Ever since James Gunn confirmed he’d be taking on Superman, fans like me have been wondering what the Guardians of the Galaxy director’s unique take would be on The Man of Steel. Looking back at all of the Superman movies, we’ve seen Richard Donner’s version as majestic and hopeful, Bryan Singer’s as slightly darker, and Zack Snyder’s as more angsty. Now that Gunn has confirmed his upcoming DC movie is “100% done,” Kevin Smith is already sending praises to the director’s “really fucking smart” take on his version of the caped superhero.
James Gunn Has Confirmed That Superman Is Wrapped
Luck was on James Gunn’s side when he was able to come up with a completed script before the 2023 WGA Writers Strike began. Then, once the strikes ended in September 2023, DC’s update on Superman made it clear that it was still on track for its July 2025 movie release.
Threads about the current status of Superman in the lead up to its release, and I’m so thrilled for him:
big DC movie got scrapped due to behind-the-scenes issues.
Now, the Dogman director already had high hopes for James Gunn’s new movie when news first came out about this upcoming iteration of Superman, and he called him “crazy fucking talented.” While speaking to Deadline, Smith reiterated that point while hyping up the upcoming summer flick, saying that he already finds it “really fucking smart:”
By showing it from the perspective of like a journalist grilling him, especially if it’s Lois Lane, that’s adorable. But making him answer for all the things that, when they created that character, nobody ever once thought about, but now we live in an era where you can’t just do something good without it being political as well, it’s a smart sell on the movie, man. I think it’s gonna make so much fucking money.
Kevin Smith’s take is likely based on the epic Superman trailer, where we see Lois Lane interrogating Clark Kent/Superman about his actions. While he points out that he stopped a war, she clarifies to him that he made that happen by illegally entering a country.
This is a really “smart” way to show that even being a symbol of hope and rescuing people can still have its consequences when the media gets involved and spins the story around. So, I 100% agree with Smith’s early take on Gunn’s Superman.
Now that Superman has wrapped up and Kevin Smith is already pumped for its release, the excitement across the fandom should be reaching its heights. While previous versions of the famed superhero have shuffled between light and dark personas, it looks like James Gunn’s take will be a mix of both and it could capture the high highs and low lows of what it means to be a hero.
Make sure to watch the final product of the anticipated DC movie when it hits theaters on July 11th.