult as Lex, and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois, Skyler Gisondo as Clark’s best pal, Jimmy Olsen; Wendell Pierce as The Daily Planet’s Perry White; Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl; Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders, aka Hawkgirl; and Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner.
It also stars Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord; Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt, aka Mister Terrific; Maria Gabriela de Faria as Angela Spica, aka The Engineer; Sara Sampan as Eve Teschmacher; Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason, aka Metamorphosis; Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr.; Neva Howell as Martha Kent; and Pruitt Taylor Vince as Jonathan Kent.
Superman flies into theaters on July 11, 2025.
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