Posted in: Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: dc, film, superman, Warner Bros

James Gunn on How This Superman Differs from Other Versions

James Gunn’s new Superman movie arrives this month, promising the most emotionally vulnerable take on the hero yet.

Superman is returning to the big screen this month—but not quite the way audiences remember him. In the hands of writer-director James Gunn, DC's most iconic hero is getting a major emotional overhaul.

Over the past several decades, Superman has seen countless live-action reimaginings, from Christopher Reeve's bright-eyed classic in the late '70s and '80s, to Brandon Routh's reverent Superman Returns (2006), and even Henry Cavill's darker, modernized take in Man of Steel (2013). Each version reflected aspects of the era it was born in—sometimes earnest, sometimes brooding, and sometimes caught between myth and man. Now, Gunn's Superman is poised to break the mold and explore a different side of the classic hero.

James Gunn on Crafting a Vulnerable Superman

While speaking to ScreenRant, Gunn described his upcoming interpretation as the most emotionally intimate version yet—one that digs into the personal rather than just the powerful. Gunn tells the outlet, "Yes, [this is the most vulnerable we've seen Superman] emotionally, for sure. We're invited into Superman's personal life. This is about his interior life. At the core of the story – it's surrounded by pyrotechnics and flying dogs and robots–but at the core of the story, it's about a person who thinks of himself in a certain way, finds out that isn't true, and has to recontextualize who he is in the face of that. That isn't really what your normal Superman story is, nor any hero's story, for the most part. So I think that's a difference. He's more vulnerable in that way."

The idea of emotional vulnerability in a character often defined by strength and moral clarity sounds solid on paper—not just for Superman but for the larger DC cinematic universe, which is also undergoing a reboot under Gunn and producer Peter Safran. With a new cast, a new tone, and a focus on heart as much as heroism, this entry point for the DC signals a new beginning. And, if Gunn delivers on his specific vision, audiences could be looking at a Superman who feels more human than ever.

The upcoming DC film Superman arrives in theaters on July 11, 2025.

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