In honor of Superman Day, go behind the scenes of James Gunn’s DCU adventure

By Dan Girolamo Published April 18, 2025

For James Gunn, the journey to Superman began as a young boy.

“Being a child, I loved the purity of Superman,” Gunn said in a behind-the-scenes reel of Superman. “It was a time when I was starting to understand what movies were.”

Gunn first established himself as a prolific superhero writer-director in Marvel with the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. After being temporarily fired from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Gunn crossed into DC to direct 2021’s The Suicide Squad. Gunn eventually finished his time at Marvel with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. However, Warner Bros. hired Gunn and producer Peter Safran to become the new co-CEOs of DC Studios.

As one of the architects of this new universe, Gunn can finally play in the sandbox of DC characters, including Batman, Wonder Woman, and, most importantly, Superman. Initially, Gunn wasn’t sure if he was the right voice to helm another movie featuring the Man of Steel.

“James didn’t know that Superman was in his future. He wasn’t sure that was the one he should be doing,” Safran said in the new Superman reel. “And then he called me one day and said, ‘I have a way in. I know what I want to talk about.”

Gunn’s Superman, played by David Corenswet, is built around hope. As Rachel Brosnahan, who plays the iconic Lois Lane, describes it, “He [Superman] saves people because it’s the right thing to do.”

The reel features clips of the cast on the Superman set intertwined with action shots from scenes in the movie, including a brief moment with Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.

Superman also stars Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and Neva Howell.

Corenswet accurately explained that Superman is the “beginning of a whole new adventure.” Superman is the first movie in the new DC Universe. A lot is riding on the film’s critical and financial success. If Superman works, it ushers in a new era of superhero stories for DC.

Until Superman soars into theaters this summer, audiences must have faith, or as Brosnahan said, “In James Gunn we trust.”

Superman will be released on July 11.