Preview:
- The first trailer for James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ is online.
- David Corenswet plays the Man of Steel, with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.
- ‘Superman’ will be in theaters on July 11th.
In the spirit of most recent major releases, James Gunn’s take on DC’s most iconic superhero –– that would be ‘Superman’ just in case you were wondering –– has been following a relatively predictable promotional path.
We’ve had the first look imagery (with Gunn aiming to get ahead of paparazzi shots of particularly star David Corenswet in costume as Supes), a series of quick teasers mostly through social media, and now the first big launch, the initial teaser trailer.
‘Superman’ opens in theaters on July 11th, 2025.
And, it must be said, this one is pretty darn effective, showing off Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane and some of the movie’s ensemble, with a look at how the writer/director is bringing the titular hero to life.
The first impressions? He’s going for a big-scale story with smaller moments of human interaction, and –– partly thanks to an electric guitar take on John Williams’ classic theme –– a heartfelt interpretation.
Plus, of course, Krypto the Superdog, who could well be the breakout star of the new movie.
What has happened with the movie so far?
(L to R) David Corenswet and Krypto in ‘Superman.’ Photo: James Gunn’s Instagram account.
Announced as part of Gunn and Peter Safran’s big plan to re-launch (and rejuvenate) the DC movie universe based at Warner Brothers.’ ‘Superman’ represents the opening cinematic salvo.
Gunn, who has no little superhero experience at this point, wrote and directed the movie last year. There has been plenty of scrutiny on every aspect, including who would end up in the suit and who might be Lois.
Then, of course, there was talk of the tone, since the most recent take on the character (barring the TV likes of ‘Superman & Lois’ and ‘My Adventures with Superman’) was Zack Snyder’s moody ‘Man of Steel’ and his ‘Justice League’ outing. From the looks of things, Gunn is going in a similarly dramatic direction (check out Superman, bloodied and battered early on) though with hopefully a more positive vibe.
Shooting in Atlanta this past year, Gunn rounded up some fresh faces and some old friends to feature in the cast, as is his usual style.
What’s the story of ‘Superman’?
‘Superman’ opens in theaters on July 11th, 2025.
Little is truly known about the plot line at this point, but Gunn has been clear that he’s eschewing the usual exploding home planet Krypton/arrival in Smallville origin story (though those will likely be referenced) in favor of more of a workplace film with Clark showing up to work at the Planet, where Lois Lane will already be an established reporting star.
Nicholas Hoult is Lex Luthor, and he’ll be the big bad.
Peter Safran, Gunn’s co-chief of DC Studios (and a producer on the movie) said this about the new movie during the duo’s big announcement about DC films and series going forward:
“It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned.”
Who is appearing in ‘Superman’?
(Center) James Gunn and the cast of ‘Superman.’ Photo: James Gunn’s Instagram Account.
Alongside Corenswet, Brosnahan and Hoult, Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen), Nathan Fillion (Guy Gardener), Isabela Mercad (Hawkgirl), Anthony Carrigan (Metamorpho), Terence Rosemore (Otis), Edi Gathegi (Mister Terrific), Sara Sampaio (Eve Teschmacher) and María Gabriela de Faría (Angela Spica/The Engineer).
That’s the main ensemble; we can expect an appearance from Gunn’s brother Sean (a regular in his movies, who has played the likes of Kraglin and provided the on-set reference performance and voice for Rocket Raccoon in the ‘Guardians’ franchise) as the villainous Maxwell Lord.
James Gunn talks ‘Superman’
(L to R) Rachel Brosnahan, David Corenswet and director James Gunn on the set of ‘Superman.’ Photo: James Gunn’s Instagram account.
Talking with Comicbook.com this week, Gunn detailed how he and his team had shot the flying scenes in particular, always an important consideration for a Superman movie.
Here’s what Gunn said:
“I wrote up this big document on action and what our philosophy is of action and how we shoot it and what it is, and keeping it alive in the air, as well as on the ground. And to be able to shoot stuff in the sky as if we were shooting it –– that is really hard. So we took a lot from films like ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ which, we are shooting flying things. We shoot a lot of our action with actual drones flying in and around Superman and the people that he’s flying with, The Engineer, whoever else, that he’s fighting up in the air, and we did that on sound stages. We got these really small, crazy drones now. We’ve got some of the best flyers in the world here who are working with it. And so we use those guys a lot and everything’s planned out with me, as it always is. But at the same time, I’ve gotten even more into finding new stuff on the set and new moments and exploring that stuff, finding magic where it is.”
And when asked about his inspirations for the new movie, this was what Gunn told IGN:
“I think that obviously the original Donner movie influenced me, but there’s also a lot of things that this isn’t, like I’m just making a Donner-type movie. It’s very different from that. Zack [Snyder] did some excellent stuff. So there’s a lot of ways that influenced me. There’s a lot of ways in which the DC animated universe [influenced me], and then there’s a lot of stuff from the comic books –– above and beyond anything else, ‘All-Star Superman’ –– that influenced me more than anything. To take that sort of Silver Age feel, that sort of science-fiction approach to it with gadgets, Lex [Luthor] is really a sort of sorcerer in a way. He’s a scientist, but he’s so good at science and I think of him as like a sorcerer.”
When will James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ be released?
Gunn’s ‘Superman’ is scheduled to launch in theaters on July 11th, 2025.
David Corenswet as Superman in James Gunn’s ‘Superman’. Photo: James Gunn’s Instagram.
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