How do you make a Superman movie in this day and age? When Superman first appeared in the pages of Action Comics, he was the first of his kind. That’s far from the case today, with James Gunn’s Superman premiering 47 years after Richard Donner’s beloved classic first brought the Man of Steel to the big screen, 12 years after Zack Snyder attempted to build a DC cinematic universe, and five years after audiences had grown tired of anything that had to do with superheroes. Unlike in 1938, when Superman was able to make an impression by simply lifting a car and leaping tall buildings in a single bound, 2025’s Superman — which has the formidable task of launching Gunn’s new DCU — has a lot more to prove.
So with so much riding on Superman, it would be smart for writer-director James Gunn to play it safe, right? Not quite.
