The other week, DC Studios dropped the trailer for Superman, a new film about the Man of Steel directed by James Gunn, best known for helming the Guardians of the Galaxy films. Gunn is teaming up with Peter Safran to launch a new DC Cinematic Universe, and this Superman movie is the first real launching point.
So far, response to the trailer has been very positive. If nothing else, I'll be there to watch Krypto the Superdog do his thing. Watch below:
Speaking to members of the press afterward, Gunn said the movie was about "the essential kindness of who this character is and what this means for us as individuals." He wanted to make sure this first teaser trailer reflected that, and apparently it's working, because a lot of people he's showed the trailer to have burst into tears. "I remember I was showing it to one of the actors… she’s in the movie, but she was in my trailer. And I showed her it, and I looked over and she’s sobbing," he said, per Nerds of Color. "And my assistant, Michael comes in, and there’s a sobbing actor that I just met."
A lot of people have looked at this and assumed that Gunn is talking about English actor Milly Alcock, who will appear in Superman as Supergirl, although she doesn't actually show up in this teaser trailer. After that, she'll have her own movie: Woman of Tomorrow.
Alcock is currently best known for playing the younger version of Rhaenyra Targaryen on HBO's Game of Thrones prequel show House of the Dragon, which is between seasons at the moment. It's not guaranteed that Gunn is talking about Alcock here, but there aren't too many other people it could be; other actresses like Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane) and Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl) actually appear in the teaser trailer.
How James Gunn and company came up with Superman's new suit
As for Superman himself, he'll be played by American actor David Corenswet. The movie looks to be going harder on the dichotomy between Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent than do a lot of Superman films; they actually look like different people. "He’s early in his career at The Daily Planet," Corenswet said of where Clark Kent is at during the film. "He’s established, but...he’s no Lois Lane. And so he’s, I think he’s trying to make a name for himself as a reporter. He’s trying to fit in with the other exceptional journalists at the Planet. And I think he’s sort of dipping his toe in the water and figuring out who he can trust and who he can’t, who he’s going to trust first."
Superman is a character who has been around for nearly 100 years, and it can be hard to reboot him in a way that feels fresh. Our last big screen Superman was Henry Cavill, who appeared in movies like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. For those films, director Zach Snyder went with a dark and gritty approach. Gunn looks to be embracing the optimism of the character, which harkens back to what original creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster had in mind for him. "I think we’re seeing that from the beginning a little bit of a different side of Superman than what we see normally on the screen," the director said. "And that this movie, at the end of the day, is not about power. This movie is about a loose term of the word for 'human being,' and who Superman is as a person and as a person struggling with his day to day life."
Then there's the suit, which has gone through many permutations over the years. Once again, Gunn and company have embraced a classic design. "I knew that I didn’t want to have it look like a wet t shirt. I didn’t want to have a bunch of fake muscles on it," Gunn said. "I didn’t want to have airbrushed abs on it. But it was really a long process of development. And we were standing in the room with , and it was freaking colorful, and had the underwear and the whole thing, you know? And I was like 'ugh. I don’t know… it’s so colorful.' And David goes, 'Yeah! He’s an alien from outer space who’s super powerful, who doesn’t want children to be afraid of him.' And it touched me in the moment, and it touches me now, as I say it, is that is who he is. And that’s where the costume comes from, and that goes along with Jerry and Joe’s original vision that the you know, hearkening back to wrestlers in the circus and these other things. And that’s who Superman is… he doesn’t want to scare children. He’s got red beams that come out of his eyes that blow up things, you know. But he wants to not be scary to children."
Corenswet's new, kinder gentler Superman will crash into theaters on July 11, 2025. As for Woman of Tomorrow, it's due out on June 26, 2026, which will make it the second movie in Gunn's new DCU. "I didn't necessarily know that Supergirl would be the second film we would make, but Ana wrote an incredible script, and then we hired an incredible director, and we're going to make this film after Superman because he was the best option," Gunn told Omelete. "Other films were written, but they weren’t as good as this one. So let's continue with this rhythm. Everything has to be good. Quality comes first in every project we do. And this is more important than telling a grandiose mega-narrative."
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