Summary
WithSupermanless than eight months away, director James Gunnkeeps anticipation alive by sharing insights into the movie’s creation, including word about its ending and, possibly, the fate of beloved characters.
Supermanreleased its teaser trailer on December 19, and in 24 hours, amassed 250 million views—a record for DC and Warner Bros. The trailer’s opening scene showedDavid Corenswet’s Superman battered and bleeding—an unusual scene for the Man of Steel. It alsoshowed the different superheroes featured in the film, including Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardener/Green Lantern, Edi Gathegi’s Mister Terrific/Micheal Holt, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho. All fans know aboutSuperman’s plot is that the Man of Steel will deal with some serious threats.
When asked in an exclusive Q&A session withScreenbriefabout any “darling” he may have axed vis-à-vis difficult editing decisions during the production ofSuperman, James Gunn pointed out that he has no problem cutting out elements of a movie he likes if said cutting contributes to the movie’s overall elegance.
“For me, when it comes cutting stuff, I don’t I don’t have emotions over those things. I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I don’t have many emotions about killing my darlings.”
Giving an example, the filmmaker also shared that the ending in the final cut ofSupermanis very different from what he initially wrote:
“At one point, I had a very different ending that I wrote to the Superman script that I went in and I told my wife about. I had written the first draft, and asked her, ‘and then what if this happens?’ And it was very different, and maybe I’ll be able to share that someday. That was hard. I had a pretty cool ending that was a little bit different than the ending we get—actually, a lot different.”
James Gunn’s comments carry significant implications forSuperman. Firstly, they suggest fans might get to see a less-than-rosy ending for Corenswet’s Man of Steel. Secondly, Gunn’s reference to “killing my darlings” may extend to the characters themselves; in other words, some ofSuperman’s supporting charactersmay meet a tragic end. If the latter indeed does happen, it wouldn’t be totally out of character for James Gunn. InGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, he killed off Michael Rooker’s Yaka Arrow-wielding space ravager, Yondu Udonta,a character Gunn says he didn’t want to losebut had to for the plot.The Suicide Squadalso saw the early and gruesome death of Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang—a major DC antagonist—as well as Joel Kinnaman’s Colonel Rick Flag.
It’s also not Gunn’s first try in the new DC Universe. In episode 3 of thefirst season ofCreature Commandos—the first DC project under the filmmaker’s stewardship—one of the beloved members of “Task Force M” also met an explosive end.As forSuperman, it’s obviously too early to predict the compromises Gunn may have made to fit the story into itstouted two-and-a-half-hour runtime,which characters might not survive, or whether the filmmaker will ever share the alternate ending he mentioned—especially since Gunn isn’t known for releasing director’s cuts. However, his prior statements suggest a clear focus: prioritizing a cohesive and compelling narrative centered on Clark Kent/Kal-El rather than using the film as a springboard for future projects.
Superman
Cast
Written and directed by James Gunn, Superman is the first movie in Warner Bros.' rebooted DC Universe to center around the titular comic book hero. It introduces a new version of the Man of Steel after Henry Cavill’s departure from the role, honoring the character’s roots as “the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way.”
