Posted in: HBO, Movies, TV | Tagged: superman

Is Superman Poor or Middle Class? James Gunn Addresses The Question

Was Clark Kent's upbringing poor or middle-class? Superman writer/director James Gunn offered the film's perspective on that question.

Over the weekend, DC Studios and writer/director James Gunn had some good news to share regarding how things were looking with David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult-starring Superman. The official trailer is ready to go, and post-production work on the film is "more than" 90% done. Now, Gunn is offering some insight into a conversation that was had by DC Studios Showcase hosts Frankey Smith, Tyler Coates, and Coy Jandreau during an episode of the official podcast from last month. When the topic of Clark Kent's upbringing and childhood was broached, the question arose about whether or not the Kents were poor. Coates and Jandreau leaned toward that being the case, noting how the family was farmers and faced the struggles of keeping the farm going.

But Smith made that point that, having grown up in New York City, they saw the Kents as being middle-class because of the land, house, farm equipment, and more that they were able to maintain (check out the discussion beginning at the 38:42 mark in the episode below; it a great back-and-forth). Earlier today, Smith tagged Gunn on Threads to ask, "Is Superman poor? I always thought he was middle class, but [Coy Jandreau] and [Tyler Coates] are saying I'm bugging." In terms of Corenswet's Clark and his upbringing, Gunn shared, "Our house in 'Superman' is a converted double-wide trailer. I wanted his upbringing to reflect more closely the Missouri farmers I was raised around."

DC Studios: James Gunn Done with Superman, Batman Origin Stories

Near the end of November, Gunn responded on social media for being accused of "overlooking origin stories" while also calling out DC Studios for focusing on "niche characters to headline their own movies like Sgt. Rock or Swamp Thing" and not focusing enough on characters they believe are better suited to attract a "general audience." When DC Studios' "Chapter One: Gods and Monsters' was unveiled in 2023, we learned that a Swamp Thing film was planned (with James Mangold attached). Recently, rumblings have gotten louder that director Luca Guadagnino (Queer) was set for a Sgt. Rock film. And let's not forget the upcoming Mike Flanagan-penned Clayface movie that was recently given a green light.

In terms of superhero origin stories, Gunn isn't looking to tell Batman's and Superman's respective backstories again because we've been down that road many times before ("I'm not telling Batman and Superman's origin stories again because everyone knows them"). But in terms of Swamp Thing not being deserving enough for his own film, Gunn wasn't having any of it. "Don't put Swamp Thing in the corner. That's a project in development we've actually announced, and he's an incredibly well-known character with not only some of the greatest comics of all time but a successful film series and his own TV show, something that could be said of only a very small handful of DC characters," Gunn added.

DC Studios' Superman stars David Corenswet ("Twisters," "Hollywood") in the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel") as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult (the "X-Men" movies, "Juror #2") as Lex Luthor. The film also stars Edi Gathegi ("For All Mankind"), Anthony Carrigan ("Barry," "Gotham"), Nathan Fillion (the "Guardians of the Galaxy" films, "The Suicide Squad"), Isabela Merced ("Alien Romulus"), Skyler Gisondo ("Licorice Pizza," "Booksmart"), Sara Sampaio ("At Midnight"), María Gabriela de Faría ("The Moodys"), Wendell Pierce ("Selma," "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan"), Alan Tudyk ("Andor"), Pruitt Taylor Vince ("Bird Box"), and Neva Howell ("Greedy People").

DC Studios' Superman is executive produced by Nikolas Korda, Chantal Nong Vo, and Lars Winther. Behind the camera, Gunn is joined by frequent collaborators, including director of photography Henry Braham, production designer Beth Mickle, costume designer Judianna Makovsky and composer John Murphy, along with composer David Fleming (The Last of Us), editors William Hoy (The Batman), Jason Ballantine (the "IT" films, The Flash) and Craig Alpert (Deadpool 2, Blue Beetle).

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