James Gunn says Superman reboot won’t focus on universe-building

With days to go before the worldwide launch of the first teaser trailer, TheWrap visited the Cleveland set of “Superman” last June, where director James Gunn battled the elements to bring his vision of DC’s Boy Scout to life. Between takes, Gunn sat down with a gaggle of reporters and revealed his approach to Superman — one that focuses solely on Superman’s story without getting bogged down in larger universe-building.

“Zero,” Gunn said emphatically when asked how much of the film is dedicated to setting up other characters or future DC projects. “I mean, maybe two little things, two moments, but basically if something is there just to set up something else, then fk it.”

For Gunn, this philosophy extends beyond just this film. “Everything has to stand on its own. I don’t want anyone to watch this movie and trust anything else,” Gunn said. “If this sets things up in ‘Peacemaker,’ which it does, then that’s great. But that’s never, ever, ever, for me, to be something I’d sacrifice even a moment or a beat in a story for, especially a movie.”

Gunn added, “With television, you have a little bit more leniency to be able to do that. But in a movie, every beat has to be there for the movie itself.”

The film opens with Superman already established in his world, with existing relationships with both Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. “We’re just starting in the middle of the action,” Gunn said. “Superman already exists. Lois and Clark already know each other. Lex hates Superman’s guts from the beginning, even though they don’t know each other personally.”

Gunn’s vision for the film draws from various influences while maintaining its own identity. “All previous DC media influenced me,” Gunn said. “I think the original Donner movie obviously influenced me, but there’s also a lot of things that this isn’t, like I’m not just making a Donner-type movie. It’s very different from that.” Gunn specifically cited “All-Star Superman” as a major comic book influence, noting its Silver Age feel and science fiction approach.

For the action sequences, especially the aerial scenes, Gunn and his team take inspiration from “Top Gun: Maverick.” They use drones to capture Superman’s flight scenes. “We shoot a lot of our action with actual drones flying in and around Superman and the people he’s flying with, engineer, whoever else, that he’s fighting in the air.” Gunn said. “We have these really small, crazy drones now. We have some of the best flyers in the world here working on it.”

The tone of the film sets it apart from Gunn’s previous superhero outings. “It’s humorous, but it’s definitely not as comedic or as much of a comedy as either ‘Suicide Squad’ or ‘Guardians,'” Gunn said. “There’s a lot of humor in it. People like Rachel (Brosnahan) are so funny and David (Corenswet) is also very funny, so there’s humor in it, but it’s trying to create something that’s grounded, but it’s also an incredibly imaginative world, it’s fantasy, it takes away from other things like ‘Game of Thrones,’ where it’s this universe where superheroes actually exist.”

One of the most debated aspects of the production was Superman’s DCU costume – specifically whether the classic trunks should be included. Gunn, who was “on the no trunks team for a long time”, changed his mind after a conversation with star Corenswet.

“David said something to me that really affected me,” Gunn said. “Superman wants kids not to be afraid of him. He’s an alien. He’s so incredibly powerful, could be considered a scary person, and he wants people to like him. He wants to be a symbol of hope and positivity. So he dresses like a professional wrestler, he dresses in a way that makes people not afraid of him, it shows.”

The film’s score, composed by John Murphy, will include nods to John Williams’ classic Superman theme while creating something new. “It’s not a soundtrack, so it’s not about the songs,” Gunn noted. “It’s much, much more of a score film.”

Gunn also opened up about the initial casting process and how he found both of his leads. Both Corenswet and Brosnahan’s audition tapes arrived on the first day. “I saw both of them and I was like, ‘Oh my God, we’re going to be fine,'” Gunn said. Their chemistry test proved crucial: “We had this 15-minute scene where they have to act together and talk and discuss and just communicate. And I mixed and matched all the different couples and it was simple magic when those two came up.”

Gunn also noted that the film explores a unique take on the Clark Kent/Superman dynamic. “People said all sorts of different things. They said, ‘Clark is the one.’ They said, ‘Superman is the real one and Clark is the secret identity.’ But I don’t believe in any of those things,” Gunn said. “I don’t think anybody knows Superman unless they both know him. And when they both know him, they know the real guy. And that doesn’t mean too many people.”

The film underwent some changes during production, including moving away from its original “Legacy” title after a “pre-mortem” meeting where department heads discuss potential problems before filming begins. “I thought maybe the title was that they had a retrospective feel about it. And this isn’t about looking back, it’s about looking forward,” Gunn said.

“Superman” opens in theaters on July 11, 2025.