James Gunn — best known for turning C-list teams like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad into household names — is now tasked with making Superman matter again on the big screen.
From the outset, it was clear that Gunn — co-CEO of the DC Universe alongside Peter Safran — intended to chart his own course, even with a character as iconic as Superman. One of his first major decisions was to part ways with fan-favorite Henry Cavill, who had portrayed the Man of Steel in four films before Gunn took the reins. In Cavill’s place, Gunn cast a less conventional choice from an action-hero standpoint but one with strong credentials: David Corenswet. Standing at 6’4″ — the same height as legendary Superman actor Christopher Reeve — and a 2016 graduate of Juilliard, Corenswet brought both the physical presence and dramatic training to justify Gunn’s decision.
What else made Corenswet an ideal choice to play Superman in Gunn’s eyes? It wasn’t only his looks, but his attitude that made him an ideal candidate for the righteous and altruistic Superman.
“I’ve seen sets that cater to an actor or director’s ego and that’s just not something that would happen with David, He is Superman, even in his nerdiness,” Gunn told Time Magazine in April. “He listens to old jazz standards. Like that’s what he listens to, just as normal procedure. Like Superman, he’s a simple man in complicated times.”
Of course, looking the part (right down to the iconic trunks) didn’t hurt Corenswet’s chances either.
“He embodies Superman,” Gunn told NPR’s Morning Edition. “My friend came to the set, and she was like, ‘Oh my God, he has such a Superman face.’ I’m like, Yeah, he does. He looks like he was chiseled out of a rock.”
Beyond appearances, Gunn also reemphasized Corenswet’s acting pedigree, particularly his training at Juilliard.
“He’s a great actor. I mean, you know, he’s Juilliard trained — which he brings up too much — but it really does show up. He’s able to access any emotions. And he’s funny; I think that we needed an actor with a sense of humor. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Superman’s always that funny — the film isn’t a comedy, but there is plenty of humor.
Finding an actor that had all those points was terrifying for me. When I started casting for the movie, I thought there’s a chance that it wouldn’t be worth making the movie. You need to have somebody who looked like Superman, who had the humor, and had the dramatic chops. And that’s not too many people.”
Of course, even with an actor perfectly suited to play Superman, one of the biggest challenges Gunn faced with Superman was making the character compelling despite his near-omnipotence. Gunn acknowledged the common perception of Superman as an overpowered figure—someone capable of punching planets in half—and shared how he plans to bring not just depth and nuance, but a sense of fun and vitality to the character. His aim is to move beyond the sheer strength and sulkiness that have defined recent big-screen portrayals of the Man of Steel.
Gunn continued, “There’s the hard thing when you get into making comic book movies. Superman is a superhero. But you find out that people have very distinct ideas of what these characters are supposed to be. And they’re different. A lot of people want Superman to be able to punch a planet and break it in half. It makes him being in a world with other superheroes kind of irrelevant because he’s so powerful. I didn’t want a Superman that could make The Flash, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Green Lantern irrelevant. Superman is often portrayed as a god. I don’t think our Superman is a god.”
In reimagining the character, Gunn isn’t just interested in what Superman can do — he’s focused on what makes him relatable. One of the most intriguing aspects of the character, in Gunn’s eyes, is the irony at the heart of Superman’s identity: while we, as regular people, often dream of having his incredible powers, Superman longs for the simplicity and humanity of an ordinary life (that may or may not include owning a dog — namely, Krypto the Superdog).
“We all want to be Superman,” Gunn added. “We want to fly, we wanna shoot beams out of our eyes, have super strength to be able to beat up anybody who comes at us. We go into the movie wanting to be Superman. And I think that by the end of the movie, we realize that Superman wants to be us. He wants to be a human being. That is his biggest desire.”
What do you think of how James Gunn aims to set his Superman apart from recent film versions? Do you think his version will be more true to the character than recent versions on the big screen? Let us know in the comments.
Superman hits theaters today on July 11th.
Curious about behind-the-scenes insights and exclusive conversations with James Gunn on the making of the new Superman film? Check out Superman: The Art and Making of the Film from author James Fields, who documents every stage of the film’s production, from Gunn and his DC Studios’s co-chairman and co-CEO Peter Safran’s earliest conversations about what their vision for Superman would be and what he would represent, to the comics they would turn to for inspiration, to costume and set design.
