Director and writer James Gunn has gone deep into his motivations and thoughts on the upcoming Superman movie in a new interview.
Gunn sat down with Screen Brief for a lengthy interview about Superman and his thought processes behind nearly every aspect of the film.
While Gunn discusses such things as the tone of the film, what David Corenswet's portrayal is like, Krypto's personality and more, he also addresses one of the biggest concerns of fans: The briefs.
"There was a time when I was developing the Superman costume, with David Corenswet and Juliana, our costume designer," said Gunn. "And it was coming together, but it had the red trunks, it had the whole thing. And we really went back and forth a lot about the red trunks. I even talked to Zack Snyder about it. He said, ‘I tried like a billion versions with the trunks and just never got there.’ And I said, ‘I see how that’s the case.’"
He went on to add, "I didn’t know about the trunks. I wanted to use the trunks, but I couldn’t, I kept taking them off. And I came in, it’s very colorful, the trunks are on, and I’m like, ‘God, I don’t know. It’s just so colorful. David, how do you feel?’ He’s like, ‘I love it.’ And I’m like, ‘Really, it’s that colorful.’"
Gunn said that Corenswet went on to add, "I’m an alien from outer space who can fly and lift buildings, and I shoot laser beams out of my eyes that can dissolve things. I want kids to not be afraid of me. So, what am I going to wear?"
"And I think that was really part of where the costume came from," Gunn added. "And I saw the character in a new way. And it also showed me how—David, before we started even shooting, really took everything, every moment, very seriously in all his choices and what he would do. And he wants to not be scary to kids. And I thought that was a pretty cool thing that really, I’ve kept in mind for the character ever since that moment."
The entire interview is worth a read, and is one of the most in-depth we've seen yet in this early stage of the film's promotion.
Superman will hit theaters on July 11, 2025.
IMAGE SOURCE: Shutterstock - James Gunn - Kathy Hutchins
