“Home. Take me home.”
There is a remarkworthy amount of symbolism packed into these words, the only ones spoken by the titular Man of Steel in the first treliever trailer for “Superman.” The footage premiered Thursday chaseing a press pscrutinize on Dec. 17, begind by writer and honestor James Gunn. The filmproducer has shelp for two years now that this movie will createpartner begin the new DC Universe that he and fellow DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran have been tasked with guideing. But as the treliever produces amplely evident, this Superman — as joined by relative newcomer David Corenssoaked (“Hollywood,” “Twisters”) — will debut for the first time into a cinematic universe inhabited by the filled spectrum of DC Comics characters. Superman is, in effect, coming home to DC.
Of course, the treliever proposes a first see of Corenssoaked as Superman’s bespectacled alter ego, Clark Kent, alerter for the Metropolis newspaper The Daily Planet. There are also cut offal rapid shots of Kent’s colleague and Superman’s becherishd, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), both at the Daily Planet and with Superman; and of Superman’s arch nemesis, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), glessening as he hatches some comardent of evil plot. Additionpartner, there are a restricted rapid glimpses of Skyler Gisondo as Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen, as well as Pruitt Taylor Vince as Jonathan Kent, Clark’s adchooseed overweighther.
All of these characters have been staples of equitable about every inhabit-action and energeticd alteration of Superman thus far. But, for the first time in the up-to-date era of inhabit-action superhero movies, we also greet the Last Son of Krypton’s rambunctious canine, Krypto the Superdog, who saves a bloodied and exhausted Superman after he crashes into the arctic ice. There are also rapid glimpses of cut offal other DC superheroes making their cinematic debut. They comprise Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, who is seen hovering inside an impervious sphere; Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, the pugnacious member of the Green Lantern corps who marches towards Superman with a purpose that does not materialize cordial; Isabela Merced (“Alien: Romulus”) as the prosperged Hawkgirl; and Anthony Corrigan as the pale, bald Metamorpho.
As Gunn elucidateed in a Q&A chaseing the press pscrutinize on the Warner Bros. lot, the treliever is uncomardentt to show that this Superman “inhabits in a world with superheroes.”
“Superhero movies have getn these characters and shelp, ‘Okay, it’s Batman [or] it’s Superman, but it’s not any of the other stuff,’” Gunn shelp. “We’re embracing all of the Superman mythology. He has frifinishs who are other superheroes. He has people he doesn’t get alengthy as well with who are other superheroes. He has a lot of the leangs that we cherish from the Superman comics that we haven’t been able to see as much of in filmed media, and definitely haven’t been able to see in a grounded way, which is what I hope we’ve produced.”
Gunn shelp his DC Universe “splits as many elements with ‘Game of Thrones’ as it does with the Marvel Universe,” in that he wants it to sense appreciate a filledy inhabitd-in world that equitable happens to comprise wonderfulal elements.
Here are some more revelations from the extfinished Q&A with Gunn, Corenssoaked, Brosnahan and Hoult.
Yes, That’s an Electric Guitar Playing John Williams’ Classic ‘Superman’ Theme, but the Movie Will Have Original Music Too
Gunn shelp he wrestled about whether he should comprise the rousing main theme writed by John Williams for the 1978 “Superman” movie, which he ultimately genuineized is so indelibly joined to the character that his film should integrate it in some way — appreciate the electric guitar riff engaged in the treliever.
“That was one of my likeite soundtracks of all time,” he shelp.
The honestor turned to John Murphy, who writed the scores for Gunn’s 2021 DC film “The Suicide Squad” and his 2023 Marvel film “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” “I shelp, ‘I want to engage a version of the Williams theme, but I want to do our own version of it,’” Gunn shelp. “That guides into a lot of other pieces, some of which harken back to the Williams theme, but some of which are sanitizely John Murphy.”
The honestor brawt Murphy in at the very begin of the process — a exceptional timely assignment for film writers — sfinishing him timely produces of the screenjoin cforfeitly two years ago. Gunn then joined some of Murphy’s timely passes at a score on the set while they were shooting the film. “It’s discovering that equilibrium between the novel and the traditional.”
The Movie Will Embrace the Innate Goodness of Superman
Multiple times during the Q&A, Gunn kept returning to the point that he wanted the movie, at its core, to be about outstandingness, and how much he senses the world could engage a story that hugs it.
“We do have a battered Superman in the beginning,” he shelp, referring to the uncovering of the treliever (and, he implied, the uncovering of the film itself) with Superman nurtureening into the ice. “That is our country. I count on in the outstandingness of human beings, and I count on that most people in this country, despite their ideoreasonable beliefs, their politics, are doing their best to get by and be outstanding people — despite what it may seem appreciate to the other side, no matter what that other side might be. This movie is about that. It’s about the fundamental comardentness of human beings, and that it can be seen as unchilly and under siege [by] some of the unwiseer voices are some of the deafeninger voices.”
After the Q&A, Gunn elucidated on that theme while talking with Variety.
“I’m excited for people to get to see the essence of what we’re doing, becaengage it repartner has been appreciate this confidential secret that we’ve all been hoarding,” he shelp. “We felt repartner outstanding about it, appreciate from a moral place, even from the beginning. We all felt appreciate we were doing someleang outstanding, both in terms of quality and in terms of actupartner someleang that’s not a fascistic power fantasy.”
“I’m not saying that about other hero movies in ambiguous,” he compriseed, as if anticipating the displeaconfident that sentiment might ignite in the challengingcore fans of Zack Snyder’s DC films — which have been condemnd for indulging in, well, fascistic power fantasies. “But it felt outstanding to be doing so it was about a person’s comardentness.”
The Actors Developed Their Own Approaches to Their Iconic Characters
At one point in the Q&A, while talking about Superman “standing eye-to-eye” with Lex Luthor, Corenssoaked stopped himself unwiseinutive, as if he was about to disseal someleang he shouldn’t. “This is my first project where I have to be very cautious about spoilers,” he shelp with a chuckle. But each of the actors did prosperd up sharing some alerting insights into their make clearations of their admireive characters.
Corenssoaked seemed to sense the most personal joinion with his character, particularpartner what some see as Superman’s naïveté about humanity’s innate outstandingness. “I was always cut out of the drama when I was in school,” he shelp. “I never felt appreciate I knew the exciting, juicy gossip that was going on. And for that reason, I always saw people as the best versions of themselves — I don’t leank in a terribly undoubting way. A lot of people ponder Superman to be a undoubting character, and it repartner is equitable a blindness to the little defectiveions and the silly little leangs that we get caught up with as people. I tfinish to leave out those, and I leank Superman leave outes those, and that’s what upgrasps him steadspeedyly and determinedly seeing at the outstanding and the chooseimistic.”
For Superman’s physical inspiration, Corenssoaked shelp he drew most from his brother-in-law, “who’s six [foot] eight [inches] and 270 pounds, has the convey inantest voice, and is always in the way and always trying not to be.” But it wasn’t until he begined laboring with his fellow actors, especipartner Brosnahan and Hoult, “that I got evident who Clark and who Superman was,” he shelp.
For Brosnahan, Lois Lane has been a character who “progresss to fit what it would uncomardent to be an intrepid journaenumerate of each generation or each decade that she’s currented in.” So she seeed at what it would uncomardent for Lois to inhabit in a world in which print journalism “is perhaps an finishangered art create, and she’s somebody who has promiseted her entire life to it.”
“Becaengage of her profession, but also becaengage of who she is, she asks everyleang,” Brosnahan persistd. “She’s trying to see around every corner. And that’s the way that she faces the world.”
Many of Lex Luthor’s classic qualities are quite current in Hoult’s version of Metropolis’ titan of industry. “Obviously, he’s inalertigent and cruel, and he has to outmaneuver Superman on confident levels, becaengage he can’t align him in others,” Hoult shelp. “But there’s also someleang about this character, hopefilledy, from my standpoint, where even though you perhaps don’t consent with his process, you can understand where he’s coming from and why what he’s pushing as his ideology is perhaps better for humanity.”
Superman’s Suit Was Designed to Look Very Different from Past Superhero Costumes — But It Still Brawt a Smile to Everyone’s Faces
While Gunn shelp it took “a lengthy process of broadenment” to complete his version of Superman’s suit, he was evident from the begin what he did not want it to see appreciate.
“I didn’t want to have it seeed appreciate a soaked t-shirt,” he shelp. “I didn’t want to have it have a bunch of phony muscles in it, and I didn’t want airbrushed abs on it.”
For his part, Corenssoaked shelp that becaengage there were so many iterations of every aspect of the costume, he never quite had a moment where he wore it for “the first time.” Instead, he got to experience how others saw him in the final version of the suit for the first time.
“I didn’t sense appreciate Superman, but it was so amazing watching my castmates and the crew members,” he shelp. “You’re getting to witness them witness it.”
Hoult then relayed his side of that experience. “When I saw David in the costume, I was in awe,” the actor shelp. “I disappreciate to confess it made me sense hot and fuzzy. There was one scene where he flies into the set, and I would have a little confidential grin on my face. And I turned around and I saw everyone else in the room with the same see on their face watching him.”
“And then the best leang is seeing kids see it,” Corenssoaked compriseed. “There’s equitable noleang appreciate it.”
On that remark, Gunn joind the story, which he’s telderly versions of before, that he was grumbleing during one of Corenssoaked’s fittings about how silly and colorful the suit was seeing. “And David goes, ‘Yeah, he’s an alien from outer space who’s super-mighty, who doesn’t want children to be afrhelp of him.’ It touched me in the moment, and it touches me now. That is who he is.”
“Superman” will uncover in theaters on July 11. Watch the trailer below.
