James Gunn has finally unveiled his vision for “Superman” in the film’s first teaser trailer released on Thursday, revealing a superhero film that aims to balance “Game of Thrones”-style epic storytelling with humanity, according to the “Guardians of the Galaxy” filmmaker.
“That’s my primary thing I’m trying to do when I’m marching forward from step to step, in writing the script, in building the movie, in cutting it together, it’s to keep this fantastic building that, in a lot of ways, shares as many elements with ‘Game of Thrones’ as it does with, say, the Marvel universe that is another world where metahumans happen to exist, people do put on costumes and fight crimes for all very different reasons, which you’ll see in the movie.” Gunn said in a post-trailer Q&A event held on Monday at the Stephen J. Ross theater.
Gunn detailed his approach to grounding fantastical elements in reality.
“If this thing was real, that’s always where I start. If there was a super dog, what would it be like? If there was a talking raccoon where would it have come from? And it is trying to ground everything as outlandish as it might be in reality, Kaijus, fortresses, all of it.”
In this version of the DC universe, Gunn explained, Superman exists in a world of superheroes. “This is an alternative history, fantasy world where superheroes exist, but it’s also incredibly grounded. It’s about real people having real lives. There just happens to be metahumans there. But Superman exists. He has friends who are other superheroes. He has people he doesn’t get along as well with who are other superheroes.”
Gunn added: “He’s got a flying dog. He’s got a giant fortress that springs from the ground. He fights giant monsters. He has a lot of the things that we love from the Superman comics and the Superman mythology that we haven’t been able to see as much of in filmed media, and definitely haven’t been able to see in a grounded way, which is what I hope we’ve created.”
David Corenswet, who plays Superman/Clark Kent, shared his understanding of the character during the Q&A as well.
“I think a lot of people consider Superman to be a naive character, at least to have a naiveté about him,” he said. “I think there’s an element of that, but I think it really is just sort of a blindness to the little imperfections and the little conflicts, the silly little things that we get caught up with as people, I tend to miss those, and I think Superman misses those, and that’s what keeps him steadfastly and determinatively looking at the good and the hopeful and the future and grounded in the fun and playfulness of the present.”
Rachel Brosnahan discussed bringing Lois Lane into the modern era: “Today, today we’re living in a world where print journalism, to some, is perhaps an endangered art form, and she’s somebody who has dedicated her entire life to it.” Brosnahan described Lois and Superman’s dynamic as that of “soul mates” who are “united in the fact that they are both in relentless pursuit of truth and justice, but they approach the world in totally different ways.”
She added: “I think the ways that they are opposite is something that is fun to watch. It’s fun to watch them kind of bump up against each other, sometimes in more ways than one and and then it’s fun to watch the ways in which they really are united. That’s a little bit of a nothing burger of an answer, but they both work hard and play hard and love hard. I love that.”
Nicholas Hoult, who plays a very comic accurate-looking Lex Luthor, explained grounding his character in a way that the audience at least understood where he’s coming from.
“Obviously he’s smart and ruthless, and he has to outmaneuver Superman on certain levels, because he can’t match him in others, but there’s also something about this character, hopefully, from my standpoint, where even though you perhaps don’t agree with his process, there’s an element where you could understand, on some levels, where he’s coming from and why perhaps what he’s pushing as his ideology is perhaps better for humanity,” he said.
The film will also feature a new take on John Williams’ iconic Superman theme. “Williams theme, that soundtrack is one of my favorite soundtracks of all time,” Gunn said. “When I was a kid, really the thing that I loved the most about the movie was the music. That was the thing I took home with me, more than anything else.” Gunn added that composer John Murphy began working on the music before the script was finished.
“I want to use a version of the Williams theme, but I want to do our own version of it. And so that’s what you hear.” Gunn said. “What’s really amazing is how that leads into a lot of other pieces, some of which harken back to the Williams theme, but some of which are purely John Murphy, goes into that, comes back, and it’s used beautifully throughout the movie.”
Speaking to the heart of the film, Gunn emphasized its core message: “I believe in the goodness of human beings, and I believe that most people in this country, despite their ideological beliefs or their politics, are doing their best to get by and trying to be good people. And I think this movie is about that, it’s about the basic kindness of human beings.”
“Superman,” which was filmed in IMAX, is set to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.