The future of James Gunn ‘s new DCEU looks incredibly bright
‘Superman,’ starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult released on July 11 and received positive reviews. The film centers around Superman wrestling not only with threats to Earth but also public scrutiny as he navigates the intricate role as a symbol of hope. It was a refreshing take on the first movie in a larger world formula because instead of seeing a true origin story, the viewers come into the world at a time that Clark Kent, also known as Superman, has already found a life on Earth with his job as a reporter at the Daily Planet and his relationships with other heroes, villains and friends alike. The most notable of these relationships being his girlfriend, Lois Lane, who already knows his secret identity from the start of the movie. This allows for a very interesting dynamic that allows for her to have much more impact in the story instead of just being a damsel in distress that Superman swoops in and saves. Lois, alongside Mr. Terrific actually ends up saving Superman from Lex Luthor which really helps the tone of this movie.
In past iterations of Superman movies, he’s often portrayed as a god among men that is humanity’s sole protector. While some might see this as a ‘cooler’ or more ‘action-packed’ version of the character to watch on screen, James Gunn’s take on a more grounded Superman that has these very human emotions allows for a much more compelling story to be experienced. Some critics argue that this change is ‘too woke’ while I believe it to be much more true to Superman’s character. Jagger Smith ‘26 said, “I don’t think it’s too woke whatsoever. Once I was watching the movie I think I thought about that like maybe once and it was in the fashion of I dont know why people are saying this about this, I don’t feel like it has anything outstanding woke aspects.”
In an interview with NPR, director and writer James Gunn said, “…by the end of the movie we realize that Superman wants to be us. He wants to be a human being. That is his biggest desire. So I think that does differentiate from some of the other Supermans. This is a personal story, this is a story about Superman in the way he looks at himself.”
This approach allows for so much more connection between the viewer and Superman while still including the grandeur and spectacle of a typical superhero movie. Anders Curtis ‘28 said, “I think they did a great job portraying the more positive nature of Superman compared to the other movies they’ve made in the past… I think the fact that they made him more vulnerable than the other movies kind of, like, brought more emotion out and definitely made the film overall better.”
The release of ‘Superman’ marks the beginning of a revamped DC Extended Universe, from DC Studios lead by James Gunn. Another project set in this universe, ‘Peacemaker’, has just had a season two release which has been met by very positive reviews. Other projects such as ‘Supergirl’, ‘Clayface’ and the sequel to ‘Superman’ have already been confirmed for the future to many fans’ excitement. After seeing their first projects, many fans, along with myself, are very excited and hopeful for the future of the DCEU.
