James Gunn has been hammering and toiling away to create a cinematic universe that these DC characters can call their home. With the release of Superman, and the film getting rave reviews (including one from me), there has been a ton of chatter and revelations by director James Gunn about Superman and the DCU.
From the potential return of Henry Cavill to James Gunn’s DCU to Bradley Cooper almost starring as Lex Luthor instead of Nicholas Hoult, James Gunn’s Superman is filled with riddles and secrets that Gunn recently revealed in the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Well, here’s every major Superman reveal by James Gunn and what it means for the DCU.
Being a lighter and colorful take on the character of Superman, monologues and dialogue-heavy scenes weren’t really James Gunn‘s style. Even if he did, it would probably be for comedic effect. Surprisingly enough, the DCU flick does feature a 12-minute dialogue scene between Lois Lane (played by Rachel Brosnahan) and Clark Kent (played by David Corenswet).
Being weary of a world that had turned against the very superhero they prayed for, Superman flies through the open balcony of Lois Lane’s apartment, where the two sit down to have a heart-to-heart talk about what/who Superman really is, while Lois Lane contemplates breaking up with him.
During his talks with the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, the director reveals that the 12-minute talking scene was the biggest creative risk that he took in a superhero movie, but it paid off well.
2 Choosing Music Score Over Songs Was ‘Scary’
Throughout his extensive Hollywood career, James Gunn has always relied on songs from the ’70s and the ’80s to put the audience in a groove.
Compared to his other superhero movies, Superman has a lack of songs and rather relies on the music score composed by John Murphy and David Fleming to set the tone of the movie. Although there are songs in the movie, they are used sparingly throughout the entire 129-minute runtime (remember ‘Punkrocker’ in the closing credits?)
Gunn revealed in the Happy Sad Confused Podcast that this decision was ‘scary’ since he hadn’t done it before. Several of the original scores had to be toned down (and made lighter) to fit the theme of the movie.
3 Bradley Cooper Was Almost Cast as Lex Luthor and Not Jor-El
Before he was cast in the role of Jor-El alongside Angela Sarafyan as Lara Lor-Van, Bradley Cooper was initially considered by James Gunn to portray the role of Lex Luthor.
However, the actor revealed in the podcast that he wanted Lex Luthor to be “Contemporary of Superman’s [age]” and since Bradley Cooper was a little bit older, he wouldn’t fit in the age range of David Corenswet’s Superman. Gunn admitted that Cooper “would have been a great Lex.” With that age factor in mind, Gunn decided to take Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.
However, James Gunn did give Bradley Cooper his due screen time when he cast Cooper in the role of Jor-El, who appears in a hologram message in Superman.
4 Jor-El’s Message of ‘Conquering Earth’ Was Real
In the movie, Jor-El’s remaining half of a message is decoded by Lex Luthor. The latter half of the message instructs Superman to conquer Earth and make it a second Krypton.
Throughout the movie, audiences are kept in the dark about whether that message was fabricated by Lex Luthor or was it real. However, in the podcast, James Gunn revealed that Jor-El and Lara’s message is real and not at all doctored.
The reason for this controversial choice was that Gunn wanted the audience to realize that Superman was his own person with his beliefs and moral codes, despite being directly ordered by his biological parents to conquer the home where he was raised.
5 How James Gunn Cast David Corenswet as the Man of Steel
When David Corenswet was initially cast as Superman, there was an intense backlash because of Henry Cavill’s controversial exit and his millions of fans (me being one of them).
However, as the trailer dropped and hype started, people started accepting David Corenswet as the new Man of Steel and eventually fell in love with his portrayal (again, me being one of them).
During his talks with IMDb, James Gunn revealed that he was watching the 2022 horror film Pearl. Corenswet had portrayed the role of The Projectionist, and Gunn thought, “That guy looks like he could possibly be Superman.” A quick search on IMDb brought the actor’s name and the rest, as we know, is history.
6 The Unfinished ‘Hall of Justice’ Hints at The Justice Society of America
In the movie, we are introduced to some new and old characters from James Gunn’s DCU, namely: Guy Gardner/Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi).
The three heroes call themselves the Justice Gang and are financed by Maxwell Lord (who was played by Pedro Pascal in Wonder Woman 1984), and the film depicts an unfinished Hall of Justice building.
The murals depict several heroes like Jay Garrick (Flash), Alan Scott (Green Lantern), and Doctor Fate, which suggests a history of the Justice Society of America.
7 Henry Cavill’s Potential Return to James Gunn’s DCU
Before Corenswet, Henry Cavill portrayed the role of Superman across three movies (four if you count Joss Whedon’s Justice League). He later made a cameo in Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, which rekindled hope that Cavill was still our beloved Superman.
However, Cavill soon announced his departure from the newly formed DCU, which made millions of fans sad. In the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gunn revealed that Cavill was an “absolute gentleman” about it. He only asked that he reveal the news himself.
As the interview continued, Gunn revealed that he wouldn’t mind casting Henry Cavill in another role in his DCU and that he “talked to him about it on that day. I would love to put Henry in something.”
8 Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam Paved The Way For James Gunn’s DCU
Before DCEU’s closure, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson gave it a last effort to save the franchise with the release of 2022’s Black Adam. In the movie, Henry Cavill made his last appearance as Superman in a cameo role.
However, Black Adam was a critical and commercial failure, and people didn’t seem to be interested in the DCEU anymore. Many consider that Dwayne Johnson essentially paved the way for James Gunn’s DCU with the release of his 2022 film.
In the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Gunn revealed his thoughts about the failure of Black Adam and how it was never going to work out between the executives and Johnson.
There were other people [Johnson] that had a take on what they wanted to do at DC and were trying to force their way. And it just was never a part of the equation for David Zaslav, who was the head of WBD.
The little stint allegedly allowed James Gunn and Peter Safran to take over DC Studios and chart a course for their plans for ‘Gods and Monsters’.
9 James Gunn And His Plans For The Brave and the Bold
We couldn’t find a photo because nothing has been in development for The Brave and the Bold. No, we are not angry about it. Aside from fan-favorite Alan Ritchson as a potential Batman in James Gunn’s DCU, the director hasn’t revealed much about what the movie is going to be about.
During his talks with GamesRadar, the director revealed that they were working on a script and that a screenwriter was hammering away at words to make it interesting.
I mean, we’re working on a script. We have a screenwriter who’s hammering away at it. I’m very involved, and so, you know, we’ll see what happens next. I wish I had more news for you, but I don’t.
Well, that’s a fine how-do-you-do, James Gunn. At least, the good news is that Gunn is very involved in the script. The director did state that Matt Reeves’ Batman will be a part of the ‘Elseworld’ universe and that DCU’s Batman will significantly differ from Reeves’ take on the character.
10 James Gunn is Already Working on A Superman Sequel
Even though the DCU film is still screening in theaters, the Guardians of the Galaxy director has announced that he is working on another Superman project. The film will also serve as a sequel to the 2025 film, but won’t be a direct sequel.
During his talks on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Gunn stated that the movie he is working on is “not exactly a Superman sequel per se,” but rather a story involving the Man of Steel.
The director emphasized the importance of Superman and that it will not be a Batman vs. Superman or “World’s Finest Batman Superman” story, and that a timeline will be announced about his projects sooner rather than later.
What do you think of James Gunn’s plans for the DCU? Drop down your thoughts below.
Superman is currently screening in movie theaters across the world.
