James Gunn, the director of the upcoming Superman movie, explained that his take on the iconic superhero is perfectly suited for today’s era during DC Studios’ secret press event over the weekend.
Instead of following political ideology, his version of Superman will represent classic human morals like integrity, honesty, and protecting the weak. He believes that in the current climate, audiences are seeking heroes who represent goodness and decency.
“I think he’s the right Superman because he is a character that stands for something solid, stands for basic human morals, basic human integrity, basic belief in protecting others and protecting the weak being good to people and being honest,” stated Gunn. “He stands for what I think of as the rules that don’t change.”
“People are looking for heroes right now,” he continued. “They are looking for values of goodness, looking for people who are good and decent human beings. And Superman is that.”
Gunn went on to say that he’s mainly focused on creating stories unaffected by politics. Gunn’s Superman is said to highlight kindness and compassion, despite other individuals’ differences.
“I believe in the goodness of human beings, and I believe that most people in this country, despite their ideological beliefs, their politics, are doing their best to get by and be good people — despite what it may seem like to the other side, no matter what that other side might be,” he explained. “This movie is about that. It’s about the basic kindness of human beings, and that it can be seen as uncool and under siege [by] some of the darker voices are some of the louder voices.”
Superman tells the story of the superhero’s journey to balance his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent in Smallville, Kansas. He embodies truth, justice, and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that often sees kindness as old-fashioned.
The film features a stellar cast, including David Corenswet as Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica/The Engineer, Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord, Pruitt Taylor as Jonathan Kent/Pa Kent, and Neva Howell as Martha Kent/Ma Kent.
