James Gunn's Superman Coming In 2025

[Vordan]

Gunn sat down with Rosenbaum on his podcast for an interview about what’s coming up. If anyone wants to give a listen to here it is.

Who is the bottom right?

Lady Blaze. Never been a big fan of her and I’m intrigued about why Gunn thinks she’s underrated. He also likes Bizarro and Metallo but doesn’t think they’re underrated.

[Prime]

Guys isn’t the Authority part of the Superman verse now?

[John Venus]

I wonder if Gunn did is going to do his take on 'What's Funny About Truth, Justice & The American Way' but with the actual Authority instead of pastiches? Or is he planning to go the Morrison route and do his version of 'Superman & The Authority'. Morrison seems to be the primary influence on his DCEU so that might be the route he goes down.

After GotG Vol 3 I have more faith in a Gunn directed Superman film but much of his sensibilities still lean towards the grim dark elements so I'm interested in seeing how he will reconcile that with his understanding of what Superman should be.

Another takeaway from GotG Vol 3 is that I want to see Gunn's version of Bizarro. I think he has the talent to make the character funny, sympathetic, tragic but also potentially horrifying. If the Authority is going to debut in Superman: Legacy as the rumors suggest, I suppose you can build a conflict around Superman wanting to help Bizarro while the Authority just wants to murderize him.

[Vordan]

In reading these replies, sometimes it seems like people are looking for things to get outraged about & have little sense of history. Although Donner’s Superman movies are some of my favorites, I’ve spoken out publicly before, & even written about it in EW back in the early 2000’s, perhaps unwisely, that Lex Luthor is not my favorite part of those films. The portrayal can lean campy & I wished he seemed like a greater threat & I wished he’d played it bald throughout. I regret having intimated that I didn’t like ANY Lex on Michael’s show, but there it is. For the record I think Hackman is one of the five greatest actors of the 70’s & 80’s, and he starred in some of my favorite movies, I just didn’t love him as Lex.

https://twitter.com/jamesgunn/status...487sLx_4UoiJsQ

Rosenbaum asked Gunn to make sure Lex wasn’t “campy” or a cartoon in Legacy, to which Gunn promised Lex wouldn’t be like that and praised Rosenbaum as the best live action Lex, and a lot of Snyderbots have been having meltdowns because they perceived that as an attack on Eisenberg. Gunn claims they weren’t thinking of Eisenberg but honestly I doubt it was just Hackman they were talking about, especially since Eisenberg is widely regarded as one of, if not the worst Lex of all time. Either way despite my Lex fatigue I am excited to see Gunn’s take on the character. Seems like his Lex might be the first “proper” adaption of modern Lex on the big screen.

[Frontier]

https://twitter.com/jamesgunn/status...487sLx_4UoiJsQ

Rosenbaum asked Gunn to make sure Lex wasn’t “campy” or a cartoon in Legacy, to which Gunn promised Lex wouldn’t be like that and praised Rosenbaum as the best live action Lex, and a lot of Snyderbots have been having meltdowns because they perceived that as an attack on Eisenberg. Gunn claims they weren’t thinking of Eisenberg but honestly I doubt it was just Hackman they were talking about, especially since Eisenberg is widely regarded as one of, if not the worst Lex of all time. Either way despite my Lex fatigue I am excited to see Gunn’s take on the character. Seems like his Lex might be the first “proper” adaption of modern Lex on the big screen.

I think Lex with a bit of camp can work...just not Eisenberg.

[The Frog Bros]

https://twitter.com/jamesgunn/status...487sLx_4UoiJsQ

Rosenbaum asked Gunn to make sure Lex wasn’t “campy” or a cartoon in Legacy, to which Gunn promised Lex wouldn’t be like that and praised Rosenbaum as the best live action Lex, and a lot of Snyderbots have been having meltdowns because they perceived that as an attack on Eisenberg. Gunn claims they weren’t thinking of Eisenberg but honestly I doubt it was just Hackman they were talking about, especially since Eisenberg is widely regarded as one of, if not the worst Lex of all time. Either way despite my Lex fatigue I am excited to see Gunn’s take on the character. Seems like his Lex might be the first “proper” adaption of modern Lex on the big screen.

I think Lex with a bit of camp can work...just not Eisenberg.

I actually read Space Age Lex in Hackman's voice. He traded in the camp of StM for outright snark and very dark humor. (Especially that one scene where he tells everyone he's glad they're not a bunch of vaporized radioactive skeletons.)

And of course, a high degree of straight up diabolical megalomania. But those darkly funny one-liners I can def see Hackman nailing perfectly.

[Vordan]

Some excerpts from the interview with Rosenbaum:

Gunn detailed how the DC Universe will differ from its heroic counterpart in terms of storytelling. "There is a bit more of a fantasy element to DCU because there are these larger-than-life superheroes," he explained. "For me, there's Superman and Clark Kent. They're two different characters, and you have to find a way to deal with them that's as grounded as possible within this world of DC."

"One of the things that I love about DC, that excites me about DC, is that, in a way, it's another alternate history. It is Gotham City and Metropolis and Star City and Bludhaven, and all these different places in this other reality, and it makes it a little bit like Westeros in some ways," Gunn continued. "I love it in that way. I love that we get to create true world-building in DC. It isn't just 'we're throwing some superheroes on Earth.' I think right now, that's one of the key differences."

I’m excited that he’s embracing the fact that Metropolis isn’t a real city, should mean we get a Metropolis closer to the DCAU/Tomorrowverse Ocean Liner Art Deco look.

[Frontier]

Some excerpts from the interview with Rosenbaum:

I’m excited that he’s embracing the fact that Metropolis isn’t a real city, should mean we get a Metropolis closer to the DCAU/Tomorrowverse Ocean Liner Art Deco look.

I like the idea of them leaning into how DC isn't the "world outside your window" like Marvel posits so often enough, and go for a little more fantastical and out there route.

I'm curious how far they've developed the world-building.

[Ascended]

I like the idea of them leaning into how DC isn't the "world outside your window" like Marvel posits so often enough, and go for a little more fantastical and out there route.

Agreed. That's actually one of my favorite things Gunn has said. Implies a lot of good things, chief among them that this won't just be a recycled MCU.

I'm really hoping that we get to see the world change and develop as a direct result of the heroes. Stuff like cars and homes powered by Ted Knight cosmic energy technology, nations like Atlantis or Kahndaq playing big roles on the global stage, etc. Not those specific things obviously, as we've no word on any Starmen and certainly won't be seeing Black Adam or Shazam anytime soon, but you get my drift.

One thing that I feel Marvel dropped the ball with is not letting that stuff happen. From Iron Man 1 to Ms. Marvel, the MCU covers about twenty years now (fifteen without the Blip time jump) which is a long time to see those high-end concepts trickle down to the rest of us, yet at a casual glance nothing is all that different. I'd like Gunn's DCU to really lean into the whimsical and fantastical side and show a world that grows and evolves beyond what we see "outside our window." If nothing else, that shows that the heroes are actually successful in changing the world.

I'm curious how far they've developed the world-building

Me too. Is he looking way down the road at stuff that isn't even announced yet? Or is he taking it one film at a time and allowing each movie to develop it's own unique aesthetic, free from what other settings/films establish? How much freedom are other directors and film designers going to have?

Honestly I find the process more interesting than the movies themselves half the time.

[SiegePerilous02]

If it's within budget and they don't want Metropolis to feel like a real city, the Fritz Lang film (and the anime film that was a partial adaptation of it) would be great visual references.

Anton Furst's Gotham making a comeback would be great too. Or even something like Shumacher's. Give me something interesting to look at instead of a generic real world city.

[Knightsilver]

Some excerpts from the interview with Rosenbaum:

I’m excited that he’s embracing the fact that Metropolis isn’t a real city, should mean we get a Metropolis closer to the DCAU/Tomorrowverse Ocean Liner Art Deco look.

One of my favorite takes on Metropolis...was the "Y2k" version in the early 2000's. It was so unique and cool with the future tech. I hated it when they went back to making it just New York again.

[Vordan]

https://twitter.com/borys_kit/status...487sLx_4UoiJsQ

Meanwhile, right now on the Warners lot, James Gunn is screen-testing Nicholas Hoult, David Corenswet and Tom Brittney + Emma Mackey, Phoebe Dynevor and Rachel Brosnahan, in full wardrobe & makeup, for the roles of Clark Kent and Lois Lane for SUPERMAN LEGACY.

These are the final 6 it seems. Rooting for Corenswet and either Brosnahan or Dynevor. Be hilarious if Hoult does end up getting Clark despite the rumors insisting he was going to end up being Lex.

[Last Son of Krypton]

https://twitter.com/borys_kit/status...487sLx_4UoiJsQ

These are the final 6 it seems. Rooting for Corenswet and either Brosnahan or Dynevor. Be hilarious if Hoult does end up getting Clark despite the rumors insisting he was going to end up being Lex.

I'm rooting for Hoult as Superman. He looks less as the traditional Superman.

[Hypestyle]

I hope that there are some lesser villains who can be physical threats. See a glimpse of some others, in jail.
I'm not interested in another Lex land scheme-- hopefully they'll leave that angle alone. But I wonder will they include him in the battle armor? Will this be "Lex, corrupt industrialist" or "Lex, super-criminal"?
The 90s cartoon show had one of the best Lex portrayals.

I wonder how much of the Daily Planet and WGBS will come into play?

Some unique power stunts should be shown. I'm not all in for the, uh, giant energy figure, though.

[Ascended]

Some unique power stunts should be shown.

Someone once said that, to the regular person watching, a properly trained/experienced Superman in a legit brawl probably looks like a natural disaster, or a reality manipulator. The stuff he can do, and at super speed...everything seems to be happening at once; stuff is bursting into flame spontaneously, and freezing, winds are whipping things around and Supes looks like he's everywhere all at once. People are disappearing, walls are exploding, bad guys are suddenly tied up with rebar, it's like being in the middle of a hurricane that lasts for five seconds and only targets the villain.

That's a visual I want to see.

I love the destruction porn that was the MoS finale. That's what a Super fight would really look like and I loved it. But that's what a fight with a *rookie* Superman looks like, the guy who's almost never thrown a punch or fought someone of equal power. But the guy who's been around the block a few times and has mastered his powers and refined his combat style....I feel like that'd be a lot scarier; the same kind of destruction and power but squeezed into a ball and aimed with a lot more control and intent.