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Superman: How David Corenswet Changed James Gunn's Mind on Trunks

Superman writer/director James Gunn shared how David Corenswet's pitch swayed him to change his mind about the costume having trunks.

This Thursday, DC Studios co-CEO and writer/director James Gunn's David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult-starring Superman will face its greatest test yet when the official trailer for the July 2025-premiering feature film drops. While we await the results, we're learning more about what went into a number of the creative decisions that found their way into the film—including the hotly debated topic of whether or not Superman's costume should have trunks. During a press event from this past summer, Gunn spoke with a number of invited press reps about a wide range of topics regarding DC Studios' first cinematic effort. In terms of the trunks, Gunn shares that he was "on the no-trunks team for a long time," even noting Zack Snyder's past efforts to make them work. But before a final decision was made, Corenswet made the case for keeping the trunks with an argument that Gunn shares hit home with him.

"David [Corenswet] said something to me that really affected me. We were trying on all these different versions, and we screened tested with trunks and no trunks. And one of the things David said is that Superman wants kids to not be afraid of him. He's an alien. He's got these incredible powers. He shoots beams out of his eyes, can blow the truck over. He's this incredibly powerful, could be considered scary individual and he wants people to like him. He wants to be a symbol of hope and positivity. So he dresses like a professional wrestler, he dresses in a way that makes people unafraid of him, that shows that," Gunn revealed, with Corenswet's pitch matching a number of the themes that Gunn has been aiming for. "And I was like, that really clicked in for me. And I think trying to pretend that Superman's costume doesn't have some frivolity to it at its base, trying to make it look serious, is silly because he is a superhero. He's the first one, brightly colored, and that's who he is. And so that's where we landed, and eventually, we all came to a place where almost all of us agreed on the trunks," he added.

And here's a look at the motion poster – with an excellent look at Corenswet in action:

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

Near the end of November, Gunn responded to someone on social media who called him out for "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) and Daniel Craig could be reunited for a Sgt. Rock film.

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 (Hollywood) as Superman/Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane. In addition, the Superman: Legacy cast includes Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Nicholas Hoult (The Great) as Lex Luthor, Wendell Pierce (HBO's The Wire) as Perry White, Isabela Merced (Sicario: Day of the Soldado) as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) as Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion (The Rookie) as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica/The Engineer, Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord, Pruitt Taylor Vince (Murder One, Lady in the Lake) as Jonathan Kent/"Pa Kent," and Neva Howell (Ghosts of the Ozarks) as Martha Kent/"Ma Kent."

Joining them are Beck Bennett (Saturday Night Live) as Daily Planet sports editor Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad) as Daily Planet gossip columnist Cat Grant, and Christopher McDonald as skilled Daily Planet reporter Ron Troupe – with Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr. (from Creature Commandos and Peacemaker Season 2) set to appear, along with Alan Tudyk in an undisclosed role. Composer John Murphy (28 Days Later, Sunshine, Kick-Ass, The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3) will score the film.

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